October Sun Films

Documentary films come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they’re constructed like a story, with a beginning, middle, and end. Other films are more fragmented, and still others simply seem to unfold naturally. The latter usually describes cinema vrit, a style of documentary film-making that emerged in the late 1960s. In addition to styles of editing and camerawork, films in this genre are also linked by the role of the filmmakerthey were usually much more present in the film than in other documentaries, sometimes even provoking or guiding the subject. Cinema vrit is often associated with the Direct Cinema movement.An early example of these genres is Michel Brault’s and Pierre Perrault’s 1963 film Pour la suite du monde. The filmmakers asked residents of a Canadian island to re-enact a whale hunt as they film it. What was seen on screen was a direct result of the filmmakers’ requestso was it fiction or reality? A common answer is that while the actual hunt is an act, the history and lineage which are revealed are true.Gimme Shelter (1970) is another acknowledged classic of the form, directed by auteurs Albert and David Maysles. The filmmakers’ decision to let things unfold naturally resulted in a strange blend of concert film and social documentary. The film suddenly turns dark when an audience member is stabbed to death at the Altamont Free Concert.The shaky camera style and editing techniques of cinema vvrit films made their way into fiction, both on the big and small screen. Some film examples include The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, and Paranormal Activity, while television shows like Arrested Development, The Office, and Curb Your Enthusiasm also incorporate elements of the genre.