The article deals with a brief analysis of film portrait’s evolution in the context of non-fiction as a cinema art. An important role in the process of defining the film portrait was played by archive reports and Flaherty films, which are considered to be the first films portrait. During the film industry development, the means and techniques have been continuously improving. On the other hand, the image of the man on the screen is getting a much more complex and significant form. An innovative attitude and vision towards the film portrait’s production about famous painters was shown by the film directors Luciano Emmer, Alain Resnais, Henri-Georges Clouzot. Regarding the Moldovan art industry, the film portrait has developed both technically and at the contents' level, starting with short and uninspired arrangements which were loyal to the soviet regime up to expressive cinema portraits of famous personalities.