The Plagiarists

It’s winter and Anna and Tyler have broken down on their way home to Philadelphia, as if the young couple didn’t have enough to bicker about already. A passer-by named Clip comes to their aid and they end up staying over at his house. The encounter starts out awkward, apparently even hip city folks struggle to act normally around African-Americans, although Clip can’t be all that sketchy if he knows their friend Alison. Yet they’re also fascinated by the middle-aged man, Tyler by his camcorder collection and Anna by his eloquence, as he’s a wannabe filmmaker and she’s a wannabe novelist, even if neither pay the bills. The couple are amusingly self-absorbed, but far from inarticulate, prattling away about Justin Bieber, Karl Ove Knausgård, 9/11, Dogme 95. Film and literature are never far away, whether on that winter night or a sunny afternoon with Alison the following summer, does writing only resonate when it’s authentic or is it fine to put words in people’s mouths, do movies shot on video, as is this one, automatically keep things real? Anna is scandalised to realise that Clip’s anecdotes weren’t what they seemed, but then what is these days? Certainly not films like this.
by Peter Parlow
with Michael „Clip“ Payne, Lucy Kaminsky, Eamon Monaghan, Emily Davis
USA 2019 English 76’ Colour World premiere

With

  • Michael „Clip“ Payne (Clip)
  • Lucy Kaminsky (Anna)
  • Eamon Monaghan (Tyler)
  • Emily Davis (Allison)

Crew

Director Peter Parlow
Screenplay James N. Kienitz Wilkins, Robin Schavoir
Cinematography James N. Kienitz Wilkins
Music Pond5
Sound Design Josh Allen
Sound Eugene Wasserman
Producers Paul Dallas, James N. Kienitz Wilkins Automatic Moving Co, Robin Schavoir

Produced by

Paul Dallas

Automatic Moving Co

Robin Schavoir

Peter Parlow

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He works as a director, writer, musician and stock photographer.

Filmography

2015 The Jag; 88 min. 2019 The Plagiarists

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019