Where Is Rocky II?

  • 93'
  • France
  • 2016

In 1979, American artist Ed Ruscha placed a rock-like sculpture among the real rocks in the Californian desert. This fake rock became completely absorbed by its environment, indistinguishable from the real ones. Ruscha has never included this mysterious artwork, which he named Rocky II, in his official catalogue, as if he didn’t want this piece of sculpture to be found.
But Pierre Bismuth (winner of a joint Oscar for the screenplay for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) can’t let it go, and calls in a private detective to find Rocky II. He also asks Hollywood screenwriters D.V. DeVincentis (High Fidelity) and Anthony Peckham (Sherlock Holmes) to brainstorm about the screenplay for an action film based about this hidden work of art. Bismuth’s docu-fiction raises questions about the nature of an artwork no one can see – an artwork, in fact, that virtually no one even knows about. Finally, it is the creation of myth and the general Hollywoodisation of life that Bismuth uncovers.

Director
Pierre Bismuth
Countries of production
France, Germany, Belgium, Italy
Year
2016
Festival Edition
IFFR 2017
Length
93'
Medium
DCP
Language
English
Producer
Gregoire Gensollen
Production Company
The Ink Connection
Sales
Mongrel International
Screenplay
Pierre Bismuth
Cinematography
David Raedeker
Editor
Elise Pascal, Matyas Veress, Thomas Doneux
Production Design
Krista Thomas-Scott
Sound Design
Brice Picard
Music
Hugo Lippens
Director
Pierre Bismuth
Countries of production
France, Germany, Belgium, Italy
Year
2016
Festival Edition
IFFR 2017
Length
93'
Medium
DCP
Language
English
Producer
Gregoire Gensollen
Production Company
The Ink Connection
Sales
Mongrel International
Screenplay
Pierre Bismuth
Cinematography
David Raedeker
Editor
Elise Pascal, Matyas Veress, Thomas Doneux
Production Design
Krista Thomas-Scott
Sound Design
Brice Picard
Music
Hugo Lippens