Docufiction (or docu-fiction) is the cinematographic combination of documentary and fiction, this term often meaning narrative film. It is a film genre[1] 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.[2]
More precisely, it is a documentary mixed with fictional elements,[3] 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.[citation needed]
The neologism docufiction[4] 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.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
- ^ An Introduction to Genre Theory Archived November 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine by Daniel Chandler at Aberystwyth University
- ^ A creative treatment of actuality – article by Peter Biesterfeld at Videomaker, 08/07/2015
- ^ 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 Tesionline, 2005/06
- ^ What is docufiction? – See Section II, pages 37 to 75 (four chapters) Archived September 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine of the thesis by Prof. Theo Mäusli
- ^ Indie Matra Bhumi (The Motherland) – Cannes Film Festival
- ^ Ablel Ferrara’s docufiction Archived January 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine – Venice Film Festival
- ^ The Savage Eye: White Docu-Fiction & Black Reality Archived September 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at Tribeca Film Festival
- ^ Brian De Palma's On His Iraq Docu-Fiction Comeback at The Huffington Post – Toronto International Film Festival and Venice Film Festival
- ^ Darius Mehrjui’s film Diamond 33 – Venice Film Festival
- ^ New Film Events – London Short Film Festival
- ^ Oscilloscope 'Howl' for Off Beat Docu-Fiction Sundance Selection Archived December 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at Ion Cinema
- ^ Docufiction Archived 2011-09-01 at the Wayback Machine at several film festivals
- ^ See: Hybrids (fiction/nonfiction films) at External links