Documentaries and the fiction/nonfiction divide

ABSTRACT This paper rehearses a debate with Stacie Friend on the nature of the fiction/non-fiction divide. The paper first puts in a sharper focus the dividing issue, arguing that it is ontological in character. It focuses on how the distinction emerges in films, by contrasting fiction films with documentaries; Friend has also discussed films, even though the debate has mostly studied the literary case. The medium does not affect the main issues, but it raises interesting questions. After highlighting two important points of agreement with Friend, in contrast with some other proponents of a similar view on the present debate like Currie, the paper offers a normative account of the distinction, offering reasons to prefer it to Friend’s.