| ?O, Zoo!: The Making of a Fiction Film | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Philip Hoffman |
| Written by | Philip Hoffman |
| Produced by | Philip Hoffman |
| Music by | Tucker Zimmerman |
Release date |
|
Running time | 23 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
?O, Zoo!: The Making of a Fiction Film is a 1986 experimental Canadian documentary film directed by Philip Hoffman. [1]
Synopsis
Based in part around the making of Peter Greenaway's 1985 film A Zed & Two Noughts and constructed primarily from found footage made by his grandfather who onced worked as a newsreel cameraman, [2] the film interrogates the distinction between fiction and documentary filmmaking through various meditations on the narrative assumptions and inventions that people attach to the neutrality of visual images; its most noted scene narrates the death of an elephant, without ever actually showing the animal. [3]
Reception
The film premiered at the 1986 Festival of Festivals. [1] It received a Genie Award nomination for Best Feature Length Documentary at the 8th Genie Awards. [4]
It is also his most successful film to date. [5]
See also
References
- ^ a b Robert Everett-Green, "Celluloid experiments". The Globe and Mail, September 6, 1986.
- ^ Canyon Cinema
- ^ Joel Rubinoff, "Avant-garde films challenge viewers". Toronto Star, March 13, 1987.
- ^ Greg Quill, "Decline rises to top Genie nominations". Toronto Star, February 5, 1987.
- ^ Wyndham Wyse, "Philip Hoffman". Take One's Essential Guide to Canadian Film. University of Toronto Press, 2001. ISBN 9780802083982. p. 100.
