Notfilm

Notfilm is a 2015 feature-length documentary, directed by Ross Lipman on the production of playwright Samuel Beckett's only film,[1] an experimental short titled Film starring Buster Keaton.

Notfilm
Directed byRoss Lipman
Written byRoss Lipman
StarringRoss Lipman, Kevin Brownlow, S.E. Gontarski, James Karen, Leonard Maltin, Barney Rosset, Haskell Wexler, Billie Whitelaw
Edited byRoss Lipman
Distributed byMilestone Film & Video, Inc.
Release date
London October 17, 2015 (BFI London Film Festival)
USA February 23, 2016 Film Comment Selects
Running time
130 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

While conducting preliminary research to restore Film, filmmaker and restorationist Ross Lipman visited Grove Press founder and Film producer Barney Rosset at his apartment, where Lipman discovered reels of film and audio. This material contained outtakes from Beckett's 1965 production, including a prologue long-thought lost.[2]

Notfilm reconstructs this prologue and integrates rare audio of Beckett's voice, surreptitiously recorded by Rosset, in a self-described "Kino Essay" that analyzes the philosophical foundation of Film, arguing it was an expression of Samuel Beckett's own distaste for the public eye.[3]

Synopsis

Both a traditional making-of documentary and an essayistic exploration into the philosophical implications of Samuel Beckett's Film, Notfilm outlines the circumstances leading to its production, the production process and its critical reception. Director Ross Lipman's narration outlines the philosophical foundation of Film as a rebuttal of the Irish philosopher George Berkeley’s premise that “to be is to be perceived.” Audio secretly recorded by Rosset at a production meeting leads into an examination of Beckett's own distaste for being filmed and photographed.

Critical reception

Following an October 2015 world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, Notfilm went on to screen at several other notable festivals, including CPH:DOX, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Dublin Film Festival, Film Comment Selects, Hong Kong International Film Festival and Docs Against Gravity.[4]

It appeared on several Best of the Year lists, including Nicole Brenez' published in Artforum,[5] in The New Republic[6] and in Paste magazine[7]

It was also widely reviewed, appearing in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Film Comment, The New Yorker, the Village Voice and Slate. A.O. Scott wrote "Notfilm finds a hitherto uncharted dimension of human and cinematic experience.”[8]

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References
  1. Movshovitz, Howie. "Buster Keaton And Samuel Beckett Walk Into A Movie Studio". npr. npr. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  2. Monaghan, Peter. "An Odd Couple: Samuel Beckett & Buster Keaton". Moving Image Archive News. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  3. Jones, J.R. "Buster Keaton did his own stunts, which included working with Samuel Beckett". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  4. IMDb Release Info https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3763790/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_ql_dt_2. Retrieved 9 December 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. Brenez, Nicole (December 2015). "10 Best Films of 2015". Artforum.
  6. Grierson, Leitch, Tim, Will. "The Six Best Movies of the Year, So Far". New Republic. New Republic. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  7. Paste Movie Staff. "The 25 Best Movies of 2016 (So Far)". Paste. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  8. "Reviews and Articles". Notfilm. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
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