This inventive documentary by legendary filmmaker Orson Welles gleefully engages with the central preoccupation of his career: the lines between illusion and truth, art and lies.

Through an exploration of the lives of the renowned art forger Elmyr de Hory and his equally cunning biographer, Clifford Irving, Welles not only uncovers but also celebrates the realm of forgery and deceivers from various walks of life — including himself.

Film screening followed by a Q&A with:

Professor Patricia Kingori, Curator of April Fakes Day

Dr Andrew Dunning, Curator of Medieval Manuscripts at the Bodleian

Dr JC Niala, Head of Research, Teaching and Collections, History of Science Museum

‘For all its nods, winks and witty asides, it’s a richly personal work, picking over the questions every creative artist must eventually ask: Am I ‘for real’? Does it matter? And what is all this work worth, anyway?’
★★★★★
Tom Huddleston, Time Out

Directed by Orson Welles | France / West Germany | 1973 | 1h 28m