The relationship between fiction and non-fiction in cinema in the 1910s has infinite knots to be unravelled. One of the most important remains the modalities according to which these two forms are enjoyed by the public.
When we speak of cinema as it is presented nowadays, short fragments which never exceed a half-hour, it is obvious that they also assume a significance with the other films (both fiction or non-fiction) with which they are presented. Not only this, but also the same programme structure obviously influences the way in which the films are seen. The concept of the programme as we intend it, i.e. a closed structure which one sees “from the beginning to the end” (and whose imposed logic one must follow according to the order of the materials) is a relatively recent one. This concept changes things substantially, seen as even the concept of “order” loses its meaning (a filmogoer of the early years could enter at any moment).
On the other hand, it is obvious that the existence of substantially different genres within the ambit of non-fiction poses the problem of how these interact in the body of the programme and of how they are chosen and copied without precise ideas and verified data. Within precise studies and information about this central issue, the task of understanding not only the mechanism of fruition but also of production of these films, it is undoubtedly hopeless.