defy categorization and convention. For starters,
it’s helpful to think of experimental cinema as that
which pushes the boundaries of what most people
think movies are—or should be. After all, avant-
garde, the term originally applied to this approach
to filmmaking, comes from a French phrase used to
describe scouts and pathfinders who explored
ahead of an advancing army, implying that avant-
garde artists, whether in film or another medium,
are innovators who lead, rather than follow, the
pack. The term experimentalfalls along these same
lines. It’s an attempt to capture the innovative
spirit of an approach to moviemaking that plays
with the medium, is not bound by established tra-
ditions, and is dedicated to exploring possibility.
Both avant-garde and experimental (and other
terms) are still used to describe this kind of movie.
But since experimentalis the word most commonly
used, is appropriately evocative, and is in English,
let’s stick with it.
In response to the often-asked question “What is
an experimental film?” film scholar Fred Camper
offers six criteria that outline the basic character-
istics that most experimental films share. While no
criterion can hope to encapsulate an approach to
filmmaking as vigorously diverse as experimental
cinema, a summarization of Camper’s list of com-
mon qualities is a good place to start:- Experimental films are not commercial. They
are made by single filmmakers (or collabo-
rative teams consisting of, at most, a few
artists) for very low budgets and with no
expectation of financial gain. - Experimental films are personal. They
reflect the creative vision of a single artist
who typically conceives, writes, directs,
shoots, and edits the movie by him- or her-
self with minimal contributions by other
filmmakers or technicians. Experimental
film credits are short. - Experimental films do not conform to conven-
tional expectations of story and narrative
cause and effect. - Experimental films exploit the possibilities of
the cinemaand, by doing so, often reveal
(and revel in) tactile and mechanical quali-
ties of motion pictures that conventional
movies seek to obscure. Most conventional
narrative films are constructed to make
audiences forget they are watching a
movie, whereas many experimental films
repeatedly remind the viewer of the fact.
They embrace innovative techniques that
call attention to, question, and even chal-
lenge their own artifice. - Experimental films critique culture and
media. From their position outside the
mainstream, they often comment on (and
intentionally frustrate) viewer expecta-
tions of what a movie should be. - Experimental films invite individual interpre-
tation. Like abstract expressionist paint-
76 CHAPTER 3TYPES OF MOVIES
Exit Through the Gift ShopThe Academy Award
nominated documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop(2010;
director: Banksy), tests the boundaries between observation
and exploitation, fiction and nonfiction. What begins as a
rambling archive of street art shot by a somewhat
incompetent enthusiast named Theirry Guetta turns into a
movie about Guetta himself when one of his subjects (the
mysterious and wildly successful artist known as Banksy)
appropriates the footage, takes over the camera, and turns
Guetta into a pseudo-celebrity called Mr. Brainwash. Banksy
uses his considerable clout to influence the art world and his
subject, and records the results as the fame-hungry Guetta
(and a small army of paid assistants) mounts a huge exhibit
of new artworks credited to Mr. Brainwash. Is Mr. Guetta
Banksy’s dupe or his wily collaborator? Is this movie art, or
is the entire premise a hoax designed as a critique of art?
Can a movie be a documentary when the filmmaker actively
manipulates the people and events he documents? Does the
precise nature of truth matter, so long as the results are
entertaining? Parsing these questions is a part of the
experience of watching Exit Through the Gift Shop.