'Soul of the Documentary' offers a ground-breaking new approach to understanding documentary cinema. Working against current thinking, Ilona Hongisto argues that the documentary does more than merely represent what is - by capturing actual people, places, and events - but also expresses realities to come. She makes a case for the form as one that is not bound by predetermined ideas or rules, and through close readings of a heterogeneous body of films, she imbues the tradition with a new sense of urgency and vitality.