The Plagiarists

A film by Peter Parlow

2019 | USA | 72min | Color | English

When a young white couple’s car breaks down after a weekend getaway, they’re helped by an older black man who inspires them with his creative wisdom. When they discover six months later that the words he spoke might not be his own, they’re horrified, fixating on his “crime” while forced to confront the originality of their own lives.

Statement

Written by James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir, The Plagiarists is a dramatic comedy about the clash of money and culture, reality and desire, race and identity. It’s a social satire about who has the privilege to say what in today’s world.

It was conceived as a playful critique of the mannerisms of “indie film” used by aspiring filmmakers to denote authenticity of performance, often resulting in the casual perpetuation of stereotypes.

The Plagiarists is at once the thing it mimics: a completely independent microbudget feature shot entirely on vintage news cameras from the 1980s, despite a contemporary subject matter. The camera cited in the story is also the production camera, recording on real Betacam SP videotape (sourced from eBay) to create a visual style reflecting the internal debate over obsolescence, nostalgia, and the heavy weight of originality.

Reviews

“Upends indie tropes … Genuinely engrossing writing and acting.” —Slant

“Biting and destabilizing! Never cedes the prickly concepts that underpin its drama.” —MUBI

“A lo-fi original… Impishly sophisticated.” —Variety