This thesis examines the ethical dimensions of poetic representation in documentary filmmaking through Charles Taylor’s moral philosophy. Documentary filmmakers face significant ethical challenges when representing others’ subjective experiences, particularly in contexts of political repression or trauma. By applying Taylor’s concept of ‘transcendental inescapable frameworks’, I develop a relational ethical model that transcends both objectivist approaches and moral relativism. The research examines how filmmakers can adopt a morally responsible attitude when translating the subjective experiences of others through poetic forms. Through qualitative literature analysis and a case study of the animated documentary Dreams about Putin, I demonstrate how ethical representation emerges in the overlap between the frameworks of filmmaker and participant. The film’s use of videogame-animation to visualize Russian citizens’ dreams reveals how poetic forms can ethically represent subjective experiences while protecting vulnerable subjects. The study finds that documentary ethics cannot be reduced to transparent objectivity but is fundamentally relational—a shared space where different moral frameworks converge and influence each other. The research shows that aesthetic choices function as ethical instruments when they acknowledge their own constructedness and limitations. This approach rejects both totalizing visual systems that objectify participants and the claim that poetic representation lacks ethical grounding. The thesis contributes to documentary theory by offering a framework where ethics, aesthetics, and subjective truth complement rather than exclude each other, reconceptualizing documentary as a dynamic ethical encounter rather than a fixed representation.

Interested in reading the full thesis or discussing the research? Feel free to get in touch.