Forgotten Silver

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title: "Forgotten Silver" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1990s-mockumentary-films", "1995-films", "films-directed-by-peter-jackson", "new-zealand-comedy-films", "wingnut-films-films", "hoaxes-in-new-zealand", "1995-hoaxes", "films-with-screenplays-by-peter-jackson", "1995-comedy-films", "1990s-english-language-films", "english-language-comedy-films"] description: "1995 New Zealand television film" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgotten_Silver" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1995 New Zealand television film ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]

Field	Value
name	Forgotten Silver
image	Forgotten Silver FilmPoster.jpeg
caption	UK DVD cover
director	Peter Jackson
Costa Botes
producer	Sue Rogers
writer	Peter Jackson
Costa Botes
starring	{{Plainlist
music	Duncan Davidson
David Donaldson
Plan 9
Steve Roche
Janet Roddick
cinematography	Alun Bollinger
Gerry Vasbenter
editing	Michael J. Horton
studio	WingNut Films
released
runtime	53 minutes
country	New Zealand
language	English
gross	$26,459
::

| name = Forgotten Silver

| image = Forgotten Silver FilmPoster.jpeg | caption = UK DVD cover | director = Peter Jackson Costa Botes | producer = Sue Rogers | writer = Peter Jackson Costa Botes | narrator = | starring = {{Plainlist|

• Thomas Robins
• Jeffrey Thomas
• Peter Jackson
• Costa Botes
• Harvey Weinstein
• Leonard Maltin
• Sam Neill}} | music = Duncan Davidson David Donaldson Plan 9 Steve Roche Janet Roddick | cinematography = Alun Bollinger Gerry Vasbenter | editing = Michael J. Horton | studio = WingNut Films | distributor = | released = | runtime = 53 minutes | country = New Zealand | language = English | budget = | gross = $26,459 Forgotten Silver is a 1995 New Zealand mockumentary film that purports to tell the story of a pioneering New Zealand filmmaker. It was written and directed by Peter Jackson and Costa Botes, both of whom appear in the film in their roles as makers of the documentary.

Synopsis

Forgotten Silver purports to tell the story of "forgotten" New Zealand filmmaker Colin McKenzie, and the rediscovery of his lost films, which presenter Peter Jackson claims to have found in an old shed. McKenzie is presented as the first and greatest innovator of modern cinema, single-handedly inventing the tracking shot (by accident), the close-up (unintentionally), and both sound and colour film years before their historically documented creation. The film also shows fragments of an epic Biblical film, Salome, supposedly made by McKenzie in a giant set in the forests of New Zealand, and a "computer enhancement" of a McKenzie film proving that New Zealander Richard Pearse was the first man to invent a powered aircraft, several months before the Wright Brothers.

The film also shows a (staged) premiere screening of a recovered McKenzie film presented by film promoter Lindsay Shelton. It features deadpan commentary from actor/director Sam Neill and director and film archivist John O'Shea, as well as critical praise from international industry notables including film historian Leonard Maltin, and Harvey Weinstein of Miramax Films.

In reality, McKenzie is a fictional character, and the films featured in Forgotten Silver were all created by Peter Jackson, carefully mimicking the style of early cinema. The interviewees are all acting. Thomas Robins, the actor who portrays Colin McKenzie, is today more easily recognized by audiences as Sméagol's ill-fated cousin Déagol in Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Cast

As themselves:

• Jeffrey Thomas (narrator)
• Peter Jackson
• Johnny Morris
• Costa Botes
• Harvey Weinstein
• Leonard Maltin
• Sam Neill
• John O'Shea
• Marguerite Hurst
• Lindsay Shelton

Actors:

• Beatrice Ashton - Hannah McKenzie
• Thomas Robins - Colin McKenzie
• Richard Shirtcliffe - Brooke McKenzie
• Peter Corrigan - Stan "the Man" Wilson
• Sarah McLeod - May Belle

Production

Costa Botes directed the "documentary" portions while Peter Jackson created the "archive footage" supposedly filmed by McKenzie. Jackson also shot fake interviews in Los Angeles, including the one with Weinstein.

Reception

The film was first aired on Television New Zealand's channel TV ONE at a time usually dedicated to plays and mini-series, but was billed and introduced as a serious documentary. Many viewers were fooled until the directors shortly afterwards revealed that it was a hoax. This created controversy. The film was later screened at film festivals.

References

Bibliography

• Conrich, Ian/Smith, Roy (2006): Fool's Gold: New Zealand's Forgotten Silver, Myth and National Identity. In: Rhodes, Gary Don/Springer, John Parris (eds.) (2006): Docufictions. Essays on the intersection of documentary and fictional filmmaking. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, pp. 230–236.
• Roscoe, Jane/Hight, Craig (1997): Mocking silver: Reinventing the documentary project (or, Grierson lies bleeding). In: Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 11:1, pp. 67–82 (full text; Article provides background information and an analysis of audience responses to the film)
• Roscoe, Jane/Hight, Craig (2006): Forgotten Silver: A New Zealand Television Hoax and Its Audience. In: Juhasz, Alexandra/Lerner, Jesse (eds.) (2006): F is for Phony. Fake Documentary and Truth’s Undoing. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 171–186.

References

1. [http://www.nzonscreen.com/person/colin-mckenzie/biography McKenzie] (faked biography)
2. "Observations on film art and ''Film Art''". David Bordwell.
3. Roscoe, Jane. (2001). "Faking It: Mock-documentary and the subversion of factuality". Manchester University Press.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::