USA/2023—directed by Alexandre O. Philippe | 108 minutes

Documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe specializes in taking viewers deep inside their favorite movies. For his latest and richest project, he lifts the velvet curtain on iconic filmmaker David Lynch’s obsession with a single film – The Wizard of Oz – the 1939 classic that this mind-bending documentary argues is the foundational text for all of Lynch’s work. 

Red shoes, hollow winds, gossamer bubbles, innocents in big trouble, and a longing for home – these elements percolate continuously throughout Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks and more, which Lynch/Oz illustrates with striking and persuasive split-screen montages featuring beautifully restored footage. 

An impressive lineup of critics and directors, including Karyn Kusama, David Lowery, Amy Nicholson, and a joyously insightful John Waters, share their own unique takes on both Lynch and Oz, expanding the film’s scope from clever analysis to a larger meditation on the nature of creativity, and how the things we love form our visions of the world. 

Official Selection, 2023 Fantastic Fest and Tribeca Film Festival. 

“Witty, insightful and fascinating! A very enjoyable creative speculation.” –Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian