Debut, or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued

Saturday, April 5, 4:30 p.m, @ 2220 Arts + Archives

West Coast Premiere with director Julian Castronovo in person

Sunday, April 6, 3:00 p.m., @ Now Instant Image Hall

Director: Julian Castronovo
United States, 2025, 78 minutes, DCP

The first feature-length film by Julian Castronovo follows a young filmmaker named Julian Castronovo who discovers a trail of clues related to the disappearance of a skilled art forger known as Fawn Ma.

L.A.-based filmmaker Julian Castronovo’s relentlessly inventive first feature resembles a micro-budget F For Fake by way of Theo Anthony—a sly, self-reflexive study of art forgery and an internet-age gumshoe investigation into the slippery nature of authorship, taking place entirely on a laptop computer. Castronovo himself plays a filmmaker who becomes obsessed with a Chinese art forger (Song Hui) who has disappeared, while he himself is the object of a missing-persons investigation. In an age of essay-film abundance, Castronovo’s film is endlessly layered with intrigue, and gestures toward new possibilities of ultra-lo-fi independent cinema.

Cast: Julian Castranovo, Song Hui, Philippa James, Rebecca Benoit

Producer: Julian Castranovo
Writer: Julian Castronovo
Composer: Jules Becker