In Central Park, director William Greaves stages the same troubled scene between two actors again and again. One camera records the performance, another films the crew at work, and a third observes the entire production. As repetition gives way to confusion, the crew begins to question Greaves’ methods, competence and intentions, and starts secretly filming its own discussions.
Greaves occupies several roles at once: director, performer, provocateur and apparent saboteur. By surrendering control while simultaneously designing the conditions for chaos, he turns filmmaking itself into the subject of the film.
Decades before reality television and the omnipresent behind-the-scenes camera, Greaves created a hall of mirrors in which every act of observation alters what is being observed. The film was added to the US National Film Registry in 2015.
