SUB-GENRE 1
Fiction filmed as a documentary for comedic effect.
Examples: This Is Spinal Tap; What We Do in the Shadows.
What is a Mockumentary?
Spotlights student voices and stories.
What is a Biographical Documentary?
The desire to connect deeply with others — exploring affection, sacrifice, or the lengths people go to for someone they care about.
What is Love?
The bonds of trust, loyalty, and understanding that form between people and help them face challenges together.
Uses humor, irony, or playful exaggeration to make the audience laugh or feel light-hearted.
What is Funny?
Keeps the audience on edge with strong emotion, high stakes, or fast-paced energy.
The story unfolds in reverse chronological order.
What is Told Backwards?
No dialogue—rely on acting, music, and visuals to tell the story.
What is Silent Film Style?
Story triggered by a mysterious text, voicemail, or letter.
What is Found Message?
Suspense built around the mind, paranoia, and manipulation.
Examples: Vertigo (1958); Black Swan (2010)
What is a Psychological Thriller?
Supernatural or magical elements exist within a modern, real-world, usually urban setting.
What is an Urban Fantasy?
The ability to control or influence others — and the moral choices that come with it.
What is Power?
The instinct to endure and adapt in the face of danger, hardship, or loss.
What is Survival?
Reveals the grim, unsettling, or morally complex side of life, often filled with tension or cynicism.
What is Dark?
Invites curiosity by hiding information, creating puzzles, and revealing clues piece by piece.
What is Mysterious?
The entire film happens in a single setting (e.g., classroom, car, living room).
What is Takes Place in One Location?
The audience later learns parts or all of the stories were imagined.
What is Dream or Hallucination Twist?
Story is revealed through memories or interviews.
Explores love complicated by obstacles, time, or tragedy.
Examples: Casablanca; The Notebook.
What is a Romantic Drama?
Breaks traditional storytelling and visual rules through abstract imagery, unconventional structure, or sound design.
Examples: The Tree of Life.
What is Experimental?
The struggle to break free from control, limitation, or oppression to claim one’s autonomy.
What is Freedom?
The act of resisting authority, tradition, or expectation to assert independence or bring change.
What is Rebellion?
Centers on optimism and perseverance — showing that even in struggle, light can break through.
What is Hopeful?
Blends reality and imagination with surreal visuals or shifting logic, like moving through a dream.
What is Dreamlike?
The narrator or camera perspective is unexpected (e.g., pet, object, security cam).
What is Told from an Unusual Point of View?
Two seemingly unrelated storylines connect at the end.
What is Parallel Stories?
A pet, AI, ghost, or object is the protagonist.
What is Nonhuman Main Character?
"Discovered" camera footage creates realism.
Examples: The Blair Witch Project (1999); Paranormal Activity (2007).
What is Found Footage?
Examines moral struggles in the world of crime and justice.
Examples: The Godfather; The Town.
What is a Crime Drama?
The quest to make things right, restore balance, or hold people accountable for their actions.
What is Justice?
The experience of anxiety or terror that reveals vulnerability and forces characters to confront their limits.
What is Fear?
Emphasizes tenderness, attraction, and emotional connection, often through idealized or heartfelt moments.
Playful, imaginative, and slightly eccentric in tone — full of charm, wonder, or childlike creativity.
What is Whimsical?
Story events happen over the same amount of time they’re viewed.
What is Told in Real Time?
Characters address or acknowledge the audience directly.
What is Breaking the Fourth Wall?
Characters have limited time to achieve their goal.
What is Countdown or Deadline?
Uses humor to mock or critique culture, politics, or other films.
Examples: Dr. Strangelove; Don’t Look Up
What is Satire/Parody?
Integrates movement, rhythm, and school spirit.
Examples: High School Musical; Step.
What is a Dance Musical?
The journey to understand who we truly are beneath labels, roles, and expectations.
What is Identity?
The belief that something better is possible, even in the darkest circumstances.
What is Hope?
Builds fear and suspense by confronting characters (and viewers) with danger, the unknown, or vulnerability.
What is Scary?
Evokes sorrow, loss, or empathy, allowing audiences to connect through emotional honesty.
What is Sad?
Forces creative use of light, sound, and suspense.
What is Set During a Power Outage?
The same moment or day repeats, forcing characters to change behavior.
What is Time Loop?
The film concludes without clear resolution—students decide how much to reveal.