FILM by Samuel Beckett, the great playwright s only venture into the medium of the cinema, was written in 1963 and filmed in New York City in the summer of 1964. The project brought together an illustrious group of collaborators:

screenwriter (and future Nobel laureate) Beckett traveled from Paris at the behest of the producer, publisher, and First Amendment champion Barney Rosset joining forces with theater director Alan Schneider, Oscar®-winning cinematographer Boris Kaufman, and silent-comedy genius, Buster Keaton.

Acclaimed film editor Sidney Meyers added his talents to the film in post-production. The product of their efforts, Film by Samuel Beckett, has no dialogue and takes as its basis philosopher George Berkeley s theory Esse est percipi to be is to be perceived.

In essence, after all outside perception be it animal, human, or divine is suppressed, self-perception remains. Film by Samuel Beckett premiered at the 1965 New York Film Festival and went on to win many international awards. Critics, literary scholars, and audiences have continued to be dazzled and intrigued by the film.

Mark Nixon of the Beckett International Foundation calls Film by Samuel Beckett an intriguing and vital document in Samuel Beckett s life-long engagement and fascination with perception, and the image. Restorationist Ross Lipman worked with Rosset to preserve and digitize FILM by Samuel Beckett on behalf of the UCLA Film & Television Archive and was inspired to make a documentary NOTFILM (2015), exploring the creation and meaning of this fascinating cinema treasure. BONUS FEATURES Waiting for Godot, 1961, 104 minutes. Written by Samuel Beckett.

Directed by Alan Schneider for Play of the Week. Starring Zero Mostel and Burgess Meredith. Restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive. The Dog and Cat Outtakes from Film by Samuel Beckett. 8 minutes.