cinéma vérité
Americannoun
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a technique of documentary filmmaking in which the camera records actual persons and events without directorial control: introduced in France in the 1950s.
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a film using this technique or a simulation of it.
noun
Etymology
Origin of cinéma vérité
1960–65; < French cinéma-vérité literally, cinema-truth, coined as a translation of Russian kinoprávda, a documentary technique developed by the Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov (1896–1954)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Heineman has become famous for a cinéma vérité approach that avoids both interviews and voiceovers, but this film takes that signature style to an entirely new level of art.
From Salon ● Nov. 11, 2022
On the same bill is another cinéma vérité gem, 1968’s “Hey, Mama,” a slice-of-life look at Venice’s Black neighborhood of Oakwood.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2022
Ernaux’s book has been adapted for the screen by Diwan and Marcia Romano, with the participation of Anne Berest, in a spare and almost cinéma vérité style that shows us events from Anne’s perspective.
From Washington Post ● May 11, 2022
The real strength of cinéma vérité may be that it inspires questions — questions about people, and how they are, and our own judgments — rather than delivering answers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2022
Every time I watch it I end up covering my eyes and then laughing at the insanity of it all: cinéma vérité at top speed.
From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2020
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
