tech

January 30, 2026

Reality winners: the rise and rise of the ‘verbatim’ movie

From Kaouther Ben Hania’s reconstruction of the killing of a five-year-old Gazan girl in The Voice of Hind Rajab to Ira Sachs use of a taped interview in Peter Hujar’s Day, real-life dialogue is being turned into drama

Reality winners: the rise and rise of the ‘verbatim’ movie

TL;DR

  • Filmmakers are increasingly using verbatim dialogue from real-life transcripts and recordings for their films.
  • This technique offers a promise of exact facsimiles of real events, moving beyond "inspired by true events" to literal re-enactments.
  • Recent examples include "Peter Hujar's Day" based on conversations and "The Voice of Hind Rajab" from an emergency call.
  • The verbatim style often has theatrical roots, with some films adapted from stage plays that used real dialogue.
  • The trend aligns with the rise of hybrid documentaries and a desire to cut through the noise of current events by presenting reality directly.
  • Vérité cinematography, featuring closeups and handheld cameras, is often employed to enhance the sense of immediacy and direct engagement with subjects.

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