Films about Filmmaking: Illusion and Anti-Illusion in Meta-Film(including a Case Study of the Tom DiCillo film LIVING IN OBLIVION)

Film creates illusionary reality and manipulates its viewers through both technical and narrative techniques. However, what happens if the illusion of a film is destroyed by anti-illusion? FILMS ABOUT FILMMAKING deal with the confrontation of illusion and anti-illusion, of mystification and demystification. In her book Marion Matuella discusses the differences between conventional films and meta-films and their different effects on the viewers. She works out ways of creating both illusion (through classical narrative, mise-en-scène, cinematography and editing) and anti-illusion (through self-reflexive versions of the mechanisms mentioned above), and illustrates this process with a detailed case study of the Tom DiCillo film LIVING IN OBLIVION. This book is designed for students of film studies and moviegoers who would like to gain a critical awareness of different methods of filmmaking and their manipulative effects.