David Holzman's Diary

David Holzman's Diary
Directed byJames McBride
Written byJames McBride
Produced byMichael Wadleigh
StarringL. M. Kit Carson
CinematographyMichael Wadleigh
Distributed byNew Yorker Films
Release date
  • 1967 (1967)
Running time
73 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,500

David Holzman's Diary is a 1967 American mockumentary, or work of metacinema, directed by James McBride and starring L. M. Kit Carson. A feature-length film made on a tiny budget over several days, it is a work of experimental fiction presented as an autobiographical documentary. "A self-portrait by a fictional character in a real place—New York's Upper West Side," the film comments on the title character's personality and life as well as on documentary filmmaking and the medium of cinema more generally. In 1991, David Holzman's Diary was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation.