The Girl Chewing Gum
| The Girl Chewing Gum | |
|---|---|
 Frame from the film | |
| Directed by | John Smith |
Release date |
|
Running time | 12 minutes |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
The Girl Chewing Gum is a 1976 British short film directed by John Smith.[1][2][3]
Background
[edit]The film, made as the ideological opposition to mainstream cinema,[4][5] was inspired by a scene in François Truffaut's 1973 film Day for Night in which the director gives instructions to the actors, and even tells a dog to urinate on a lamppost.[6][7]
Summary
[edit]At Stamford Road in Dalston Junction of east London, the camera follows pedestrians, cars and birds while a narrator, who appears to be the (fictional) director behind the camera, seems to direct their actions.[8][9][10][11]
Legacy
[edit]The film is widely acknowledged as one of the most important avant-garde films of the 20th century.[12]
The Girl Chewing Gum was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2019.[13]
Similar works
[edit]- 1973: The aforementioned Academy Award-winning Day for Night by François Truffaut
- 2011: The 2 min 28 sec Swedish short film Fågel däruppe by Mårten Nilsson
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "The Girl Chewing Gum". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ BFI
- ^ From Warhol to Steve McQueen: a history of video art in 30 works|Video art|The Guardian
- ^ LUX
- ^ John Smith “The Man Girl Phoning Chewing Mum Gum” at Tanya Leighton, Berlin — Mousse Magazine and Publishing
- ^ Joe Moran. "The girl chewing gum", Moran's blog, 16 June 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
- ^ Reading the Everyday - Google Books (pg.90)
- ^ Film at Lincoln Center
- ^ Can The Girl Chewing Gum Save the World? — ALT/KINO
- ^ Reality and Artifice in John Smith’s “The Girl Chewing Gum”|Artsy
- ^ CLOSE-UP|John Smith: Introspective (19720=-2022)
- ^ Reporting back on Tony Conrad screening|UAL
- ^ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.