To in-text cite a documentary, you typically use the director’s last name and the release year, though the exact format depends on whether you’re writing in APA, MLA, or Chicago style. Each system treats documentaries as films, so the same rules that apply to movies apply to documentaries. Here’s how to handle it in each major citation style.
APA Style (7th Edition)
In APA, the director fills the author role for a documentary. Your in-text citation includes the director’s last name and the year of release, and it can appear in two forms:
- Parenthetical: Place the citation at the end of your sentence. Example: The film explores the psychological toll of solitary confinement (DuVernay, 2016).
- Narrative: Work the director’s name into the sentence itself and put the year in parentheses. Example: DuVernay (2016) documented the history of racial inequality in the U.S. criminal justice system.
If a documentary has multiple directors, list them all in the citation separated by an ampersand in parenthetical form or “and” in narrative form. For a documentary with two directors, a parenthetical citation would look like (Morris & Smith, 2020), while a narrative version would read Morris and Smith (2020).
When the Director or Date Is Missing
If you can’t identify a director, move the documentary’s title into the author position. Italicize the full title in your reference list, but shorten it for the in-text citation if it’s long. A parenthetical citation would look like (Shortened Title, 2019).
If the release year is unavailable, replace it with “n.d.” (no date). A citation for a documentary with no listed date would read (DuVernay, n.d.) or DuVernay (n.d.). If both the director and the date are missing, combine the two rules: (Shortened Title, n.d.).
Do not substitute “Anonymous” for a missing director unless the documentary is actually credited to “Anonymous.”
MLA Style (9th Edition)
MLA in-text citations point the reader to the first element in your Works Cited entry. For a documentary, that first element is usually the director’s last name, but it could also be the film’s title, depending on how you’ve structured the entry. If your Works Cited begins with the director, your in-text citation uses the director’s name. If it begins with the title, your in-text citation uses the title.
For example, if your Works Cited entry starts with “Spurlock, Morgan, dir.,” your in-text citation would be (Spurlock). If the entry starts with the film title instead, you’d write (Super Size Me).
Citing a Specific Moment
MLA encourages you to include timestamps when referencing a specific scene or quote. Use the format hours:minutes:seconds as a range. For instance, if you’re quoting dialogue that runs from two minutes and fifteen seconds to two minutes and thirty-five seconds, write (Spurlock 00:02:15-00:02:35). This functions like a page number for time-based media and helps the reader locate exactly what you’re referencing.
MLA does not require a year in the in-text citation. The Works Cited entry handles publication details, so the in-text portion stays minimal.
Chicago Style (17th Edition)
Chicago offers two systems: Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date. Most humanities papers use Notes-Bibliography, which means your in-text citation appears as a superscript footnote or endnote number rather than a parenthetical reference.
Notes-Bibliography System
In the footnote or endnote, provide the documentary’s title in italics, the director, the original release year, distributor information, and the format. A typical note looks like this:
1. 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay (2016; Los Angeles: Netflix, 2016), streaming video.
If you’re citing a specific scene, include the scene title before the documentary title in your note. Use the scene title exactly as it appears on the version you watched. This is only necessary in the note; the bibliography entry can reference the full documentary without specifying scenes.
For documentaries accessed through a streaming service, replace the physical media details (DVD, Blu-ray) with the relevant URL or streaming platform name.
Author-Date System
If your assignment or publication uses Chicago’s Author-Date system, the in-text citation follows a pattern closer to APA: the director’s last name and year in parentheses, such as (DuVernay 2016). Note that Chicago Author-Date does not use a comma between the name and the year, unlike APA.
Choosing What Goes in the Author Slot
Across all three styles, the director typically fills the author role for a documentary. This makes sense because the director is the primary creative force behind a film. However, some documentaries are better known by their producers, narrators, or production companies. When that’s the case, your citation can reflect whoever is most relevant to your discussion, as long as it matches your reference list or bibliography entry.
If you’re writing about a documentary primarily because of what the narrator says, leading with the narrator in your Works Cited (MLA) or reference list (APA) and then using their name in-text is a reasonable choice. The key rule is consistency: whatever name or title appears first in your full citation must be what you use in the in-text reference.
Quick Reference by Style
- APA: (Director’s Last Name, Year) or Director’s Last Name (Year)
- MLA: (Director’s Last Name) or (Director’s Last Name Timestamp) with no year
- Chicago NB: Superscript number linking to a footnote with full details
- Chicago Author-Date: (Director’s Last Name Year) with no comma
When in doubt, check whether your in-text citation leads the reader directly to the correct entry in your Works Cited, reference list, or bibliography. If it does, you’ve cited it correctly.