The actors in front of the camera are of central importance to documentary filmmaking practice. The success or failure of a film largely depends on them. As varied as the terms used to describe them are their respective roles within documentary film.
Protagonists are the product of numerous practical and narrative decisions, ranging from the moment of filming to the arrangement of selected material in the editing process. Strategies of “authentication” lie in the hands of the filmmakers. The way directors introduce protagonists, the manner in which they are constructed through cinematography, editing, and spatiotemporal selection, and the role they are intended to fulfill all shape the degree to which the on-screen actors are perceived as “authentic.”
In addition to the filmmakers’ strategies, the protagonists’ conscious and unconscious self-presentation is decisive for their authenticity. Facial expressions and body language, silence or evasive answers signal to viewers whether what is being said appears credible.
But which strategies of authentication apply when the protagonists of a documentary are shaped through memories? What happens when these memories are transmitted within a family context through documents, photographs, and inherited objects? In a documentary film about a family’s emotional legacy, the project explores the relationship between authentic representation and the authentic meaning of what is narrated.