The indexical nature of photography and the boundaries of representation of reality in films have long been subject to heated debate in media studies. The physical connection between the object and the sign that represents it used to be a basic assumption of photography and, by extension, of film. In the past decade we have witnessed the rise of digital means of production and consumption of audiovisual products, which have become largely dominant, as well as the blurring of distinctions between fictional and nonfictional narratives. This paradigmatic shift invites us to cast a new look on the concept of verissimilitude, which in narrative studies has traditionally been associated with “realism”, both as a genre and as a distinctive feature to indicate a certain faithfulness to reality. For the purposes of the present analysis, we construe verisimilitude as an essencial element of any narrative, a feature that is crucial for the engagement of the public. Therefore, we ask: to what extent is contemporary fiction redefining boundaries between “the reality effect” – understood as the mimetic quality of representation that produces a convincing image of the world, whatever this world may be like –, and the notion of “authenticity”, understood as a quality of that which has a unique, overt and undeniable connection with the real world (a fundamental assumption of nonfiction audiovisual products)? In this work we aim at reflecting on this question through the concept of “index appeal”: the use of indexical signs to create the effect of authenticity of that which is represented (Andacht, 2003). If verisimilitude is iconic by nature, how can the index appeal, which highlights the indexical nature of the message, be a distinctive element in contemporary fiction cinema? Moreover, what effects does it produce and, most importantly, why is it relevant in the current audiovisual culture? To answer these questions, we look for examples in some contemporary fiction films, which we will analyse by applying Peircean semiotic concepts, in order to understand how some details of their narrative construction highlight iconic and indexical aspects of the film discourse. We seek to identify some defining characteristics of the present audiovisual production, in which reality shows have become a paradigmatic genre, and to understand how those features play an important role for the construction of verisimilitude in fiction cinema. The films that were chosen for this reflection are Birdman, or (The unexpected virtue of ignorance), by Alejandro G. Iñarritu (2014); Boyhood, by Richard Linklater (2014); and La academia de las musas, by José Luis Guerín (2015). In addition to the concept of index appeal developed by Fernando Andacht, based on Peirce’s semiotic, we will refer to contemporary critics of audiovisual narratives, like Vera Lucia F. Figueiredo, Noël Carroll and Tom Gunning, among others.