There is a general perception amongst audiences of the documentary film being a truthful retelling of reality. The filmmaker is seen as a lens through which reality is captured in the way it presents itself to the filmmaker. Requirements and expectations are often debated within the documentary genre and the audience plays an important role in the debates. To understand how an average audience perceives the documentary genre a study of trainee teachers was undertaken in the form of a focus group with four participants. A discussion about what makes a documentary film credible or not as well as discussions about transparency and the filmmakers’ obligations towards the audience were the focal points of the focus group. The future teachers are an audience with a need to discuss this medium they might use for educational purposes later in their career. They are an audience with reflections on the subject without being too informed about the manner in which documentary films are produced. The result is a discussion about what audiences feel they can expect of a filmmaker and how much of their expectations they are willing to give up for the entertaining value of a documentary. The audiences perceive documentary films as a window into reality but are aware of their subjectivity. They expect to be told the truth, but they also see a need for creative freedom.