One important tangent of this discussion hasn't had much exposure in the United States: the now 25-year-old wave of new Chinese documentary (and documentary-influenced fiction), whose development has paralleled the nation's emergence as an economic powerhouse.

WSJ: Repertory Film: Mining Forgotten Gems, Finding the Real China

Blending fiction with documentary, interviewing several retired workers and scripting faux interviews with other characters, he brings huge stretches of long-repressed history to life on an intimate scale.

NEWYORKER: 24 City

The plaiting of fiction and personal documentary by now a classic mode of indie modernism lends extra poignancy and self-deprecation to the low-key romantic agonies and financial struggles of ambitious yet uncertain bohemians.

NEWYORKER: Open Five

So controversial in fact that acting CIA Director Michael Morell felt compelled to issue a note to his workforce last week reminding them that the movie was a work of fiction, not a documentary.

CNN: Relax, 'Zero Dark Thirty' is only a movie

"We've made a fiction film, not a documentary, " Ms. Daelmans said.

WSJ: Romantic North Korea | Comrade Kim Goes Flying | By Ron Gluckman