In some fake documentaries, it is obvious from the start that we should not take them too seriously. For instance in Forgotten Silver by Peter Jackson and Costa Botes, screened on the opening night of the festival.

In the case of Dadetown, the vast majority of unprepared visitors will remain convinced that they are watching a genuine documentary. Even the programmer of the festival's "Fake" programme, Gertjan Zuilhof, initially thought at first that a mistake had been made. This couldn't possibly be a fake documentary.

But Dadetown doesn't exist, it was dreamt up by director and co-writer Russ Hexter and put together from shots he found in a variety of locations. An old metal factory, the economic motor of Dadetown, is threatened with closure. A new company wants to move in. The changes throw the inhabitants of this quiet town into chaos and crisis.

Dadetown catches the fake programme in its most vulnarable part: the naive visitor does not exist at this festival. Everyone will see the film as a fake documentary. But even though Dadetown is fiction, that doesn't mean it doesn't tell the truth. Russ Hexter tried so hard to make a realistic documentary, that he did not just approach it in form. He may get even closer to the truth that for instance the funny yet manipulative Michael Moore's Roger and Me, that became known as a documentary.

Dadetown provides a realistic picture of the real demise of a fictional place, not of a fictional demise. KD