Film FAQ — 

The Invention of Chris Marker

(by filmmaker Matan Tal)

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1) What is this film about — in one sentence?

 

In my own words: this film is about the mystery that is Chris Marker — and the breadcrumbs he left behind. 

 

 

2) What genre is this film (and how would you describe its form)?

 

I would describe The Invention of Chris Marker as an essay film and a desktop documentary — and I see it as a more post-modern approach to both forms. 

 

 

3) Why did you make this film?

 

I made this film out of pure curiosity. 

 

When I discovered the online breadcrumbs Chris Marker left behind — and how his fans kept spreading and emphasizing them — it sparked a real eureka moment in me.

 

In my experience as a filmmaker, those moments are rare, and when they happen, you don’t negotiate with them.

I felt: I have to make this film — and I have to make it now. 

 

 

4) What is the central idea or question the film explores?

 

In my view, the film explores the idea of “floating consciousness” in the digital world — like a digital ghost haunting the web.

 

Not in a horror-movie way.

 

More in an existential way:

the afterlife of a person, especially an artist, online. 

 

That concept genuinely fascinated me while making The Invention of Chris Marker, and it became the philosophical engine of the film. 

 

 

5) What should the viewer pay attention to while watching?

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The film speaks for itself — but if I had to guide you, I’d point you to something I call:

 

“Staging in time” (or “mise-en-scène in time”). 

 

Because the film happens on a flat desktop screen, traditional staging in a 3D physical world becomes irrelevant.

 

So I approached it differently:

 

• The web is one place

• The screen is one screen

• So I treat it like a single location

• Meaning: everything happens inside the same “space” 

 

And then the question becomes:

How do you make that digital space feel physical?

 

My answer was: through editing.

 

Through juxtaposition, I try to build a mental stage — where different elements start to feel like they coexist in the same environment, and you begin to sense the relationships between them. 

 

 

6) What is your approach to editing in this film?

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In the making of this film, editing was the single most important element in The Invention of Chris Marker. 

 

My goal wasn’t to create a logical explanation.

 

It was to create a mental picture that forms inside the viewer — slowly, like a puzzle.

 

But not a puzzle that completes itself in a “detective story” way.

 

In my approach, it completes itself in a poetic way.

A philosophical way.

An emotional way. 

 

 

7) How did you approach sound and voice (music / voiceover / silence) in this film?

 

Most of what I recorded was just the screen — so no voice was recorded during the actual capture. 

 

The narration was written afterwards, and recorded afterwards.

Same with the sound design and music — those were added later. 

 

A big key for me was The Invention of Morel — because Marker himself mentioned it as a key to understanding his work.

 

So I read the book, and inside it there are songs specifically mentioned. I listened to those pieces, placed them on the timeline, and they were… just perfect. 

 

I also used comical sound elements to emphasize something I strongly feel about this digital realm:

 

its ridiculousness, its irony, its non-physical nature. 

 

 

8) How much of the film is scripted vs discovered during the process?

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This film was discovered through the process. 

 

A lot of the investigation happened before I started recording — so I had a general concept and I roughly knew what I wanted to capture.

 

But the real “writing” happened later:

 

during editing, I started writing the narration. 

 

And once the narration existed, I could organize the footage into a structure that made sense — not in a clean informational way, but in a poetic sense. 

 

 

9) What makes this film “experimental” (if it is) — and why did you choose that?

 

The form itself makes it experimental:

it’s a digital desktop documentary. 

 

But more importantly, my documentary approach here isn’t interested in “answers.”

 

For example: I was never truly interested in revealing who the avatar was that impersonated Chris Marker.

 

I treated it as a philosophical investigation. 

 

And honestly — it’s hard to make a philosophical investigation without becoming experimental by nature. 

 

 

10) What films, artists, or influences shaped this work (directly or indirectly)?

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The biggest influence is obvious:

 

Chris Marker.

The film is about him — and it’s inspired by him. 

 

Another influence was the book The Invention of Morel, which helped shape some elements in the film. 

 

And strangely, one more important reference for me was a film called Noah (2013) — a fictional desktop film.

 

It was the only desktop film I had ever seen before I made The Invention of Chris Marker. 

 

And in my experience, sometimes one reference is enough — not to copy it, but to feel permission:

 

To know the form is accepted.

 

To know it’s not “just YouTube vibes.”

 

To realize it has artistic potential — and even respect. 

 

 

11) Who is this film for — and what kind of viewer will connect with it most?

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This film is for anyone interested in Chris Marker — naturally.

 

But beyond that, as a filmmaker, I made this for:

 

• people who love essay films

• people who enjoy existential questions

• people who think about the nature of being

• people who feel the strangeness of our online lives

• people who are asking the big questions of the 21st century 

 

If you’re the kind of viewer who watches a film not only to “understand the plot,” but to think — then this film will probably feel like home. 

 

 

12) Where can I watch the film, and how can I contact you for screenings or programming?

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The film is available online on YouTube, for free, since the day it was released. 

 

And in my view, that’s the natural home for this film — because it’s a digital desktop documentary.

 

For me, it wasn’t even a question. 

 

But if you want to screen it for a larger audience — in a cinema, cultural space, festival, or curated program — contact me.

 

I’d be happy to join for a call, and even talk with the audience afterwards about the film, the process, and the ideas inside it.