--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best documentaries are independent…" description: "\"“The best documentaries are independent. They don’t exist to serve interests, philanthropic or otherwise.”\" — Nick Fraser" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/nick-fraser-266122_documentary_the-best-documentaries-are-independent-t_1986477.jpg" --- # The best documentaries are independent. They don’t exist… ![“The best documentaries are independent. They don’t exist to serve interests, philanthropic or otherwise.” quote by Nick Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/nick-fraser-266122_documentary_the-best-documentaries-are-independent-t_1986477.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/nick-fraser-266122_documentary_the-best-documentaries-are-independent-t_1986477.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6a/nick-fraser-266122_documentary_the-best-documentaries-are-independent-t_1986477.jpg) > ““The best documentaries are independent. They don’t exist to serve interests, philanthropic or otherwise.”” [Nick Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-fraser/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Independent documentaries prioritize truth over serving any agenda. **In simple terms:** Docu‑films should stay independent of agendas. Key Takeaway Support independent storytelling. Themes documentary independence truth media ethics artistic integrity Mood analytical ethical Type Documentaries:1 Documentary:1 Filmmaking:1 Independent:1 Independent Don:1 Documentaries Independent:1 Best Documentaries:1 When to use this quote - Independence can limit funding. Key Concepts film making journalism critical media analysis Questions to Reflect On - thoughtful - serious A Different Perspective How to fund independent docu‑films?;What safeguards ensure truth? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best Documentaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-documentaries-3421445/) [Documentaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) [Documentaries Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries-independent-3421444/) [Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) [Filmmaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filmmaking/) [Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent/) [Independent Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent-don-374077/) ## Related quotes > [With portable cameras and affordable data and non-linear digital editing, I think this is a golden age of documentary filmmaking. These new technologies mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-walker/with-portable-cameras-and-affordable-data-and-non-linear-digital/) [Lucy Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-walker/) > [I'm a curious guy. I can't turn away from an investigative story, when it comes to the forensic analysis. I've done 33 dives, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/i-m-a-curious-guy-i-can-t-turn-away-from-an-investigative-story-when/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [Most people look at a feature film and say, "It's just a movie." For me there is no border or wall between fiction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mano-khalil/most-people-look-at-a-feature-film-and-say-it-s-just-a-movie-for-me/) [Mano Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mano-khalil/) > [News makes things black and white. Documentary filmmaking should do the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/news-makes-things-black-and-white-documentary-filmmaking-should-do/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Celebrate your victories and mark your defeats. Ultimately documentary filmmaking is not a job, it's a calling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-yates/celebrate-your-victories-and-mark-your-defeats-ultimately-documentary/) [Pamela Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-yates/) > [Investigative journalism has been relegated to a very, very tiny space in America. We don't really have much investigative journalism left. And the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/investigative-journalism-has-been-relegated-to-a-very-very-tiny-space/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [If you're an independent, you don't get on TV. And in the rare instances that you do get on, you get a fraction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-kaufman/if-you-re-an-independent-you-don-t-get-on-tv-and-in-the-rare/) [Lloyd Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-kaufman/) > [There's nothing free. Stay independent and don't fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cunningham/there-s-nothing-free-stay-independent-and-don-t-fall/) [Bill Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cunningham/) > [I'm so drastically independent; I don't tend to flourish in relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-butterfly-hill/i-m-so-drastically-independent-i-don-t-tend-to-flourish-in/) [Julia Butterfly Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-butterfly-hill/) > [I really do like being independent, and I don't want to have to rely on anyone else to cart me around if I break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-danner/i-really-do-like-being-independent-and-i-don-t-want-to-have-to-rely/) [Blythe Danner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-danner/) > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I'm very independent. I don't depend on anything or anyone for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trina/i-m-very-independent-i-don-t-depend-on-anything-or-anyone-for-nothing/) [Trina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trina/) > [I've always been independent, and I don't see how it conflicts with femininity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-porter/i-ve-always-been-independent-and-i-don-t-see-how-it-conflicts-with/) [Sylvia Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-porter/) > [Be independent and don't try to think someone is going to save you or look to someone else to make you happy or look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethenny-frankel/be-independent-and-don-t-try-to-think-someone-is-going-to-save-you-or/) [Bethenny Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethenny-frankel/) > [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/) ## More Documentaries quotes > [I like the cinema of people like Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. I am not keen on trying to reproduce reality - for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-jeunet/i-like-the-cinema-of-people-like-terry-gilliam-and-tim-burton-i-am/) [Jean-Pierre Jeunet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-jeunet/) > [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [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/) > [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/) > [...it is a very risky thing for anyone to go about proclaiming the truth simply because he finds himself in possession of concrete documentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-amado/it-is-a-very-risky-thing-for-anyone-to-go-about-proclaiming-the-truth/) [Jorge Amado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-amado/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I'm in school every day. It depends on what it is that you do with all that free time when I'm not on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-lyte/i-m-in-school-every-day-it-depends-on-what-it-is-that-you-do-with-all/) [MC Lyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-lyte/) > [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/) > [So I do tend to do documentaries where I can move in and out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-apted/so-i-do-tend-to-do-documentaries-where-i-can-move-in-and-out-of-them/) [Michael Apted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-apted/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-cassady/) > [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/) > [I've had frustrated storytelling juices that have been lying dormant for a long time, and I guess the documentary was a way of me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bana/i-ve-had-frustrated-storytelling-juices-that-have-been-lying-dormant/) [Eric Bana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bana/) [Browse all 718 Documentaries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The best documentaries are independent. 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