The American Psychological Association publication manual is used for work in the social science, education and nursing fields. When writing such a research paper, you can use a documentary as a resource, just like a book or journal article. It is important to properly cite the documentary in your text and then again on the References page.
In-Text Citation
Citing a documentary in the body of your paper is similar to citing a print or online resource. The main difference is that instead of an author, you are attributing a film to the producer(s) and director(s) along with the year.
For example: The documentary film by Smith & Doe (2002) supports this claim. or The documentary film supports this claim (Smith & Doe, 2002).
References Page
Citing a documentary film on your reference page, you will begin with the producer's and director's names, then state the year, the title of the documentary, where it was created, and the studio or distributor. The title is italicized.
For example: Smith, B., & Doe, J. (2002). Documentary movie. United States: Example Studios.