Between Care and Truth: Ethical Dilemmas in Character-Driven Documentary

October 31, 2025
11:30am
- 12:30pm
The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center

Documentary filmmakers spend months—and often years—cultivating trust with their subjects, bound by a deep duty of care that underpins the filmmaker–protagonist relationship. But what happens when the subject is deeply flawed, or when their values clash with those of the filmmaker? This panel explores the tension between honoring that trust and remaining accountable to history, truth, and the audience.

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