David Holzman’s Diary

Nothing emerges from nothing. There is always an initial spark, a stubborn impulse that gives rise to a trend. That is precisely the case with David Holzman’s Diary, a 1967 film by a young director who decides to document his daily life and turn that footage into a film — in essence, a proto-YouTuber or TikTok-style influencer. An egocentric and strikingly prophetic satire, and one of the earliest examples of self-referential cinema.