Docufiction

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Film genre

title: "Docufiction" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["neologisms", "film-genres", "cinematic-techniques", "drama-genres", "documentary-film-genres", "docufiction-films", "fiction-by-genre", "fiction-forms", "television-genres"] description: "Film genre" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docufiction" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Film genre ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Moana_tatoo.jpg" caption="Moana]]'', by [[Robert J. Flaherty]], an early example of docufiction (1926)"] ::

Docufiction (or docu-fiction) is the cinematographic combination of documentary and fiction, this term often meaning narrative film. It is a film genre which attempts to capture reality such as it is (as direct cinema or cinéma vérité) and which simultaneously introduces unreal elements or fictional situations in narrative 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 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 format, but the terms are not synonymous.

A film genre in expansion, it is adopted by a number of experimental filmmakers.

The neologism 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.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Portrait_of_Robert_J._Flaherty.jpg" caption="[[Robert J. Flaherty"] ::

Origins

The term involves a way of making films already practiced by such authors as Robert J. Flaherty, one of the fathers of documentary, and Jean Rouch, later in the 20th century.

Being both fiction and documentary, docufiction is a hybrid genre, raising ethical problems concerning truth, since reality may be manipulated and confused with fiction (see Ethics at creative non-fiction).

In the domain of visual anthropology, the innovating role of Jean Rouch allows one to consider him as the father of a subgenre called ethnofiction. This term means: ethnographic 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. 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 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 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, 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 improvisational dialogue and character development.

First docufictions by country

Other notable examples

References

Sources and bibliography

THESES online

ARTICLES and ESSAYS

CITATIONS

References

  1. [http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/intgenre7.html An Introduction to Genre Theory] {{webarchive. link. (November 18, 2011 by [[Daniel Chandler]] at [http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/ Aberystwyth University])
  2. [https://www.videomaker.com/article/c06/18290-a-creative-treatment-of-actuality A creative treatment of actuality] – article by Peter Biesterfeld at [https://www.videomaker.com/ Videomaker], 08/07/2015
  3. [http://www.tesionline.it/default/tesi.asp?idt=18073 Il difficile rapporto tra fiction e non fiction che si concretizza nella docu-fiction] (The difficult relationship between fiction and non-fiction patent in docufiction) – thesis in Italian by Laura Marchesi, Faculty of Communication Sciences (Università degli Studi di Pavia) at [http://www.tesionline.it/default/index.asp Tesionline], 2005/06
  4. What is docufiction? – See [http://www.bul.unisi.ch/cerca/bul/memorie/com/pdf/9900Candeloro.pdf Section II, pages 37 to 75 (four chapters)] {{webarchive. link. (September 11, 2011 of the thesis by Prof. Theo Mäusli)
  5. [[Indie Matra Bhumi]] ([http://cine-file.info/ccf/india.html The Motherland)] – [[Cannes Film Festival]]
  6. link. (January 19, 2012 – [[Venice Film Festival]])
  7. {{usurped
  8. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/09/11/brian-de-palmas-on-his-ir_n_63981.html Brian De Palma's On His Iraq Docu-Fiction Comeback] at [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ The Huffington Post] – [[Toronto International Film Festival]] and Venice Film Festival
  9. [[Dariush Mehrjui. Darius Mehrjui’s film Diamond 33]] – [[Venice Film Festival]]
  10. [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/jan/01/this-weeks-new-film-events New Film Events] – [[London Short Film Festival]]
  11. [http://www.ioncinema.com/news/id/5095/oscilloscope-howl-for-off-beat-docu-fiction-sundance-selection Oscilloscope 'Howl' for Off Beat Docu-Fiction Sundance Selection] {{webarchive. link. (December 27, 2011 at [http://www.ioncinema.com/ Ion Cinema])
  12. [http://www.vivacinema.it/s/docu-fiction/ Docufiction] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-09-01 at several film festivals)
  13. See: Hybrids (fiction/nonfiction films) at External links
  14. [https://web.archive.org/web/20011122000707/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/Huffman/Frontier/define.html Definition of documentary – New Frontiers in American documentary] (American Studies at The University of Virginia)
  15. [http://www.transartinstitute.org/Example_Papers.html The Impulse of Documentary-Fiction] {{webarchive. link. (March 19, 2012 – Paper at [http://www.transartinstitute.org/About.html Transart Institute] {{webarchive). link. (2011-08-31)
  16. [http://www.avila.edu/journal/fall03/StonePaper.htm (NON)FICTION AND THE VIEWER: RE-INTERPRETING THE DOCUMENTARY FILM] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-03-25 – Paper by Tammy Stone, [http://www.avila.edu/ Avila University])
  17. See [http://www.bul.unisi.ch/cerca/bul/memorie/com/pdf/9900Candeloro.pdf hybrid genre] {{webarchive. link. (September 11, 2011 – page 50, thesis on docufiction by Prof. Theo Mäusli)
  18. [http://latineos.com/en/articles/popular-culture/item/84-open-ended-realities.html Open-ended Realities] – article by Luciana Lang at [http://latineos.com/ Latineos]
  19. [http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/french_forum/v035/35.2-3.loftus.pdf The appeal of hybrid documentary forms in West Africa] at [http://muse.jhu.edu/ Project Muse]
  20. [https://archive.today/20120707064104/http://centerforsocialmedia.wikispaces.com/message/view/Ethical+Practices/90224 Ethics and Documentary Filmmaking] – Article by [[Marty Lucas]] at [https://archive.today/20120711010041/http://futureofpublicmedia.wikispaces.com/home Center for Social Media] (American University in Washington, D.C.)
  21. [http://www.communication.usf.edu/faculty/butchart/ethics-documentary.pdf On Ethics and Documentary: A Real and Actual Truth] – Article by [[Garnet C. Butchart]] at Cultural Studies Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, published [http://www.communication.usf.edu University of South Florida]
  22. [http://www.documentary.org/content/what-do-about-documentary-distortion-toward-code-ethics-0 What to Do About Documentary Distortion? Toward a Code of Ethics] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-03-23 – Article by [[Bill Nichols (film critic)). Bill Nichols]] at [http://www.documentary.org/ Documentary.org]
  23. [https://utdallas.academia.edu/ArdavonNaimi/Papers/844614/Documentary_Film_Prompts-Ethics_in_Documentary_Fiction_vs._Documentary Documentary Film Prompts-Ethics in Documentary/Fiction vs. Documentary] – Paper by [[Ardavon Naimi]] at [https://utdallas.academia.edu University of Texas at Dallas]
  24. [http://www.uniteforsight.org/global-health-university/filmmaking Ethics and Filmmaking in Developing Countries] {{Webarchive. link. (2021-05-13 at [http://www.uniteforsight.org/ Unite For Sight])
  25. [http://www.rouge.com.au/3/rouch_valediction.html Jean Rouch 1917-2004, A Valediction] – Article by [[Michael Eaton]] at [http://www.rouge.com.au/ Rouge]
  26. [http://www.maitres-fous.net/glossary.html Glossary] at MAITRES_FOUS.NET
  27. Jean Rouch and the Genesis of Ethnofiction, thesis by Brian Quist, Long Island University
  28. "Ethnofiction: drama as a creative research practice in ethnographic film." Journal of Media Practice 9, no. 3(2008), eScholarID:1b5648, article by Johannes Sjöberg
  29. See [http://www.sadibey.com/dosyalar/Gerekli_Seyler/Documentary_Genres.doc Docudrama: the real (his)tory Confusion of genres] – Page 2 on the thesis by Çiçek Coşkun (New York University School of Education)
  30. A television programme or film which takes the form of a serious documentary in order to satirize its subject. – definition at The Free Dictionary and Dictionary.com
  31. [http://www.indiewire.com/article/why-the-first-docufiction-in-history-deserves-a-new-life-20140703 Why 'Moana,' the First Docufiction in History, Deserves a New Life] – article by Laya Maheshwari at Indiewire, July 3, 2014
  32. Note, however, that Flaherty's earlier film, [[Nanook of the North]] from 1922, incorporates many docufiction elements, including the "casting" of locals into fictitious "roles" and family relationships, as well as anachronistic hunting scenes
  33. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021125/ Maria do Mar] at IMdb
  34. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203759/ L'Or des mers at IMdb]
  35. [https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D0CE6D6113CF937A35753C1A967958260 Zombie and the Ghost Train (1991)Review/Film Festival; How a Zombie Became One With Alcohol and Self-Pity]
  36. [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/17/movies/film-review-boys-soldiering-in-an-army-of-crime.html Boys Soldiering in an Army of Crime] – article by [https://www.nytimes.com/by/stephen-holden?action=click&contentCollection=Movies&module=Byline&region=Header&pgtype=article Stephen Holden], NY Times, January 17, 2003
  37. [http://www.indiewire.com/2013/11/how-the-arab-spring-changed-the-arab-screen-and-why-you-need-to-start-paying-attention-33276/ How the Arab Spring Changed the Arab Screen and Why You Need to Start Paying Attention] – review by [http://www.indiewire.com/author/ronan-doyle/ Ronan Doyle], November 5, 2013
  38. [https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2011-jun-23-la-fg-iraq-movie-20110623-story.html Trying to find beauty in the darkness of Iraq] review by Salar Jaff and Ned Parker at Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2011
  39. (July 21, 2019). "What's past is prologue". Bangkok Post.
  40. (20 July 2013). "Tabu". The Guardian.
  41. (3 August 2016). "Robert J. Flaherty, Who Blurred the Line Between Nonfiction and Fiction in Film". NY Times.
  42. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034439/ Ala-Arriba!] at [https://www.imdb.com/ IMDb]
  43. Crowther, Bosley. (1948-09-29). "' Luisiana Story,' a Flaherty Film About a Boy in the Bayou Country, at the Sutton". NY Times.
  44. [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/movies/homevideo/lionel-rogosins-on-the-bowery-on-blu-ray.html Out of the Bowery’s Shadows (Then Back In)] – article by [https://www.nytimes.com/by/dave-kehr?action=click&contentCollection=DVD&module=Byline&region=Header&pgtype=article Dave Kehr], February 24, 2012
  45. link. (2018-04-27 at the Chicago Reader, February 16, 2012)
  46. (2008-11-26). "Cruel Camera, FAKERY in Wildlife Documentaries".
  47. [https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-434412736/the-film-is-the-search-j-hoberman-on-jean-rouch-s The Film Is the Search: J. Hoberman on Jean Rouch's Moi, Un Noir] {{Webarchive. link. (2018-04-28 – article by J. Hoberman, Artforum International, November 2015)
  48. (2007-08-29). "Chicago Cinema Forum". Cine-file.info.
  49. [http://filmjourney.weblogger.com/2007/03/18/india-matri-bhumi-1958/ India: Matri Bhumi] {{webarchive. link. (September 5, 2008 – Article by [[Doug Cummings]] at [http://filmjourney.weblogger.com Filmjourney] {{Webarchive). link. (2015-10-29 (March 18th, 2007))
  50. [https://archive.today/20130126095101/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/digitally-cleaned-india-matri-bhumi-screened-at-vienna-film-festival/196651-8.html Digitally cleaned 'India, Matri Bhumi' screened at Vienna film festival] – Article at IBN Live
  51. Christopher, Rob. (2007-08-29). "Q: What Do You Call a Movie That's Getting Its Chicago Premiere 48 Years After Being Made?". Chicagoist.
  52. (2014). "Come Back, Africa: The Films of Lionel Rogosin, Volume II (Review)". The Moving Image.
  53. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196879/ The Human Pyramid] at IMdb.
  54. See [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056811 Acto da Primavera]
  55. [https://letterboxd.com/film/belarmino/ Belarmino] – reference note at [https://letterboxd.com/ Letterbox]
  56. [https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/david-holzmans-diary David Holzman's Diary] – review by [https://www.slantmagazine.com/author/49 Jaime N. Christley] at [https://www.slantmagazine.com/ Slant Magazine], June 13, 2011
  57. [http://the-artifice.com/i-clowns-fellini-mockumentary/ I clowns: Fellini's Mockumentary] – article at [http://the-artifice.com/ The Artifice]
  58. [http://louderthanwar.com/i-clowns-1970-dir-by-federico-fellini-film-review/ Revue] by Jamie Havlin at [http://louderthanwar.com/ Louder than War]
  59. [http://monstermoviemusic.blogspot.pt/2015/09/i-clowns-federico-fellini-1970.html Frames from scenes] at [http://monstermoviemusic.blogspot.pt/ MMM]
  60. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144647/ Trevico-Torino (viaggio nel Fiat-Nam] at IMdb
  61. [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/despite-success-of-les-ordres-filmmaker-michel-brault-preferred-fact-to-fiction/article17957257/ Despite success of Les Ordres, filmmaker Michel Brault preferred fact to fiction] – article by [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/robert-everett-green/ Robert Everett-Green] at [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ The Globe and Mail], April 14, 2017
  62. [https://www.donshewey.com/arts_articles/montreal-main-rubber-gun.html Lives more interesting than movies] – article by [https://www.donshewey.com/ Don Shewey], Soho News, June 18, 1980
  63. [http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2012aprjun/reis.html#tras Trás-os-Montes] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-10-02 at [http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/ Harvard Film Archive] {{Webarchive). link. (2012-12-31 by [[António Reis]] and [[Margarida Cordeiro]])
  64. [http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2012-07-06/films-and-legacy-antonio-reis-and-margarida-cordeiro António Reis and Margarida Cordeiro] at [[UCLA]]
  65. link. (2014-07-12 – Review by [[Aaron Cutler]] at The L Magazine)
  66. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083525/ After the Axe] at [[IMDb]]
  67. [https://www.nfb.ca/film/after_axe/ After the Axe] – reference note with film online by Sturla Gunnarsson, [[National Film Board of Canada]]
  68. [https://www.nfb.ca/film/masculine_mystique/ The Masculine Mystique] - reference note with film online by [https://www.nfb.ca/directors/john-n-smith/ John N. Smith] and [https://www.nfb.ca/directors/giles-walker/ Giles Walker], [[National Film Board of Canada]]
  69. [https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/05/movies/screen-90-days-canadian-comedy.html Screen: '90 Days,' Canadian comedy] – review by [https://www.nytimes.com/by/janet-maslin?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=Byline&region=Header&pgtype=article Janet Maslin], NY Times, 1986
  70. [http://www.reelcanada.ca/film/sitting-in-limbo/ Sitting in Limbo] – reference note with film at [http://www.reelcanada.ca/about-us/ Reel Canada]
  71. [https://www.straight.com/news/gwynne-dyer-shortage-sperm Gwynne Dyer: A shortage of sperm] – commentary by [https://www.straight.com/user/215 Gwynne Dyer], December 2012
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neologismsfilm-genrescinematic-techniquesdrama-genresdocumentary-film-genresdocufiction-filmsfiction-by-genrefiction-formstelevision-genres