What 1922 film is often considered the first feature-length documentary?

The 1922 film often considered the first feature-length documentary is “Nanook of the North.”

Directed by Robert J. Flaherty, the silent film follows an Inuk man, Nanook, and his family as they hunt, travel, trade, and survive in the Canadian Arctic. Its remote setting, substantial running time, and focus on everyday life helped establish documentary filmmaking as a commercially viable form.

The film is historically important but not a purely observational record. Flaherty staged or recreated some scenes, and several details were shaped for dramatic effect. That mixture of real people, real environments, and constructed situations is why the film is also described as docudrama or docufiction.

“Nanook” was played by Allakariallak, and the production was filmed around the Ungava Peninsula in northern Quebec. The film became a major international success and influenced ethnographic and nature documentaries for decades. It was also among the first 25 films selected for the U.S. National Film Registry in 1989.