cinema verité

noun

ci·​ne·​ma ve·​ri·​té ˈsi-nə-mə-ˌver-i-ˈtā How to pronounce cinema verité (audio) si-nā-ˈmä-ve-rē-ˈtā How to pronounce cinema verité (audio)
: the art or technique of filming a movie so as to convey candid realism

Examples of cinema verité in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Advertisement The film wins you over with its cinema verite depictions of teens being teens. Fidel Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2024 With the kind of cinema verite style of an A24 film, the scene cuts away to the crew playing a pickup game with Steph, who drains a few buckets while wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2024 With its cinema verite style, the film notably influenced directors like Spike Lee and Robert Townsend (who has a small role). Debby Wolfinsohn, EW.com, 15 Sep. 2023 That tour de force of cinema verite followed the hopes and setbacks of two young players from Chicago, including former Marquette player William Gates. Ben Steele, Journal Sentinel, 27 Oct. 2022 The film also explores the nature of truth and our perceptions of reality, capturing a feeling of cinema verite in its seemingly casual structure, gaps in the narrative, temporal leaps and rough sound and image. Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 June 2018 Eschewing formal interviews, the filmmakers shot the movie cinema verite style. Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Reader, 12 Mar. 2018 Last Man in Aleppo A searing cinema verite look at the Syrian city destroyed by war, and the search for survivors. Nick Vadala, Philly.com, 23 Feb. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cinema verité.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French cinéma-vérité, literally, cinema-truth, translation of Russian kinopravda

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cinema verité was in 1961

Dictionary Entries Near cinema verité

Cite this Entry

“Cinema verité.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cinema%20verit%C3%A9. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Definition revised
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!