On true meaning(s) and the impossibility of documentary in the films of Jennifer Baichwal

Canadian filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal has made a remarkable series of feature documentaries that have until now received little scholarly attention, though they have circulated widely at film festivals, theatrical screenings and on broadcast television. These films: Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles, The Holier it Gets, Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia: The True Meaning of Pictures, Manufactured Landscapes, Act of God, Payback and Watermark operate against the grain of informational instrumentalism associated with conventional documentary. They are playful and meditative explorations of the relationship between human culture, the built environment and forces of nature. This essay surveys recurring themes, strategies and issues across this body of work and situates this filmmaking practice within the oral tradition as described by Canadian thinker Harold Innis.