How to Cite a Documentary in APA, MLA, or Chicago

Share to Google Classroom

While you might recall of books and periodical articles as the become-to sources when writing essays, documentaries can also be a great source of data—and they can also serve every bit a form of amusement. Citing a documentary might seem more complicated than citing a textbook, but we've put together this handy guide on how to cite a documentary to brand the procedure a bit easier for you.

Rapidly cite a documentary past using our citation generator form for a film.

As an example, we've cited "Jiro Dreams of Sushi"—a groovy Netflix documentary by David Gelb about a legendary Tokyo sushi chef—in three different styles: MLA 9, APA, and Chicago.

To cite a documentary properly, yous must accept the following pieces of information into consideration:

  1. Documentary title
  2. Name of the documentary director
  3. Any performers in the documentary
  4. Documentary producers
  5. Title of the site, database, or streaming service that the documentary was found on (if applicative)
  6. Name of the product visitor
  7. Publication appointment
  8. City where the production company is based
  9. URL for the documentary (if applicable)

Depending on the medium used to access the documentary, you may need to do boosted research to observe all of the data listed beneath.

How to Cite a Documentary

Employ the following structure to cite a documentary in MLA 9:

Documentary championship. Directed by Showtime name Concluding name, functioning by Starting time proper name Last proper noun, Product Visitor, Year published. Title of Site, Database, or Service where pic was streamed from (if applicative), URL.

Here's how the above case would be cited in MLA format:

Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Directed past David Gelb, performance by Jiro Ono and Yoshikazu Ono. Magnolia Dwelling Entertainment, 2011. Netflix, world wide web.netflix.com/search?q=jiro&jbv=70181716&jbp=0&jbr=0.

Here's how the to a higher place instance would exist cited in an in-text citation:

(Shortened Documentary Title)

(Jiro Dreams)

Apply the following construction to cite a documentary in APA:

Terminal name of Documentary Producer(south), F.Thou. (Producer[s]), & Last proper noun of Documentary Director(s), F.Chiliad. (Managing director[s]). (Twelvemonth). Documentary title [ Medium (DVD, Video file]. Retrieved from URL

Here'due south how the above example would be cited in APA format:

Iwashina, K., & Yamamoto, M.(Producers), & Gelb, D. (Director). (2011). Jiro dreams of sushi [Video file].  Retrieved from https://www.netflix.com/search?q=jiro&jbv=70181716&jbp=0&jbr=0

Utilise the following structure to cite a documentary  in Chicago:

Documentary Title. Directed by Manager's Name. City of Publication: Studio, Year.

Hither'due south how the above case would be cited in Chicago:

Jiro Dreams of Sushi.  Directed past David Gelb. New York: Magnolia Dwelling house Entertainment, 2011.

Commendation Guides

How practice I cite a Netflix documentary?

To cite a documentary from a media streaming website, include the following details: the producer's proper noun and/or director's name and their championship (e.k., Producer, Director, etc.), year released, title of the documentary, clarification of the source in square brackets if needed, website name, and URL.

APA

Reference listing  Director's Surname, X. Y. (Manager). (Twelvemonth). Title of the documentary [Pic]. Production Company(ies).
Example Hobkinson, S. (Director). (2021). Misha and the wolves [Motion-picture show]. APT Film and Television receiver.
In-text Citation – Parenthetical (Director's Surname, Year)
(Hobkinson, 2021)
In-text Citation – Narrative Director'south Surname (Year)

Hobkinson (2021)

Note that in APA, it is not necessary to include the name of the streaming website/app in the commendation.

MLA

Reference listing Title of the Documentary. Directed past Manager First Name Surname, Product Company, Year. Website.
Example Misha and the Wolves. Directed by Sam Hobkinson, APT Film and Television, 2021. Netflix app.
In-text Citation – Parenthetical (Documentary Title)

(Misha and the Wolves)
In-text Citation – In Prose Documentary Title

Misha and the Wolves

How practise you in-text cite a documentary?

To cite a documentary in MLA or APA manner, it is of import to accept basic data including the name of the manager, name of the artists and/or producers, product company, publication date, and URL. Templates and examples for how to create in-text citations for documentaries in APA and MLA format are included below.

APA in-text citations

Template:

(Director Surname, publication year)

Example:

(Dhanalakshmi, 2004)

MLA in-text citations

Template:

(Shortened Championship of the Documentary)

Example:

(India)