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List of mockumentaries
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This is a list of mockumentaries. Mockumentary or mock documentary is a genre of film and television, a parody presented as a documentary recording real life.
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More information Name, Year ...
Name | Year | Description |
---|---|---|
The 1 Up Fever | 2013 | Mockumentary about Bitcoin and augmented reality video games. |
2gether | 2000 | Spoof of boy bands like N*Sync and The Backstreet Boys. |
7 Days in Hell | 2015 | A fictional documentary-style exposé on the rivalry between two of the greatest tennis players of all time who battled it out in a 2001 match that lasted seven days. |
ABBA: The Movie | 1977 | Mockumentary comedy-drama film about the Swedish pop group ABBA's Australian tour. |
AIC 23 | 2013 | Mockumentary about Film Studies professor Alan Poole McLard on his journey to make a documentary about Alice in Chains interviewing other musicians who have been influenced by the band. |
All You Need Is Cash | 1978 | An updated version was released in 2002. A parody of music documentaries using a fictional counterpart of The Beatles. |
The Atomic Cafe | 1982 | A black humor satire about the threat of nuclear war using only a broad range of archival material from the 1940s to 1960s. |
Auditions | 1978 | Mockumentary about the porn industry. |
BabaKiueria | 1986 | An Australian film on the reversed relations between Aboriginal Australians and European Australians. |
The Baby Formula | 2009 | About a couple of two lesbian women who both get pregnant through an experimental stem cell procedure. |
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon | 2005 | A film crew follows around a serial killer in training. |
Believe | 2007 | The story of multi-level marketing and a failed pyramid scheme. |
Best in Show | 2000 | About the contestants at a national dog show;[1] one of several mockumentaries written and directed by Christopher Guest. |
The Big Tease | 1999 | A Scottish hairdresser's journey to the U.S. for a hairdressing competition, filmed with mockumentary elements. |
Bob Roberts | 1992 | Tim Robbins satiric film about a right-wing folk singer's crooked election campaign.[1] |
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan | 2006 | Sacha Baron Cohen's outrageous depiction of an over-the-top Kazakh journalist's journey through the United States. |
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm | 2020 | The sequel to Borat, which depicts the title character's second journey to the USA, with an attempt to arrange a marriage between his daughter and a senior member of the GOP. |
The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down | 2006 | A fictional guide to teach inexperienced youth about all things involved with "getting down", while also pointing out some of the pitfalls associated with the party lifestyle. |
Brothers of the Head | 2005 | The story of two conjoined twins (played by real-life twin actors Harry and Luke Treadaway) who form a punk rock band. |
Brüno | 2009 | About Sacha Baron Cohen's gay Austrian fashion journalist in a journey through the United States. |
Burn Hollywood Burn | 1998 | About a movie director who prevents severe editing of his latest film by stealing it. |
The Calcium Kid | 2004 | Boxing documentary charting the unexpected rise to fame of a milkman who is an amateur boxer. |
The Canadian Conspiracy | 1985 | About a supposed Canadian plan to subvert the United States by taking over its media. |
CB4 | 1993 | "Rapumentary" starring Chris Rock about the story of a fictional group loosely based on N.W.A and 2 Live Crew. |
Chalk | 2007 | The experience of three teachers and one assistant principal over the course of an entire school year. |
The Clowns | 1970 | Federico Fellini's larger-than-life portrait of the art of clownery. |
Comic Book: The Movie | 2004 | Direct-to-DVD release about a comic book fanboy dealing with the unfaithful film adaptation of his favorite character, set to the backdrop of the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con. |
Confessions of a Porn Addict | 2008 | About a man's quest to get his wife back after she left him for being addicted to porn. |
Confetti | 2006 | British mockumentary about a fashion magazine wedding competition. |
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America | 2004 | An alternate history take in which the Confederate States of America won the American Civil War. |
Dark Side of the Moon | 2002 | A French mockumentary portraying the Moon landing as staged in a movie lot by Stanley Kubrick. |
David Holzman's Diary | 1967 | A false autobiography by Jim McBride, which interrogates the art of documentary-making. |
A Day Without a Mexican | 2004 | A fantasy satire in which all Mexicans in California suddenly disappear. |
Death of a President | 2006 | A depiction of an assassination of then-President George W. Bush. |
Death to 2020 | 2020 | British mockumentary by Black Mirror creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones which features a series of fictional characters discussing US and UK events of 2020 including the COVID-19 pandemic and US presidential election. |
The Delicate Art of Parking | 2003 | Canadian mockumentary about parking enforcement officers. |
Dill Scallion | 1999 | About the rise and fall of a country-western singer, much in the way of This Is Spinal Tap. |
Dismissed | 2024 | Romanian mockumentary about a freelance journalist who investigates a mysterious AI corporation after a fire claims the life of its star employee. |
District 9 | 2009 | Includes elements of mockumentary in depicting the struggles of an alien species living in immigrant camps in Johannesburg. |
Drop Dead Gorgeous | 1999 | A camera crew follows a beauty pageant contestants in a small town in Minnesota. |
Dva kapitana II [ru] | 1992 | Russian mockumentary about the events of the early 20th century. |
Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo | 2008 | Les Claypool plays the role of drummer-singer Lapland "Lapdog" Miclovik of rising jam-band Electric Apricot, heading to the holy grail of festivals, Festeroo. |
Everybody Dies by the End | 2022 | A film crew follows a cult director for the creation of his final picture. |
The Falls | 1980 | By Peter Greenaway, documenting the cases of 92 victims of the fictional VUE (violent unknown event). |
Farce of the Penguins | 2007 | Direct-to-video parody of March of the Penguins. |
Fear of a Black Hat | 1994 | The story of the fictional rap group Niggaz with Hats (N.W.H.), as it evolves alongside the genre, from its popular origins to the advent of gangsta rap. |
Fellowship of the Dice | 2005 | Story of a first time gamer's introduction to the role-playing game world. |
Finishing the Game | 2007 | Depicting the search for "a new Bruce Lee" to finish The Game of Death. |
First on the Moon | 2005 | Russian mockumentary about a fictional 1930s Soviet landing on the Moon. |
The Flying Scissors | 2009 | Following a handful of individuals preparing for a rock-paper-scissors competition. |
Forgotten Silver | 1995 | Peter Jackson's fictional documentary about a "forgotten" New Zealand pioneer filmmaker. |
FUBAR | 2002 | About two members of the head-banger subculture (with a sequel in 2010). |
Fudge 44 | 2005 | An Irish mockumentary about six puppets in a financially impoverished children's puppet theater in Tokyo, who locals believe came to life and robbed a nearby bank to avoid being put out of business. |
G-SALE | 2003 | Mockumentary about garage sale fanatics. |
Gamers: The Movie | 2006 | About players trying to set a record playing a Dungeons & Dragons-like game. |
Get Ready to be Boyzvoiced | 2000 | Following fictional Norwegian boy band Boyzvoice. |
Hard Core Logo | 1996 | The final tour of an aged punk band, as a model for the death of "true" punk rock. |
The Heavenly Kings | 2006 | Follows the fictional Cantopop boy band Alive, fronted by Daniel Wu, who also directed the film. |
A Hole in My Heart | 2004 | About a man who films a porn in his apartment with the help of a friend and an attention-seeking starlet. |
Houston, We Have a Problem! (film) | 2016 | About the Yugoslavia space program sold to the USA. |
I'm Still Here | 2010 | Satirical film revolving around the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix as he announces his retirement from acting in favor of a career as a hip-hop artist. |
Incident at Loch Ness | 2004 | About a filmmaker (Werner Herzog) attempting to make a documentary about the mythological Loch Ness Monster. |
Interview with the Assassin | 2002 | About a cameraman who obtains the confession of the actual assassin who shot John F. Kennedy. |
It's All Gone Pete Tong | 2004 | Comedy following the tragic life of legendary DJ Frankie Wilde, from his peak to his battle with a hearing disorder. |
I, Tonya | 2017 | Black comedy focusing on the life and career of figure skater Tonya Harding and the assault on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan. |
Jackie's Back | 1999 | Comedy chronicle of the life and career of Jackie Washington (Jenifer Lewis), a 1960s/1970s R&B diva vying for a comeback. |
Kenny | 2006 | The life of a portable toilet installer in Melbourne, Australia. |
Killing Gunther | 2017 | About a group of assassins banding together to kill the world's greatest hitman, Gunther (Arnold Schwarzenegger). |
The Last Polka | 1985 | John Candy and Eugene Levy mockumentary about the last concert of the Shmenge Brothers, characters developed on Second City Television. |
LolliLove | 2004 | A story about a husband and wife team (James Gunn and Jenna Fischer) who form a self-serving charity to give lollipops to the homeless. |
The Making of '...And God Spoke' | 1994 | A mockumentary about the filming of a low budget film on the Bible. |
Man Bites Dog | 1992 | Belgian black comedy in which a film crew follows a serial killer documenting his crimes. |
Man of the Year | 1995 | A satirical look directed by former Playgirl Man of the Year Dirk Shafer, about his reign as a closeted gay man. |
Mascots | 2016 | Netflix film about the competition for the World Mascot Association's Gold Fluffy Award. |
The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human | 1999 | A film that satirizes human relationships, dating, and sex. |
Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful | 1992 | "Behind the scenes" exposé of fictional pop singer Medusa on her "Blonde Leading the Blonde" concert tour. |
A Mighty Wind | 2003 | The story of three folk singer groups who reunite for a tribute concert; one of several mockumentaries by Christopher Guest. |
Mike Bassett: England Manager | 2001 | The fortunes of a lackluster England football manager in the World Cup. |
Mister America | 2019 | Tim Heidecker plays a fictionalized version of himself running for district attorney to unseat the incumbent who tried to imprison him. |
Morris: A Life with Bells On | 2009 | British spoof documentary about morris dancing. |
The Mother of Invention | 2009 | Comedy following a failed inventor competing against his rival for an annual young inventor's award. |
Mutant Swinger from Mars | 2009 | A long-lost 1950s sci-fi film (spoof) that opens with a mockumentary about the film and its director. |
Never Been Thawed | 2005 | About people who collect frozen TV dinners. |
The Old Negro Space Program | 2004 | Short subject in the style of a Ken Burns film depicting the fictional "Negro American Space Society of Astronauts" (NASSA). |
The Nona Tapes | 1995 | Mock short documentary about the band Alice in Chains. |
On the Ropes | 2011 | About a rivalry between a boxing gym and martial arts school. |
Once they had been Stars | 2020 | Mock documentary directed by Malte Wirtz about two wannabe YouTube stars. |
Paranormal Entity | 2009 | About a widowed family that are believed to be haunted by a demon. |
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping | 2016 | Follows Conner4Real (Andy Samberg), a parody of Justin Bieber in the style of a concert documentary. |
Punishment Park | 1971 | A pseudo-documentary purporting to be news coverage of soldiers escorting a group of anti-establishment citizens across the desert as punishment. |
Real Life | 1979 | Mock documentary directed by Albert Brooks about a year in the life of an average American family, spoofing PBS-style documentaries. |
Reboot Camp | 2020 | A mockumentary by Ivo Raza about a fake self-help group full of Hollywood celebrities that turns into a cult. |
Shooting Bokkie | 2003 | About a South African film crew creating a documentary on a 13-year-old assassin (a bokkie). |
Savageland | 2015 | A horror mockumentary about a mysterious massacre in a small town in Arizona. |
Sons of Provo | 2004 | Musical mockumentary about a Mormon boy-band and its rise to local fame in Utah. |
State of Bacon | 2013 | About all things bacon, including the world's largest festival dedicated to it. |
Steamin' and Dreamin': The Grandmaster Cash Story | 2009 | Comedy that follows the exploits of Cork hip-hop artist Grandmaster Cash. |
Surf's Up | 2007 | Animated mockumentary that follows the progress of a surfer penguin as he enters a surfing competition. |
Sweet and Lowdown | 1999 | By Woody Allen, includes elements of mockumentary depicting the life of a fictional jazz guitarist from the 1930s. |
Take the Money and Run | 1969 | The second film ever directed by Woody Allen, in which Allen plays an ambitious but clumsy burglar.[1] |
Tanner '88 | 1988 | The campaign of fictional former Michigan U.S. representative Jack Tanner in his bid for the Democratic party's 1988 presidential nomination. |
Theater Camp | 2023 | About the staff of a theater camp trying to keep the business afloat when its owner falls into a coma.[2][3] |
This Is Spinal Tap | 1984 | A film crew follows a British hard rock band attempting to revive their popularity;[1] the first of several mockumentaries written by Christopher Guest. |
Tour de Pharmacy | 2017 | An HBO mockumentary that chronicles doping in the professional cycling world. |
The Tunnel | 2011 | A documentary crew encounters a ghoul in the tunnels below Sydney. |
Waiting for Guffman | 1996 | A small Missouri town's celebration of its sesquicentennial; one of several mockumentaries co-starring, and written and directed by Christopher Guest. |
We Make Movies | 2017 | About an egotistical student filmmaker who gathers his friends to help make a movie for their local film festival. |
What We Do in the Shadows | 2014 | Comedy-horror film about a group of vampires sharing a flat in Wellington, New Zealand. |
World War III | 1998 | A German film depicting what might have transpired if Soviet troops had opened fire on demonstrators in Berlin in the fall of 1989. |
Zelig | 1983 | By Woody Allen, about a man who changes his physical appearance in order to fit in. |
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Specials and one-offs
More information Name, Year ...
Name | Year | Description |
---|---|---|
Introducing Tony Ferrino: Who and Why?: A Quest | 1997 | Steve Coogan's parody of cheap promotional videos for his Portuguese singer character; written with Peter Baynham. |
Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm | 1999 | HBO Special about the making of an HBO special. |
MyMusic | 2012–2014 | Web series about a dysfunctional music company. |
The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie | 2005 | Stars two real-life brothers Nat and Alex Wolff and their real-life friends. |
Norbert Smith - a Life | 1989 | A project by Harry Enfield satirising TV arts show biographies, British films, and the British acting fraternity. |
Oil Gobblers (Ropáci) | 1988 | A film by Jan Svěrák about creatures that live in underground mines and feed on oil, plastic, and rubbish. |
Platinum Weird | 2006 | A VH1 mockumentary about a band formed by Dave Stewart and Kara DioGuardi. |
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Commercials
More information Name, Year ...
Name | Year | Description |
---|---|---|
ESPN's "This is SportsCenter" | 1995–present | A series of commercials for SportsCenter presented in a mockumentary style. |
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Television specials
More information Name, Year ...
Name | Year | Description |
---|---|---|
Alternative 3 | 1977 | TV movie of a political conspiracy to establish a settlement on Mars. |
Galaxy Quest: 20th Anniversary, The Journey Continues | 1999 | A promotional mockumentary presenting the Galaxy Quest television series as a real cult series.[4] |
The Great Martian War 1913–1917 | 2013 | TV production depicting an alternate history in which World War I was fought against Martian invaders. |
How to Irritate People | 1968 | A TV broadcast predating Monty Python, written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman. |
Morto Troisi, viva Troisi! [it] | 1982 | A fake report about Massimo Troisi's death, directed by Troisi himself. |
Pat Paulsen for President | 1968 | TV special about the fictional presidential campaign of comedian Pat Paulsen. |
Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets | 2004 | About a fictional crewed voyage through the Solar System, presented in documentary style. |
Tout ça (ne nous rendra pas la Belgique) | 2006 | A hoax news bulletin on a Belgian television network that claimed the Flemish parliament had declared independence. |
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Individual episodes
Sometimes an episode of an otherwise non-mockumentary series is presented as a mockumentary.
More information Series, Episode Title(s) and Year(s) ...
Series | Episode Title(s) and Year(s) | Description |
---|---|---|
3rd Rock from the Sun | "The Loud Solomon Family: a Dickumentary" (2000) | An episode presented in an entirely documentary style, taking a look into the lives of the Solomon family. |
Babylon 5 | "And Now for a Word" (1995), "The Illusion of Truth" (1997), and "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars" (1997) | Episodes framed as documentaries by the fictional news network ISN. |
Blue Mountain State | "One Week" (2011) | A documentary crew follows the team on and off the field. |
Bones | "The Movie in the Making" (2016) | Made to look like an episode of a fictional documentary TV show focusing on the work of the FBI and Jeffersonian Institute. |
The Comic Strip Presents | "Bad News Tour" (1983) and "More Bad News" (1988) | Follows an incompetent rock group on tour. |
Community | "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking" (2011) | Pierce tells the study group he's dying and asks Abed to film his last wishes. |
Entourage | "Welcome to the Jungle" (2007) | An episode presented as a mock "making of" film about Medellín, the film the characters produce. |
ER | "Ambush" (1997) | A live episode portrayed as a documentary. |
Escape the Night | "Monsters of Everlock" (2018) | Delves into the different monsters that were featured in the show, presented as found footage. |
Even Stevens | "Band on the Roof" (2001) | A "rockumentary"-style episode following the band the Twitty-Steven Connection. |
Family Guy | "Inside Family Guy" (2016) | A "behind-the-scenes"-style episode on the making of the show. |
Farscape | "A Constellation of Doubt" (2002) | Most of the episode consists of a fictional documentary detailing humanity's reaction to Moya's recent visit to Earth. |
Grey's Anatomy | "These Arms of Mine" (2011) | A documentary crew visits the hospital six months after a shooting to document the road to recovery. |
House | "Ugly" (2007) | A camera follows a patient around the hospital as Dr. House treats him. |
Just Shoot Me! | "A&E Biography: Nina Van Horn" (2001) | A faux A&E Biography of the character played by Wendie Malick. |
Monk | "Mr. Monk's 100th Case" (2008) | A fictional TV special (mockumentary style) about Monk's 100th case. |
Night Court | "A Closer Look" (1990) | Shows the affairs of the show from a news TV perspective. |
Raising Hope | "Modern Wedding" (2013) | Sabrina's mother hires the film crew of Modern Family to document her wedding. |
The Simpsons | "Behind the Laughter" (2000) | A Behind the Music-style exposé. |
Stargate SG-1 | "Wormhole X-Treme!" (2001) and "200" (2006) | Episodes mocking itself and the sci-fi genre, with a show-within-a-show parody and imagined storylines.[5] |
WandaVision | "Breaking the Fourth Wall" (2021) | An homage to early mockumentary sitcoms like Modern Family and The Office (American TV series). |
The West Wing | "Access" (2004) | A fake behind-the-scenes documentary about a day in the White House. |
The X-Files | "X-Cops" (2000) | An episode made to look like an episode of the actual show COPS. |
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Other mock films and television
Reality shows
More information Name, Year ...
Name | Year | Description |
---|---|---|
The Comeback | 2005 | A reality show following the life of former "it" actress Valerie Cherish. |
Double the Fist | 2004–2008 | A fictional version of Jackass. |
Drawn Together | 2004–2007 | A cartoon version of The Surreal Life. |
Late Night with the Devil | 2023 | A 1970s talk show that invites an allegedly possessed girl onto the program, accidentally unleashing evil. |
V/H/S/99: Ozzy's Dungeon | 2022 | A segment about a dangerous children's TV game show whose host is later kidnapped by the parents of an injured contestant. |
Series 7: The Contenders | 2001 | A film presented as a marathon of a reality show where contestants must hunt and kill each other. |
Siberia | 2013 | A horror series about a fictional reality show where contestants must survive in Tunguska, but things go horribly wrong. |
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News programs
More information Name, Year ...
Name | Year | Description |
---|---|---|
Countdown to Looking Glass | 1984 | A docu-drama presented as a series of news reports about an escalating conflict that leads to nuclear war. |
Ghostwatch | 1992 | BBC television special in which a fictitious "live" paranormal investigation goes awry. |
Local 58 | 2015–present | A web series of a fictional public access television channel that is continuously hijacked with ominous broadcasts. |
Not For Broadcast | 2022 | A full-motion video game where the player runs a national television news program in an increasingly authoritarian dystopia. |
Special Bulletin | 1983 | An NBC made-for-TV movie portraying a live broadcast of a nuclear terrorism incident in Charleston, South Carolina. |
V/H/S/94: Storm Drain | 2021 | A film segment in the form of cable news reports about an urban legend cryptid known as the "Rat Man". |
Without Warning | 1994 | A TV film in the form of a mock newscast covering an apocalyptic alien attack scenario. |
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Found footage
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Perspective
Main article: Found footage (film technique)
Some films and shows take the form of (fake) raw footage.[6]
More information Name, Year ...
Name | Year | Description |
---|---|---|
Be My Cat: A Film for Anne | 2015 | A young man in Romania goes to shocking extremes to convince Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway to star in his film.[7] |
The Blair Witch Project | 1999 | Three student filmmakers disappear while hiking to film a documentary about a local legend, the Blair Witch. |
Cannibal Holocaust | 1980 | An anthropologist leads a rescue team into the Amazon rainforest to locate a missing crew of filmmakers. |
Chronicle | 2012 | Three high-school seniors form a bond after gaining telekinetic abilities from an unknown object. |
Cloverfield | 2008 | Follows six young New Yorkers on the night a gigantic monster attacks the city. |
Creep (film series) | 2014–2017 | American psychological horror films about videographers recording eccentric people. |
The Devil Inside | 2012 | Traces the purported exorcism of a possessed woman convicted of a triple murder. |
End of Watch | 2012 | Focuses on the day-to-day work of two Los Angeles Police Department officers. |
Gang Tapes | 2001 | When a carjacking yields a videocamera, a teenage boy decides to document his life and fellow gangbangers. |
The Last Exorcism | 2010 | An evangelical minister participates in a documentary that films his final exorcism. |
Paranormal Activity | 2007 | A young couple are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. |
Project X | 2012 | Three friends plan to gain popularity by throwing a party, which quickly escalates out of their control. |
[•REC] (film series) | 2007–2014 | Spanish supernatural zombie horror film franchise. |
September Tapes | 2004 | A man hunts down Osama bin Laden. |
The Troll Hunter | 2010 | A team of film students documents the work of a troll hunter with the secret Norwegian Troll Service. |
V/H/S (film series) | 2012–present | American anthology horror films featuring a series of found-footage shorts. |
Zero Day | 2003 | An indie film based on the Columbine High School shooting. |
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References
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