Directing with Care: The Ethics of Documentary Filmmaking with Heidi Burkey

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What does it look like to practice trauma-informed storytelling behind the camera?

 In this episode of When Bearing Witness, filmmaker Heidi Burkey shares how she approaches documentary work with care and a deep respect for those she films. With projects featured on Netflix, Hulu, PBS, and Disney+, Heidi brings powerful insights into ethical storytelling practices that nonprofit leaders and communicators can learn from.

Together, we explore the parallels between documentary filmmaking and nonprofit storytelling, especially when it comes to navigating consent, power dynamics, and cultural context. Heidi reflects on moments in her career where doing what’s right meant stepping back, collaborating with community members, and rethinking her role as a storyteller. Her approach is a model for nonprofit communication ethics—one that prioritizes safety, transparency, and trust at every stage of the process.

About Heidi Burkey

Heidi Burkey is a seasoned documentary filmmaker specializing in character-driven stories with a passion for highlighting underrepresented individuals and communities. Through verité-led filmmaking, she strives to create films that offer a nuanced and empathetic perspective. As a filmmaker, she is known for her ability to quickly establish trust with individuals and adapt to the unique cultures and communities represented. Her films have been distributed on platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Max, PBS, and Amazon.

Connect with Heidi Burkey

Website | Instagram | From Reflection to Release Framework | Ethical Storytelling

Connect with Maria

Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email 

Transcripts

Maria Bryan:
Today I'm joined by Heidi Burkey, a documentary filmmaker who has reached audiences on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, and PBS. You may have heard of some of them. Heidi is deeply committed to honoring the dignity and complexity of the people whose lives she captures. So today, we're exploring what it means to bring an ethical and trauma-informed lens to documentary filmmaking.

Heidi, I'm so excited you are here. Welcome to the show.

Heidi Burkey:
Thank you so much for having me. It's an honor to be here.

Maria Bryan:
You know, when I first started Trauma-Informed Storytelling, I thought a lot about the documentary space. Movements are built out of documentaries, but also, lives can be greatly harmed through documentaries.

So when I found you, I was so thrilled to bring someone on to talk about the reality from someone who's on the inside. But before we dig into the ethical aspects, I want to know what brought you to the world of documentary filmmaking.

So what is your backstory?

Heidi Burkey:
Well, thanks so much for asking, because there's always a good story behind a story. For myself, I actually studied theater and had planned on going into acting. When I graduated from college, I had this notion of either I'm going to pursue acting, or I'm gonna join the Peace Corps.

I had these two very different sides of me—the creative and the compassionate. I will say I stumbled backward into documentary filmmaking. I was doing theater, performing at universities, and pursuing that path, but then the opportunity to work at a nonprofit that was telling stories of children at risk around the world popped up.

For me, this idea of using storytelling to impact lives really connected those two parts of me.

At film school, I had a professor who said to me, “You have a way of capturing the human spirit on film. I really think you should make documentaries.” And at the time, I was like, great. All I knew of documentaries were historical reenactment films I watched in high school history class. I was like, cool, so you think I should just bore people for a living?

But it stuck with me. It was one of those things where someone says something that leaves a deep impression, and you have to explore it at some point. About three years after college, I met up with that same professor and said, “Okay, I’m ready. What does this look like?”

He gave me a list of normal avenues to explore documentaries—and I did none of them. Then I randomly met a gentleman who ran a nonprofit focused on storytelling for humanitarian organizations and advocacy. I started volunteering after work, and eventually I told my parents I was quitting my job and diving in.

I wasn’t really getting paid, or it was a mystery whether I’d get paid, but I learned how to make documentaries at that nonprofit. We focused specifically on stories of children at risk. I picked up a camera, I learned how to edit, and really that new career was born from that place.

We told stories of former child soldiers in the Congo trying to reintegrate into society, children who were unhoused, and children suffering from HIV/AIDS. These were extreme stories, and that’s also where ethical storytelling began for me—by doing things terribly wrong for years.

I had to wrestle with my own white savior complex, and I did that in community with others going through the same thing. That pushed me to pivot. It expanded my storytelling into the larger documentary space.

Eventually, I left the humanitarian space and moved into series and feature films. When I started to question my role and my motivations in filmmaking, I realized I cared deeply about helping people see themselves differently through their own stories.

That took me beyond the humanitarian space. I went on to make my first feature documentary, which after many years was released on Netflix. That helped me realize this is what I’m doing in my free time—this must be what I care about.

Maria Bryan:
I served in the Peace Corps in Ghana, and I’ve reflected on how I talked about my community in ways that weren’t always dignifying. So thank you for being vulnerable about that part of your journey.

The best life lessons come when we make those mistakes. Talking about ethical filmmaking—walk us through what that means to you. What does that look like today?

Heidi Burkey:
Yeah. Before I answer that fully, I want to comment again on that early time period and how we arrived at wanting to create some kind of ethical framework.

There was something beautiful about the early 2000s. It was the moment when documentary started reaching into the public space in a new way. With the rise of streaming platforms, documentaries became more accessible. People who wouldn’t have gone to the theater were watching them at home.

With that came a growing awareness—especially among younger generations—about the power of storytelling to create change. Millennials in particular began using documentary as their form of activism.

But it was also the Wild West. There was no framework. It wasn’t journalism—it had a point of view, a mission, a purpose. Journalism has strict codes of ethics. But the documentary space had very few. Add the humanitarian storytelling aspect, and it really lacked any shared ethical foundation.

So a group of us—filmmakers and storytellers—started having conversations about the stories we were telling and whether we were the right people to tell them.

We realized that some of our storytelling might have caused harm or failed to create the change we intended. These were hard but necessary conversations.

Over the years, I met folks working in areas like human trafficking, child soldier reintegration, global health—all reflecting on similar things.

A friend and I said, what if we created a platform to gather all these best practices and resources in one place? A place where people could take a pledge, access trainings, and equip their organizations or storytellers to do better.

That’s how the website ethicalstorytelling.com was born.

For me, it was about asking: how can I share what I’ve learned, and how can I honor the people and experiences that shaped me along the way?

Around this same time, I was shifting from the humanitarian space into larger documentary projects—series and features for platforms like Disney and PBS. I brought that ethical foundation with me and began integrating it into my own practice.

Maria Bryan:
I just want to be clear to listeners—Heidi is talking about being one of the founders of ethicalstorytelling.com. If you’ve worked with me, you know this resource well. I send it out all the time.

So yes, that Heidi. This is someone who helped make some of the first widely available resources on ethical storytelling. Thank you for creating the pledge and that site.

While we’re talking about resources, you also sent me one that’s specific to documentary filmmakers.

Heidi Burkey:
Yes. There’s a group called the Documentary Accountability Working Group. A few years ago, they created a resource that offers a framework for accountability in nonfiction filmmaking.

Their website is www.docaccountabilit, and there’s a downloadable framework there called From Reflection to Release: A Framework for Values, Ethics, and Accountability in Nonfiction Filmmaking.

It walks through the full process of a film—from pre-production to release—and outlines how to build accountability and ethical practices into every step.

Like ethicalstorytelling.com, it was created by a large community. Even though Rachel and I built the Ethical Storytelling site, it came from a shared body of work and wisdom.

This DOC Accountability framework is the same. It’s something I give to students in my classes, and I use it to check myself as well.

That’s why I go to festivals and conferences—to stay in the conversation. Ethical storytelling is evolving. It affects the filmmaker, the participant, and the audience.

And that includes the mental health of filmmakers too. I care deeply about how we support not just our participants, but ourselves and our teams.

This resource helps guide that ongoing work.

Maria Bryan:
These are two really great resources. I’ll include both in the show notes.

And I just want to note—this is so applicable to the nonprofit space. We deeply understand the impact of video storytelling. It can drive fundraising and advocacy, but we don’t have these frameworks either, and we’re struggling with the same challenges.

One thing I fear in the nonprofit space is how we often preach that storytelling leads to healing—and that’s not always true. That’s not fair to say.

We have to be crystal clear with ourselves and with the people we’re interviewing. Telling your story might not be healing. It might not lead to policy change or create a huge moment of transformation.

In our first conversation, you talked about how sometimes you weren’t the best person to tell the story, and how you brought in others instead. Let’s unpack that.

What power dynamics show up for participants, and what do you do on set—during pre-production and production—to navigate those tricky dynamics?

Heidi Burkey:
There’s a misconception that you can eliminate power dynamics in documentary filmmaking.

Anyone who holds the camera holds the power. That’s just the truth. We do our best to give voice to participants, but the moment you walk in with a camera and start recording, you have the power.

I acknowledge that—both to myself and, sometimes, out loud to the person I’m filming.

I also spend a significant amount of time getting to know participants before I ever bring out a camera. That’s a big part of ethical practice for me.

When you invest in people as humans, you become more attuned to their nonverbal cues—when they’re uncomfortable, when they don’t feel safe.

My work is about creating safety and trust before we begin filming. I try to give a clear picture of how their story will be used and make sure they’re comfortable with that.

In a digital age, it’s impossible to control where a story may end up, especially when the stakes are high. If a participant’s life could be endangered by sharing their story, we have to consider how to protect their identity—through blurring, voice distortion, or rotoscoping (a sketching technique we used on an HBO series to anonymize footage).

Throughout the entire process, I do regular check-ins.

I remember a time I was working with my friend Rachel’s nonprofit in Thailand. We were filming two stateless brothers and realized, as we approached the interview, that they were uncomfortable with me.

As a white woman from the U.S., I wasn’t someone they could feel completely safe with, no matter how much rapport we had built.

And sometimes, no matter how skilled you are as a filmmaker, your cultural identity alone may make it impossible to be the safe person someone needs in order to share their story.

We acknowledged that. As the director, I had to let go of control and let someone else conduct the interview—someone from their community, a trusted leader at the organization.

We prepped that person with general interview questions. Then I stepped outside with a translator and watched the interview remotely on a screen.

I listened in, took notes, and sent follow-up questions as needed. The participants knew we were observing, but they couldn’t see us, and they felt safe with the interviewer.

The result? They shared their story in a way they never would have with me.

That’s what ethical storytelling looked like in that moment—prioritizing the safety of the participant. Even though it meant releasing creative control and taking a risk, we did it because it was the right thing to do.

Maria Bryan:
I love that story.

We’ve been talking a lot about ethical filmmaking, but this is such a beautiful example of being a trauma-informed storyteller.

You didn’t plow through. You didn’t check off a box. You listened to your gut and paused. You asked, “What can we do to make them feel safer?” And then you gave informed consent—letting them know you were watching, just not in the room.

There’s so much care in that process.

What is your hope for the future of nonfiction storytelling? What would be a dream scenario in terms of ethical and trauma-informed practices?

Heidi Burkey:
I hope we develop clear tools and practices that break down ethical storytelling across every phase of production.

A lot of people want to do better, but they don’t know how to put it into practice.

I’d love to see more education around this—in documentary conferences and at film festivals. I want viewers to become so aware of ethical practices that they can spot when something is off.

Right now, there’s a lot of unethical filmmaking happening on streaming platforms. Sensational topics—especially true crime—are often done in ways that I believe are harmful.

We need to raise viewer awareness so people start refusing to engage with content that’s unethical. That’s my dream. We’re not there yet, but that’s where I hope we’re heading.

When I approach storytelling, I always ask: Am I the right person to tell this story?

Just because I don’t share a lived experience doesn’t automatically exclude me—but it does mean I need to think carefully about who’s on my crew.

Who else can I bring in that understands the participant’s experience better than I do? Who can help create a safe and affirming space?

From camera operators to sound engineers to production assistants, I’m intentional about building crews that reflect the communities we’re filming.

If I’m filming people of color, my crew should also be primarily people of color.

Even those small decisions matter.

And beyond that, we need to train more people from the communities we’re filming in to tell their own stories.

Everyone has access to a camera now. But how do we truly teach the art of storytelling—and how to do it ethically? That’s the future I want to help build.

Maria Bryan:
I’m so inspired by the way you approach this work and build your teams.

I also hope we get to a point where audiences—whether they’re watching documentaries or nonprofit campaigns—say, “I’m not supporting this if it’s harmful.”

Thank you for everything you’re doing.

How can listeners connect with you and learn more about your work?

Heidi Burkey:
The best way to see my work and reach out is through my website: heidiburkey.com.

There’s a contact button there.

I’m also excited to share that a series I worked on called The Class is finishing up on PBS. Episode six comes out today, and I’m heading to the final screening in LA.

If you’re interested in working together or connecting, I’d love to hear from you.

Maria Bryan:
Great. Heidi, thank you so much. It’s been an honor to learn from you.

Heidi Burkey:
You’re welcome. Thank you for having me.