infotainment – a type of media, usually telelvision or online, that provides a combination of information and entertainment

mode of address (direct/indirect) – the direct mode of address refers to the use of signifiers that acknowledge the audience

tone/mood (formal/informal) – the mood refers to what the audience feel as they watch the film, whereas the tone refers to the attitude of the filmmaker about the film’s subject

investigative journalism – a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing

polemic approach – an aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of another

exposition – a literary term that refers to the background information the audience needs to know for the world of your story to make sense

• I feel as if the primary mode used in this documentary to tell the story and explain why the directors chose to present it in that way is the expository mode, as the film is constructed to inform and persuade the audience, convincing them to understand the issues with justice in South West Cameroon. Yet I also feel like the film is an observational mode, as it records the realistic happenings of the Adultery, Rape and Abuse cases.

• ‘The style of this documentary is influenced by the Cinema Verite movement’

The Cinema Verite movement is the French film movement of the 1960s that showed people in everyday situations with authentic dialogue and naturalness of action. This film definitely captured authentic conversations and situations so it is obvious that it is influenced heavily by this movement. This can be shown by the camera footage of the courthouses and the conversations held in the room that the victims speak to the woman.

• Would Sisters in Law construct a different narrative or give different perspectives of women’s lives, if the directors were men?

I feel like if the film was directed by only males, it would lose some of the sympathy placed on the women in the film, and so would lose the realism sense because the Sisters focus on female cases, and having a man direct those scenes would affect how the women are portrayed.

• If truth is important to documentary filmmaking, what truths are revealed in Sisters in Law?

The film reveals cases within the community of things like rape and abuse so it’s very hard hitting truths that the audience feel sympathy for the victims in the scene. I think the truths are important to this film as it gives a sense of verisimilitude for the story. However it is difficult to reveal the complete truth, having a visible camera is always going to change the subjects way of how they act, despite the situations being true.

Score – 7/10

I enjoyed moments of this documentary but thought that some parts were slightly repetitive.

Key moment which made a specific impact on me as a spectator – The scene in which Manka’s Auntie was getting punishment for beating Manka, as it felt like we were in the scene with them because of how real it was, so it was very engaging.

eyewitness account – a first-hand narrative or description of an event or experience, provided by someone who directly witnessed it

expert opinion – opinions and insights from individuals with expertise in a particular product or market to make predictions about future demand

actuality footage – raw film footage of real life events, places and people, shot by an eye-witness, as opposed to fictional films which use actors, scripts and artificial sets

reconstructions – events/scenes that have happened that are reconstructed with actors

process footage/ reflexivity – when you film the making of your documentary, combining the behind the scenes footage with the documentary itself

archive/ library footage – footage that was shot for an earlier production to explain the story, like old news footage

noddy shots – a type of camera reaction shot used in recorded news or current affairs interviews, consisting of nods and similar ‘listening gestures’

infographics/ superimpositions – the placement of an image or video or text on top of an already-existing image or video, essentially visual guides to explain things to the audience

chill footage/ observational footage (fly on the wall) – forces the viewer to ‘lean-in’ to see what is happening in the scene, essentially letting the camera run to establish the scene

montage – several different items that are put together in a picture, film, or piece of music, often in an unusual combination or sequence

Mediation – the control of how the spectator/viewer perceives the footage through the producers interpretation

Distortion – any alteration in the shape or proportions of the normal image at any stage of the photographic process 

Hyperreality – a visual language as it works better with images in order to give a hyperreal experience to the audience

Verisimilitude – the believability or semblance of truth in a work, even if that work doesn’t reflect real-life accurately

Bias – bias can occur on purpose or because the creator simply didn’t seek out balanced sources, ask deep questions, do good research or provide enough context

Objectivity – an objective perspective tends to use wider shots to show all the characters and/or a large portion of the story world within the frame, with no focus on one particular character

Selection/Editing – prepare for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it

Verisimilitude is used by filmmakers to mediate aspects of reality.

Expository Mode – Uses heavily researched and constructed to inform and persuade, convincing audience to agree with a certain point of view.

Example – The Dust Bowl (Ken Burns, 2012)

Reflexive Mode – focuses on the relationship between the filmmaker and the audience, pushing viewers to reflect on their perceptions

Example – Chronicle of a Summer (Jean Rouch & Edgar Morin, 1961)

Poetic Mode – presents patterns and associations to create meaning and evoke an emotional response from the audience.

Example – Rain (Mannus Franken & Joris Ivens, 1929)

Participatory Mode – emphasises the filmmaker’s own involvement with the subject

Example – Photographic Memory (Ross McElwee, 2012)

Observational Mode – A type of documentary filmmaking that aims to record realistic, everyday life without intrusion. So the filmmaker watches what happens in the world around them without interfering.

Example – High School (Frederick Wiseman, 1968)

Performative Mode – Focuses on the filmmaker’s involvement with their subject, using their personal experience or relationship with the subject as a jumping-off point for exploring truths.

Example – Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004)

Mockumentary – a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a documentary.

Example – Borat (Larry Charles, 2006)

A documentary is a essentially a non-fictional film that tells a story about real-life events, presenting factual information about the world outside the film, intending to document reality to maintain a historical record.

Examples:

• O.J: Made in America (2016, Ezra Edelman)

• David Attenborough: A life on Our Planet (2020, Jonathan Hughes, Keith Scholey, Alastair Fothergill)

• Night and Fog (1955, Alain Resnais)

The difference between a documentary film and a documentary series is that while a documentary film seeks to tell a single story within a compact timeframe, a documentary series must break its story into multiple chapters that are each capable of standing on their own, or it has a main theme such as crime and has a different story each episode.