Fictionality in 'This is Spinal Tap' and 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil': Documentary film mockumentary comparison

In 2008, the film 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil' by director Sacha Gervasi premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The documentary about the likeable but unsuccessful heavy metal band Anvil was very well received by audiences and the press. There was disagreement as to whether the film was a genuine documentary or a fake. Many felt it was reminiscent of the 1984 mockumentary 'This is Spinal Tap' by director Rob Reiner. The film about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap shaped the mockumentary genre like no other. The reactions and associations of the audience touch on the fundamental problem of fictionality. What characterises a film as documentary and what as fictional? How can the different genres of mockumentary and documentary film be related to each other? This work aims to clarify the role of fictionality in the mockumentary 'This is Spinal Tap' and the extent to which fictionality also plays a role in the documentary film 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil'.