In this remarkable tour de force through fiction and documentary film making, Toni de Bromhead challenges the traditional distinction between documentary and fiction, claiming that perceiving the distinction as an opposition between reality and fantasy no longer seems useful. Looking at the style and purpose of a large number of documentary films from various sub-genres, she argues that in terms of narrative, experience for the spectator, moral implications, and film reading, the documentary genre may provide the viewer with just as much filmic satisfaction-- if not filmic pleasure -- as many fiction films do."

Author Biography

Toni de Bromhead has studied Social Anthropology at the LSE, film studies in Paris (Nanterre), documentary filmmaking at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in the UK, and is currently doing a PhD in anthropology with London University. She taught documentary filmmaking at the NFTS for a number of years with Herb de Gioia and has also taught filmmaking at Studio Arts Centre International (SACI) in Florence. She has published numerous articles on visual anthropology and documentary films. She also works as a freelance filmmaker in France, Italy and the UK.