The Blair Witch Project

With extended introduction by Joshua Glick, co-curator of Deepfake: Unstable Evidence on Screen, and followed by a reception

Dirs. Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez. U.S., 1999, 81 mins. 35mm. Produced on a budget of $60,000, The Blair Witch Project went on to gross $248 million at the box office, becoming one of the most impressive runaway hits in all of American cinema and establishing a blueprint for a new age of independent horror. To tell their story of three young filmmakers who disappear in the Maryland woods while shooting a documentary about a folkloric rural witch, Myrick and Sánchez relied on improvisatory techniques and a rigorous video-vérité style, creating the impression of recovered camcorder footage. Amplifying the sense of authenticity, the filmmakers took full advantage of the pre–social media internet, designing a website that included bios of the “missing” filmmakers, police reports, and interviews. An intro presentation by Deepfake co-curator Joshua Glick will explore the film’s clever, effective packaging and how the 1999 release anticipated a new millennium of unstable evidence on screen. 

Joshua Glick is Assistant Professor of English, Film & Media Studies at Hendrix College and a Fellow at the Open Documentary Lab at MIT.

Ticket includes Museum admission and access to the exhibition Deepfake: Unstable Evidence on Screen, as well as a reception immediately following the screening.

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.