I never found much of a love for documentaries. However, documentary filmmakers have a love for what they are attempting to convey. They find a passion for something and feel that the world needs to know about it. The passion they exude is inspirational. They put their whole beings into the recreation of a world that already exists, hoping that others will see what they see in it. We are so blind to the world that is right in front of us, and the directors of documentaries want us to trip on it instead of just step over it.
What struck me is that the division between documentaries and narratives for these filmmakers is virtually nonexistent. It makes a lot of sense. After all, narratives must have some basis in reality, and documentary filmmakers attempt to make others conscious of reality in order to influence others' lives, and possibly inspire a narrative. Of course, a lot of imagination goes into a lot of narratives, but even imagination must be based on reality - have you ever tried to imagine a new color? It's impossible. Documentarians blur the lines between reality and story.
Now I see how much interest there is in real life. Narratives may make you think or sigh or cry or laugh or scream or doze off, but their effects are ephemeral. After a documentary is over, you know that it is still going on. There will always be a sequel - all you have to do is go out and look at the real world. Documentaries can bring an awareness of something that changes the way you feel about the world forever. It will go on forever, and influence your reality, which might inspire a documentary, which may change someone else's views, inciting an endless chain reaction.
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