F for Fake

F for Fake

Release Date

1973

Director

  • Orson Welles

Cast

  • Orson Welles
  • Oja Kodar
  • François Reichenbach

Orson Welles's final film gleefully engages with the central preoccupation of his career: the tenuous lines between illusion and truth, art, and lies.

Beginning with portraits of the world-renowned art forger Elmyr de Hory and his equally devious biographer, Clifford Irving, Orson Welles embarks on a dizzying journey that simultaneously exposes and revels in fakery and fakers of all stripes—not the least of whom is Welles himself. Charming and inventive, F for Fake is an inspired prank and a clever examination of the essential duplicity of cinema. 

Past Programs

2016

How to distinguish authentic works of art from forgeries

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, MA