--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a documentary filmmaker, I try to be…" description: "\"As a documentary filmmaker, I try to be sensitive to my subjects.\" — Keith Maitland" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/keith-maitland-25527_documentary_as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-s_2207202.jpg" --- # As a documentary filmmaker, I try to be sensitive to my… ![“As a documentary filmmaker, I try to be sensitive to my subjects.” quote by Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/keith-maitland-25527_documentary_as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-s_2207202.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/keith-maitland-25527_documentary_as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-s_2207202.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/keith-maitland-25527_documentary_as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-s_2207202.jpg) > “As a documentary filmmaker, I try to be sensitive to my subjects.” [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He stresses ethical sensitivity toward subjects in documentary work. **In simple terms:** Be respectful and careful with people’s stories. Key Takeaway Prioritize empathy in storytelling. Themes ethics storytelling responsibility Mood reflective thoughtful Type ethical journalistic When to use this quote - interviewing - editing - distribution - public screenings Key Concepts informed consent subject dignity Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect subjects while maintaining truth? - When is it okay to intervene? A Different Perspective Sensitive approach can limit artistic freedom or narrative boldness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not afraid of writing about sensitive subjects, but I want to be careful how I do so and I know not all readers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/i-m-not-afraid-of-writing-about-sensitive-subjects-but-i-want-to-be/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [As a documentary filmmaker, I couldn't afford to give my children the lifestyle I had in San Francisco growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-c-pelosi/as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-couldn-t-afford-to-give-my-children-the/) [Alexandra C. 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As bad as the ones who stared were the ones who looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carson-levine/the-inn-s-guests-were-sometimes-friendly-but-more-often-they-were/) [Gail Carson Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carson-levine/) > [I don't want to force somebody to talk about sensitive subjects if they're not into it, but at the very least, even if that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-swanberg/i-don-t-want-to-force-somebody-to-talk-about-sensitive-subjects-if/) [Joe Swanberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-swanberg/) > [Horror films are art, it's all make believe. It's great if a filmmaker can try to push boundaries and see how much an audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-six/horror-films-are-art-it-s-all-make-believe-it-s-great-if-a-filmmaker/) [Tom Six](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-six/) ## More by Keith Maitland > [Honestly, I don't think that the policies and issues surrounding guns will be easily figured out in our country, but we need to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/honestly-i-don-t-think-that-the-policies-and-issues-surrounding-guns/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [In general, I just try to make the people that I'm shooting feel like they are in good hands. I'm open-minded, and I invite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/in-general-i-just-try-to-make-the-people-that-i-m-shooting-feel-like/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [When I went to the University of Texas, my first day of freshman year in 1994, I took a student tour, and I asked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/when-i-went-to-the-university-of-texas-my-first-day-of-freshman-year/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [I love working with rotoscopic animation because under the incredible handpainted artwork are real actors and real human performances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/i-love-working-with-rotoscopic-animation-because-under-the-incredible/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [I love SXSW. I've made three films; they've all premiered at SXSW.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/i-love-sxsw-i-ve-made-three-films-they-ve-all-premiered-at-sxsw/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [I'm a big fan of Robert Altman, and one of the things I love in 'The Long Goodbye' is the way that he plays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/i-m-a-big-fan-of-robert-altman-and-one-of-the-things-i-love-in-the/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [My first night in Austin was at SXSW in 1994 when I was a senior in high school. I came here for spring break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/my-first-night-in-austin-was-at-sxsw-in-1994-when-i-was-a-senior-in/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [New York is incredible, but I never felt a part of a community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/new-york-is-incredible-but-i-never-felt-a-part-of-a-community/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [When you make the decision to call somebody out of the blue and say you want to talk to them about the worst thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/when-you-make-the-decision-to-call-somebody-out-of-the-blue-and-say/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [In Austin, you work in anything that will pay and a lot of things that don't. The documentary filmmaker may also be a gaffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/in-austin-you-work-in-anything-that-will-pay-and-a-lot-of-things-that/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [As far as documentaries, 'Man on Wire,' 'Atomic Cafe,' 'Waltz With Bashir,' and 'Thin Blue Line' all offered me different perspectives to consider as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/as-far-as-documentaries-man-on-wire-atomic-cafe-waltz-with-bashir-and/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [Yes, I realize when I'm reaching out to people and asking them to talk about the most traumatic thing to happen in their lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/yes-i-realize-when-i-m-reaching-out-to-people-and-asking-them-to-talk/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [I've always been intrigued by questions of perception and identity-building, specifically how teens and young adults define themselves within their communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/i-ve-always-been-intrigued-by-questions-of-perception-and-identity/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [I appreciate a subdued performance, typically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/i-appreciate-a-subdued-performance-typically/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) > [Active-shooter scenarios have become part of the education lexicon. I had fire drills. My parents had duck and cover - nuclear and atomic bomb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/active-shooter-scenarios-have-become-part-of-the-education-lexicon-i/) [Keith Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) [Explore all 23 Keith Maitland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/) ## More Documentary quotes > [When I speak a serious subject in an informal and humorous way, it has bigger impact. So much so, when BBC made a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arunachalam-muruganantham/when-i-speak-a-serious-subject-in-an-informal-and-humorous-way-it-has/) [Arunachalam Muruganantham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arunachalam-muruganantham/) > [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. It's a wonderful tool for establishing the credibility of the version of things that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/the-documentary-style-is-an-incredibly-flexible-and-useful-one-it-s-a/) [Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/) > [In the spring of 1984, I went to the northwest of France, to Normandy, to prepare an NBC documentary on the 40th anniversary of D-Day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/in-the-spring-of-1984-i-went-to-the-northwest-of-france-to-normandy/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [Most of the photographs people take with their cameraphones are of little value in terms of documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/most-of-the-photographs-people-take-with-their-cameraphones-are-of/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [My senior thesis was a documentary. By the time I graduated from college, I thought I was going to make films, and my interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/my-senior-thesis-was-a-documentary-by-the-time-i-graduated-from/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) > [Most of my life, I thought that I would end up a novelist. But then, in New York City, after college, I started a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-spaihts/most-of-my-life-i-thought-that-i-would-end-up-a-novelist-but-then-in/) [Jon Spaihts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-spaihts/) > [By calling it a memoir, I meant is as a collection of memories. I thought it was (a more) artful (title) than documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/by-calling-it-a-memoir-i-meant-is-as-a-collection-of-memories-i/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [I'm a documentary photographer. That's what I've always wanted to be; that's where my heart and soul is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-a-documentary-photographer-that-s-what-i-ve-always-wanted-to-be/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [Yeah I'm telling real stories, but if you pick up a documentary on strippers, you're going to want to see some stripping, so we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/method-man/yeah-i-m-telling-real-stories-but-if-you-pick-up-a-documentary-on/) [Method Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/method-man/) > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [It's supposed to be entertainment. It's not supposed to be a documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeri-ryan/it-s-supposed-to-be-entertainment-it-s-not-supposed-to-be-a/) [Jeri Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeri-ryan/) > [If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not revelatory. You may as well just go and watch a documentary or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/if-you-merely-focus-on-what-we-already-know-then-it-s-not-revelatory/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [Helen Weaver’s book was a revelation to me! Although I was a young woman in the fifties, I was there, but I wasn’t there!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-cassady/helen-weaver-s-book-was-a-revelation-to-me-although-i-was-a-young/) Carolyn Cassady > [If you want to see the real Pablo Escobar, go see a documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wagner-moura/if-you-want-to-see-the-real-pablo-escobar-go-see-a-documentary/) [Wagner Moura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wagner-moura/) > [There's a tradition of reenactment in documentary which is about sort of illustrating what the past might have been like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-oppenheimer/there-s-a-tradition-of-reenactment-in-documentary-which-is-about-sort/) [Joshua Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-oppenheimer/) [Browse all 655 Documentary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As a documentary filmmaker, I try to be sensitive to my subjects.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Keith Maitland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-sensitive-to-my-subjects/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Documentary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-sensitive-to-my-subjects/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/keith-maitland-25527_documentary_as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-s_2207202.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/keith-maitland-25527_documentary_as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-s_2207202.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/keith-maitland-25527_documentary_as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-s_2207202.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As a documentary filmmaker, I try to be sensitive to my subjects.” — Keith Maitland", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Keith Maitland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-maitland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As a documentary filmmaker, I try...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-sensitive-to-my-subjects/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-maitland/as-a-documentary-filmmaker-i-try-to-be-sensitive-to-my-subjects/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```