A documentary can best be defined as a visual representation of a past occurrence. Taking this simple definition and applying it to a large-scale production is challenging, therefore, it will be stated that in order for a film to be considered a documentary, the film must contain authentic material from the subject matter. In the text Visible Traces, Gregory Currie takes multiple cases and explains how each of them might add to the viability that documentaries are a collection of loose concepts. Currie divides the problem into two categories: traces and testimonies. Contrary to their definitions, Currie intends these terms to the credibility of documentaries. He states that “a documentary must involve traces of its subject, and not merely
