Afterword: Documentary Filmmaking as Ethical Production of Truth

It has been noted that a new mode of documentary practice that can be designated as “cinema from below” began to emerge in many Asian countries such as Taiwan, Korea, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines after the 1980s (Chi; Pok; Nam; Lu; Deocampo; Hanan). “Cinema from below” is a film practice based on a strong penchant for the perspectives of subordinated social groups. If mainstream documentaries often serve the interest of socially dominant groups, documentary making as cinema from below stresses the (self-)representation of the underprivileged groups. Although personal documentaries and commercially oriented documentaries also made their appearance in the recent developments of documentary making in various countries, “cinema from below” maintains a strong momentum.