3. David Holzman's Diary
Enthusiasm is important for a struggling filmmaker; it's really the only thing that's going to get you past a lack of resources, lack of money, lack of time, lack of support. But ethics - and
restraint - are also important; it's important to know your limitations, and when crossing them is a very,
very bad idea. David Holzman's Diary concerns the titular young man (Kit Carson), who fancies himself a filmmaker; he brings his 16 mm camera everywhere with him - in fact treats it almost as a friend - but very quickly his "hobby" starts to become an obsession is destroying his relationships with those around him...particularly when he begins filming/stalking his ex-girlfriend... Many great filmmakers have used their own lives as fodder for their work - Woody Allen and Francois Truffaut spring to mind as filmmakers who almost seem to have used cinema as a diary, on which they scrawled their hopes, dreams, fears, obsessions. The temptation for many young filmmakers to simply "shoot what you know" can potentially lead into navel gazing, pretension, even unethical and self destructive behavior. David Holzman films "real life", but has no idea how to process it; he can't understand why his girlfriend, a professional model, does
not want to be photographed when she's not aware of it, can't understand why everyone he sees wouldn't be thankful to be part of "his art". David Holzman's Diary warns that there's a very dangerous precipice to be walked when you try to mix "real life" with "cinema". Put your personal life on the screen, yes...but try to respect the fact that others might not want to see
their private lives up there, too.