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Docufiction (or docu-fiction) is the cinematographic combination of documentary and
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
, this term often meaning
narrative film Narrative film, fictional film or fiction film is a motion picture that tells a fictional or fictionalized story, event or narrative. Commercial narrative films with running times of over an hour are often referred to as feature films, or feature ...
. It is a
film genre A film genre is a stylistic or thematic category for motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film. Drawing heavily from the theories of literary-genre cri ...
which attempts to capture reality such as it is (as direct cinema or
cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ; "truthful cinema") is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or high ...
) and which simultaneously introduces unreal elements or fictional situations in
narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...
in order to strengthen the representation of reality using some kind of artistic expression. More precisely, it is a documentary mixed with fictional elements, in real time, filmed when the events take place, and in which the main
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
or characters—often portrayed by non-professional or amateur actors—are essentially playing themselves, or slightly fictionalized versions of themselves, in a fictionalized scenario. In this sense, docufiction may overlap to an extent with some aspects of the
mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
format, but the terms are not synonymous. A film genre in expansion, it is adopted by a number of
experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...
filmmakers. The
neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
docufiction appeared at the beginning of the 21st century. It is now commonly used in several languages and widely accepted for classification by international film festivals.


Origins

The term involves a way of making films already practiced by such authors as
Robert Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, ''Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputatio ...
, one of the fathers of documentary, and
Jean Rouch Jean Rouch (; 31 May 1917 – 18 February 2004) was a French filmmaker and anthropologist. He is considered one of the founders of cinéma vérité in France. Rouch's practice as a filmmaker, for over 60 years in Africa, was characterized b ...
, later in the 20th century. Being both
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
and documentary, docufiction is a
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
genre, raising
ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
problemsOpen-ended Realities
– article by Luciana Lang a
Latineos
/ref> concerning
truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs ...
, since reality may be manipulated and confused with fiction (see
Ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
at
creative non-fiction Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contra ...
). In the domain of
visual anthropology Visual anthropology is a subfield of social anthropology that is concerned, in part, with the study and production of ethnographic photography, film and, since the mid-1990s, new media. More recently it has been used by historians of science an ...
, the innovating role of Jean Rouch allows one to consider him as the father of a subgenre called
ethnofiction Ethnofiction refers to a subfield of ethnography which produces works that introduces art, in the form of storytelling, "thick descriptions and conversational narratives", and even first-person autobiographical accounts, into peer-reviewed academi ...
. This term means:
ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
documentary film with natives who play fictional roles. Making them play a role about themselves will help portray reality, which will be reinforced with
imagery Imagery is visual symbolism, or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions, especially in a literary work, but also in other activities such as psychotherapy. Forms There are five major types of sensory ima ...
. A non-ethnographic documentary with fictional elements uses the same method and, for the same reasons, may be called docufiction.


Docudrama and mockumentary

In contrast,
docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...
is usually a dramatized recreation of factual events in form of a documentary, at a time subsequent to the "real" events it portrays. While ''docudrama'' can be confused with ''docufiction,'' "docudrama" refers specifically to film or other television recreations that dramatize certain events, often with actors. A
mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
is also a film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format, sometimes a recreation of factual events after they took place or a comment on
current events News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. New ...
, typically satirical, comedic or even dramatic. Whereas mockumentaries are usually fully scripted comedies or dramas that merely adopt some aspects of documentary format as a framing device, docufictions are usually not scripted, instead placing the participants in a fictionalized scenario while portraying their own genuine reactions and their own
improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
al dialogue and character development.


First docufictions by country

* 1926:
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
– '' Moana'' by
Robert Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, ''Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputatio ...
* 1930:
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
– '' Maria do Mar'' by Leitão de Barros * 1932:
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
– '' L'or des mers'' by
Jean Epstein Jean Epstein (; 25 March 1897 – 2 April 1953) was a French filmmaker, film theorist, literary critic, and novelist. Although he is remembered today primarily for his adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's ''The Fall of the House of Usher'', he directe ...
* 1948:
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
– '' La Terra Trema'' by
Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the fat ...
* 1952:
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
– ''
Children of Hiroshima is a 1952 Japanese drama film directed by Kaneto Shindō. It was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Takako Ishikawa (Nobuko Otowa) is a teacher on an island in the inland sea off the coast of post-war Hiroshima. During her summer ...
'' by
Kaneto Shindo was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and writer, who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include ''Children of Hiroshima'', ''The Naked Island'', '' Onibaba'', ''Kuroneko'' and ' ...
* 1963:
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
– ''
Pour la suite du monde ''Pour la suite du monde'' (also known as ''For Those Who Will Follow''; ''Of Whales, the Moon, and Men'', or ''The Moontrap'' in English) is a 1963 Canadian documentary film directed by Michel Brault, Marcel Carrière and Pierre Perrault. It wa ...
'' (''Of Whales, the Moon and Men'') by
Pierre Perrault Pierre Perrault (29 June 1927 – 24 June 1999) was a Québécois documentary film director. He directed 20 films between 1963 and 1996. He was one of the most important filmmakers in Canada, although largely unknown outside of Québec. In ...
and
Michel Brault Michel Brault, OQ (25 June 1928 – 21 September 2013) was a Canadian cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He was a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the National ...
* 1981:
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
– ''
Trances ''Trances'' is the second album by the American ambient musician Robert Rich. Like his first album '' Sunyata'', this album consists of slow, textural drone music Drone music, drone-based music, or simply drone, is a minimalist genre that ...
'' by Ahmed El Maânouni * 1988: Guiné-Bissau – '' Mortu Nega'' (Death denied) by
Flora Gomes Flora Gomes is a Bissau-Guinean film director. He was born in Cadique, Guinea-Bissau on 31 December 1949 and after high school in Cuba, he decided to study film at the Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográficos in Havana. Shot fou ...
* 1990:
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– ''
Close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long s ...
'' by
Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami ( fa, عباس کیارستمی ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of ...
* 1991:
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
– ''
Zombie and the Ghost Train ''Zombie and the Ghost Train'' ( fi, Zombie ja Kummitusjuna) is a 1991 Finnish film directed by Mika Kaurismäki. It focuses on Antti (aka Zombie), a loner who loves performing music but leads a miserable life otherwise. Cast * Silu Seppälä as ...
'' by
Mika Kaurismäki Mika Juhani Kaurismäki (; born 21 September 1955) is a Finnish film director. Biography Mika Kaurismäki is the elder brother of Aki Kaurismäki, and the father of Maria Kaurismäki, who graduated from Tampere School of Art and Media in 200 ...
* 2002:
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
– '' City of God'' by
Fernando Meirelles Fernando Ferreira Meirelles (; born 9 November 1955) is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for co-directing the film '' City of God'', released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in the U.S. by Miramax Films, which ...
and
Kátia Lund Kátia Lund (born March 13, 1966) is a Brazilian film director and screenwriter. Her most notable work was as co-director of the film '' City of God''. Early life Lund was born in São Paulo, to American parents who emigrated to Brazil before sh ...
* 2005:
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
– ''
Underexposure In photography, exposure is the amount of light per unit area (the image plane's illuminance times the exposure time) reaching a frame of photographic film or the surface of an electronic image sensor, as determined by shutter speed, lens ...
'' by
Oday Rasheed Oday Rasheed ( Arabic:عدي رشيد born June 17, 1973) is an Arab-American film director, screenwriter and producer born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq. Rasheed immigrated to New York City in 2012. He has been living and working in Los Angeles ...


Other notable examples

* 1927: '' Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness'' by
Merian C. Cooper Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker and Academy Award winner, as well as a former aviator who served as an officer in the United States Air Force and Polish Air Force. In film, he is credited a ...
and Ernest B. Schoedsack (US) * 1931: ''
Tabu Tabu may refer to: Cultural and legal concepts *Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society *Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...
'' by
Robert Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, ''Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputatio ...
and F.W. Murnau (US) * 1934: ''
Man of Aran ''Man of Aran'' is a 1934 Irish fictional documentary (ethnofiction) film shot, written and directed by Robert J. Flaherty about life on the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland. It portrays characters living in premodern conditions, ...
'' by Robert Flaherty (US) * 1942: '' Ala-Arriba!'' by Leitão de Barros (Portugal) * 1948: ''
Louisiana Story ''Louisiana Story'' is a 1948 American black-and-white drama film directed by Robert J. Flaherty. Although it has historically been represented as a documentary film, the events and characters depicted are fictional and the film was commissioned ...
'' by Robert Flaherty (US) * 1956: ''
On the Bowery ''On the Bowery'' is a 1956 American docufiction film directed by Lionel Rogosin. The film, Rogosin's first feature was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. After the Second World War, Lionel Rogosin made a vow to f ...
'' by
Lionel Rogosin Lionel Rogosin (January 22, 1924, New York City, New York – December 8, 2000, Los Angeles, California) was an independent American filmmaker. Rogosin worked in political cinema, non-fiction Partisan (political), partisan filmmaking and docufi ...
(US) * 1958: '' Walt Disney's White Wilderness by
James Algar James Algar (June 11, 1912 – February 26, 1998) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked at Walt Disney Productions for 43 years and received the Disney Legends award in 1998. He was born in Modesto, California ...
(US) * 1958: ''
Moi, un noir ''Moi, un noir'' (, "Me, a Black erson; also released as ''I, a Negro'') is a 1958 French ethnofiction film directed by Jean Rouch. The film is set in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Synopsis The film depicts young Nigerien immigrants who left their c ...
'' (Me, A Black Man) by
Jean Rouch Jean Rouch (; 31 May 1917 – 18 February 2004) was a French filmmaker and anthropologist. He is considered one of the founders of cinéma vérité in France. Rouch's practice as a filmmaker, for over 60 years in Africa, was characterized b ...
(France) * 1959 '' India Matri Bhumi'' (The Motherland) by
Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...
, released 2007 (Italy) * 1959: ''
Come Back, Africa ''Come Back, Africa'' is a 1959 film, the second feature-length film written, produced, and directed by American independent filmmaker Lionel Rogosin. The film had a profound effect on African cinema, and remains of great historical and cultur ...
'' by Lionel Rogosin (US) * 1961: '' La pyramide humaine'' by Jean Rouch (The Human Pyramid) (France) * 1962: '' Rite of Spring'' by
Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wo ...
(Portugal) * 1964: ''
Belarmino ''Belarmino'' is a 1964 Portuguese docufiction. It charts the life and times of ex-boxer Belarmino Fragoso. It is one of the first films of the Portuguese Cinema Novo, itself part of a wave of New Cinemas sweeping the world in the 1960s, and a ...
'' by Fernando Lopes (Portugal) * 1967: ''
David Holzman's Diary ''David Holzman's Diary'' is a 1967 American mockumentary, or work of metacinema, directed by James McBride and starring L. M. Kit Carson. A feature-length film made on a tiny budget over several days, it is a work of experimental fiction present ...
'' by
Jim McBride Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim' ...
(US) * 1970: '' The Clowns'' by
Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...
(Italy) * 1973: '' Trevico-Torino (viaggio nel Fiat-Nam)'' by
Ettore Scola Ettore Scola (; 10 May 1931 – 19 January 2016) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 for his film ''A Special Day'' and over the course of his film career was nominated for fiv ...
(Italy) * 1974: ''
Orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
(Les Ordres)'', by
Michel Brault Michel Brault, OQ (25 June 1928 – 21 September 2013) was a Canadian cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He was a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the National ...
(Canada) * 1974: ''
Montreal Main ''Montreal Main'' is a Canadian docufiction film, released in 1974. The film was directed by , and written by Vitale, Allan Moyle and Stephen Lack. The film centres on Frank (Vitale) and Bozo (Moyle), two friends of ambiguous sexuality living in ...
'', by
Frank Vitale Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...
(Canada) * 1976: '' People from Praia da Vieira'' by
António Campos António Campos (29 May 1922 – 8 March 1999) was one of the pioneer filmmakers of visual anthropology in Portugal. Mainly using pure documentary techniques, he shot ethnographic films and tried docufiction. As well as in fictional films, he u ...
(Portugal) * 1976: '' Trás-os-Montes'' (Portugal) * 1982: '' Ana'' by
António Reis António Ferreira Gonçalves dos Reis, known as António Reis (27 August 1927 – 10 September 1991), was a Portuguese film director, screenwriter and producer, poet, sculptor and ethnographer. He was married to Margarida Cordeiro, co-director ...
and Margarida Cordeiro (Portugal) * 1982: '' After the Axe'', by
Sturla Gunnarsson Sturla Gunnarsson (born August 30, 1951) is an Icelandic-Canadian film and television director and producer. Gunnarsson was born in Reykjavík in 1951. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, with his parents when he was seven years old. As he ...
(Canada) * 1984: '' The Masculine Mystique'' by
Giles Walker Giles Walker (January 17, 1946 - March 23, 2020) was a Scottish-born Canadian film director. Biography Giles Walker, born in 1946 in Dundee, Scotland, received a B.A. from the University of New Brunswick and an M.A. from Stanford University ...
and
John N. Smith John N. Smith OC (born July 31, 1943 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. Career Smith graduated with a B.A. in political science from McGill University in 1964. He joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1 ...
(Canada) * 1985: '' 90 Days'' by Giles Walker (Canada) * 1986: '' Sitting in Limbo'' by John N. Smith (Canada) * 1987: '' The Last Straw'' by Giles Walker (Canada) * 1987: '' Train of Dreams'' by John N. Smith (Canada) * 1989: ''
Welcome to Canada ''Welcome to Canada'' is a Canadian docufiction film directed by John N. Smith and released in 1989. Loosely based on a real-life incident, the film depicts the interactions of a small community in Newfoundland with a group of Sri Lankan Tamil ...
'' by John N. Smith (Canada) * 1990: '' The Company of Strangers'' by
Cynthia Scott Cynthia Scott (born January 1, 1939) is a Canadian award-winning filmmaker who has produced, directed, written, and edited several films with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Her works have won the Oscar and Canadian Film Award. Scott i ...
(Canada) * 1991: ''
And Life Goes On ''And Life Goes On'' ( fa, زندگی و دیگر هیچ ''Zendegi va digar hich''; also called ''Life, and Nothing More...'') is a 1992 Iranian film directed by Abbas Kiarostami. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1992 Cann ...
'' by
Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami ( fa, عباس کیارستمی ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of ...
(Iran) * 2000: ''
In Vanda's Room ''In Vanda's Room'' (Portuguese: ''No Quarto da Vanda'', 2000) is a docufiction (a subgenre of cinéma vérité) film by Portuguese director Pedro Costa. This is the second film in his Fontainhas trilogy. Overview The film follows the daily life ...
'' by
Pedro Costa Pedro Costa (born 30 December 1958) is a Portuguese film director. He is best known for his sequence of films set in Lisbon, which focuses on the lives of the impoverished residents of a slum in the Fontainhas neighbourhood. Biography After com ...
(Portugal) * 2002: '' Ten'' by
Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami ( fa, عباس کیارستمی ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of ...
(Iran) * 2006: ''
Colossal Youth ''Colossal Youth'' is the only studio album by Welsh post-punk band Young Marble Giants, released in February 1980 on Rough Trade Records. Young Marble Giants were offered the opportunity to record the album after Rough Trade heard just two son ...
'' by Pedro Costa (Portugal) * 2007: '' Criminals Gone Wild'' by Ousala Aleem (US) * 2008: ''
Our Beloved Month of August ''Our Beloved Month of August'' ( pt, Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto) is a 2008 Portuguese film directed by Miguel Gomes. Reception As of 31 October 2008, the film has grossed more than €89,000. It won the Critics Award at the 2008 São Paulo I ...
'' by Miguel Gomes (Portugal) * 2009: '' Carcasses'' by
Denis Côté Denis Côté (born November 16, 1973) is an independent filmmaker and producer living in Quebec, of Brayon origin. His experimental films have been shown at major film festivals around the world. Life and career Côté was born in Perth-Andover ...
(Canada)"A meditation on what it means to be marginal". ''
Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...
'', May 29, 2009.
* 2009: '' The Mouth of the Wolf'' by
Pietro Marcello Pietro Marcello (born 2 July 1976) is an Italian film director. He has directed more than eight documentary films since 2004. In 2015 he directed his first fiction film, '' Lost and Beautiful''. Several of his films have been presented at internat ...
(Italy) * 2013: ''
Closed Curtain ''Closed Curtain'' ( fa, پرده, italics=yes, ''Pardeh'') is a 2013 Iranian docufiction film by Jafar Panahi and Kambuzia Partovi. It premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 12, 2013 where Panahi won the Silver Bear f ...
'' by
Jafar Panahi Jafar Panâhi ( fa, جعفر پناهی, ; born 11 July 1960) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film editor, commonly associated with the Iranian New Wave film movement. After several years of making short films and working as an ass ...
and
Kambuzia Partovi Kambuzia Partovi (also spelt Kambozia Partovi, fa, کامبوزیا پرتوی; 11 November 1955 – 24 November 2020) was an Iranian film director and screenwriter. Biography He was born in Rasht, Iran, on the Caspian Sea. After studying theate ...
(Iran) * 2015: ''
Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
'' by
Jafar Panahi Jafar Panâhi ( fa, جعفر پناهی, ; born 11 July 1960) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film editor, commonly associated with the Iranian New Wave film movement. After several years of making short films and working as an ass ...
(Iran) * 2016: '' Tuktuq'' by
Robin Aubert Robin Aubert (born May 13, 1972) is a Canadian actor, screenwriter and film director.
(Canada) * 2018: ''
Mad Dog Labine ''Mad Dog Labine'' is a Canadian docufiction film, directed by Jonathan Beaulieu-Cyr and Renaud Lessard and released in 2018. Set in the rural Pontiac region of western Quebec, the film stars Ève-Marie Martin as Lindsay Labine, a young girl who ...
'' by Jonathan Beaulieu-Cyr and Renaud Lessard (Canada)"«Mad Dog Labine»: irrésistiblement «rough»"
''
Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...
'', April 6, 2019
* 2019: ''
Rolling Thunder Revue The Rolling Thunder Revue was a 1975–1976 concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan with numerous musicians and collaborators. The purpose of the tour was to allow Dylan, who had now become a major recording artist and concert perfor ...
'' by
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
(US)


See also

*
Cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ; "truthful cinema") is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or high ...
*
Docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...
– a dramatized documentary *
Ethnofiction Ethnofiction refers to a subfield of ethnography which produces works that introduces art, in the form of storytelling, "thick descriptions and conversational narratives", and even first-person autobiographical accounts, into peer-reviewed academi ...
*
Mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
– a parodical or humoristic fictional documentary *
Pseudo-documentary A pseudo-documentary or fake documentary is a film or video production that takes the form or style of a documentary film but does not portray real events. Rather, scripted and fictional elements are used to tell the story. The pseudo-documentary, ...
– a fake documentary, often presented as real *
Scripted reality Scripted reality (sometimes also euphemized as structured reality or constructed reality) in television and entertainment is a subgenre of reality television with some or all of the contents being scripted or pre-arranged by the production company. ...
– a subgenre of
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
, in which parts of the contents are fictional and scripted *
Visual anthropology Visual anthropology is a subfield of social anthropology that is concerned, in part, with the study and production of ethnographic photography, film and, since the mid-1990s, new media. More recently it has been used by historians of science an ...


References


Sources and bibliography

THESES online *
Docufiction in the Digital Age
– thesis by Tay Huizhen, National University of Singapore *
The Zulu Mask: The Role of Creative Imagination in Documentary Film
– thesis by Clifford Derrick, Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg *
Docudrama: the real (his)tory
thesis by Çiçek Coşkun (New York University School of Education) *
Issues in contemporary documentary
by
Jane Chapman Jane Chapman is a British academic, professor of communications at the University of Lincoln, a research associate and a former fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge and the Centre of South Asian Studies, Cambridge. She is the author of twelve bo ...
at Google Books (pages 1 to 34) ARTICLES and ESSAYS *
Shaping the Real: Directorial imagination and the visualisation of evidence in the hybrid documentary
– article b

a

Media Department at
Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...
, Sydney *
Docufiction: Where Art and Life Merge and Diverge
Article by Julie Drizin a
Makers Quest 2.0
*
New Media Documentary
– Paper by Gunthar Hartwig *
Docudrama: the real (his)tory
*
Panel: At The Edge of Truth: Hybrid Documentaries
a
Vox Talk
magazine *
The dual phase oscillation hypothesis and the neuropsychology of docu-fiction film
– article b
Dyutiman Mukhopadhyay
Consciousness, Literature and the Arts, vol. 16, no. 1, April 2015 *
A creative treatment of actuality
– paper b
Peter Biesterfeld
a
Videomaker
August 7, 2015 *
The art paradox
– article b
Bert Oliver
a
Thought Leader
September 17, 2012 ---- *

– thesis by François Garçon (abstract in English and French) *

– interview (Le Journal du CNRS) *
Peter Watkins, un cinéaste maudit
article at Critikat ---- *
Un genere cinematografico: la docu-fiction. Il caso di 150 ore a Pavia
by Laura Marchesi (thesis – abstract) CITATIONS * * * {{Film genres Neologisms Film genres Cinematic techniques Drama genres Documentary film genres Fiction by genre Fiction forms Television genres