The Essay Film Throws Objectivity Out the Window

Essay films throw objectivity out the window. They are one person's approach to reality, one person's observation.

A documentary film, on the other hand, strives for objectivity. It tries to tell you what reality is—sometimes even masking the fact that it is never really the reality as it is, but rather reality as it is captured.

The boundary can be foggy in documentary. But in the essay film, it's clear-cut. Almost in a Brechtian way, it tells you: this is not the reality. It is my reality. The filmmaker's reality.

Realism vs. Impressionism

Think of it like realism versus impressionism as a philosophical idea in art.

Impressionism doesn't tell you "this is reality." When you look at any impressionistic painting, it is how the painter experiences reality. That's what they're trying to convey. This is closer to the approach of an essay film.

A documentary is more like a hyperrealistic drawing, where the subject is almost like a photograph. You believe that's how that person looks and was captured well by the artist.

Nothing better or worse. Both are true approaches to reality and to art.

The Filmmaker's Presence

Essay films tend to be from the perspective of a singular individual. Whether it's through narration—which makes it obvious—or through the text, the way it is cut, there is something about it that clearly tells you that a single person made it. And you know, often, who this person is, what they stand for, their story.

In a documentary, more often than not, the author—the filmmaker—is hidden. Trying not to be observed. Trying not to be the center of attention. The film is not about them. They're just trying to tell you the story.

In the essay film, the filmmaker is part of the story. It's inevitable.

The boundaries in essay film are much more open, much more fluid.

An Example from My Own Work

One examination of this could be seen in my film The Same Snowy Ground. I went to Eastern Europe—Ukraine, Belarus, Poland—and I documented places where my ancestors came from. The woods, the villages, the rivers, the marshlands, the cities. I documented my own journey, my own feelings. I documented how I see those places today.

The intention was clear: to take you to places that are in my mind, in my thoughts, while showing you the places as I saw them.

At one point, I saw a log of wood on the ground. I took it and threw it in the river close to where my grandfather's house was. It's poetic. It has no prescribed meaning. I just took the log, threw it in the water, and it floated down the stream in the town of Sokal, Ukraine. I just looked at it. It's personal. You see my hand in the frame.

In a documentary film, this would be strange.

This is more of a "travel-log" aesthetic decision, but this is no ordinary travel log. This is an essay film.

How a Documentary Would Approach the Same Subject

A documentary film tackling the same subject would probably keep the camera still. You would see those villages, and there would be text telling you: the population of this town used to be this, now it's this. This is what happened. Probably no narration, just text. Very distant. Very fact-based.

But the facts are already known in the general scheme of things. What's interesting is me going to visit where my ancestors are from, how I see it, how I experience it, what my visit was. That is more interesting than just telling you the boring facts.

This is a human story on a human level.

The Essential Distinction

Documentary Film:

• Strives for objectivity

• Hides the filmmaker

• Presents reality as captured

• Fact-based and distant

• Aims to tell you what happened

Essay Film:

• Embraces subjectivity

• The filmmaker is present, visible, essential

• Presents the filmmaker's experience of reality

• Personal and impressionistic

• Aims to show you how the filmmaker sees and feels

The essay film doesn't pretend to give you the world. It gives you a world—filtered through a singular consciousness, shaped by personal history, colored by individual perception.

That's not a weakness. That's the point.

On Trust and Transparency

Documentaries ask you to trust that what you're seeing is real, is true, is accurately represented. The filmmaker's credibility rests on this implied contract: I am showing you what happened.

Essay films break this contract from the beginning. They don't ask you to trust that this is objective truth. They ask you to trust the filmmaker's honesty about their subjective experience.

In a way, this is more honest. The essay film acknowledges from the outset: this is not neutral. This is not objective. This is my view, my experience, my interpretation.

Documentary often hides its construction. Essay film reveals it.

Presence vs. Absence of the Author: Why This Distinction Matters for Filmmakers

If you're making a film and you're wondering whether it's a documentary or an essay film, ask yourself:

Am I trying to disappear? Or am I trying to be present?

Am I trying to show the world as it is? Or am I trying to show how I experience the world?

Is my personal perspective something to overcome? Or is it the very thing I'm exploring?

Would this film be the same if someone else made it? Or is it inseparable from who I am?

If your answers lean toward the second option in each case, you're probably making an essay film.