In recent years, there has been a growing perception of factual filmmaking as manipulative, predatory, and morally dubious. Contributors from high-profile documentaries such as The Elephant Whisperers (2022), The Staircase (2004) and Amy (2015), have spoken out about the misrepresentation and exploitation they have suffered, and in countries including the UK, Australia, Canada and France, regulatory changes have been made to improve the media’s duty of care. Yet despite these controversies, the truth is we know little about what kinds of experiences documentary participation offers to ordinary people: do they inevitably feel misused by the media, or are they getting something meaningful out of the arrangement too?

In this presentation, I will share findings from my upcoming book, The People We Watch (Routledge, 2025), which explores the perspective of participants, and considers how their experiences are impacted by their relationships with filmmakers and the political-economic context of the media industries.