HOW, exactly, does one write reality?
That’s the question being asked by close watchers of the credit rolls at the beginning or ending of theatrically released documentaries, which are increasingly featuring “written by” credits.
While a documentarian taking a writing credit for narration rarely raises eyebrows, nonfiction filmmakers are also beginning to consider the behind-the-scenes structuring of their films to be a type of writing. The trend, which is being shepherded by the Writers Guild, a union representing television and film writers, has some documentary film editors and directors worried that it threatens to redefine their job descriptions and confuse viewers, who may believe that a documentary that has been written is a less credible depiction of reality.