Forgotten Silver

It purports to tell the story of "forgotten" New Zealand filmmaker Colin McKenzie, his "lost" "films" and his "technological achievements" that predated accepted history by as much as 20 years. The film is purportedly complete with "recovered" archival footage in both black and white and colour (from as early as 1911!) and with sound (from as early as 1908!).

There is a (staged) "premier screening" of a recovered feature film that is presented by film promoter Lindsay Shelton[?], as well as deadpan comment from actor/director Sam Neill^[1] and director and film archivist John O'Shea[?]. The deadpan "critical praise" from international industry notables including Film Historian Leonard Maltin[?], and Harvey Weinstein of Miramax Films, lends credibility to a rather fantastic story.

When released it had the local industry fooled until the directors explained they were "only joking".

1. The film Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill, written and directed by Sam Neill and Judy Rymer, was also released in 1995. In it Neill narrates his personal recollection of New Zealand film history.

See also:

• Internet Movie Database entry for Forgotten Silver (http://www.imdb.com/Title?0116344)