pseudodocumentary

Noun

pseudodocumentary (plural pseudodocumentaries)

1. A film that mimics the style of a documentary but is not actually produced by filming real events
   • A sort of pseudodocumentary, "Kaleidoscope" takes a generic event--here, "Sally gets a second cat"--and describes it through rapid-fire testimony from "witnesses" (their roles are given them by the audience)--Sally, the second cat, a neighbor's dog, etc.1988 May 20, Lawrence Bommer, “Cardiff Giant's Comedy Sideshow”, in Chicago Reader
   • In 2004, while he was a film student at New York University, he made a pair of shorts — both called “Buy It Now,” one narrative, the other pseudodocumentary — about a 15-year-old girl who sells her virginity on eBay. Mr. Campos posted an actual auction on the site, eliciting nearly 4,000 responses...2008 October 5, Dennis Lim, “Young and Out to Redefine What’s Real”, in New York Times