|
Forgotten Silver is a New Zealand film mockumentary. Released in 1995, it was written and directed by Costa Botes and Peter Jackson (of Lord Of The Rings fame) who also starred in the film as the "documentary" makers.
It purported 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 was 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!). McKenzie's footage (after computer enhancement) also provided proof that New Zealander Richard Pearce was the first man to invent a powered aircraft, months prior to the Wright Brothers suceeding.
Costa Botes directed the "documentary" portions while Peter Jackson created the "achival footage" meant to have ben filmed by McKenzie. There was a (staged) "premier screening" of a recovered feature film 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, gave credibility to a rather fantastic story.
Despite being aired on NZ Television in a timeslot usually dedicated to plays and mini-series Forgotten Silver was billed and introduced as a serious documentary. A large proportion of the TV audience and the local industry were fooled until the directors soon revealed they were "only joking".
Footnotes
Note 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 narrated his personal recollection of New Zealand film history.
External links
| 
