The Girl Chewing Gum

The Girl Chewing Gum is a 1976 British short film directed by John Smith.

Background
The film, made as the ideological opposition to mainstream cinema, was inspired by a scene in François Truffaut's 1973 film Day for Night in which the director gives instructions to the actors, and even tells a dog to urinate on a lamppost.

Summary
At Stamford Road in Dalston Junction of east London, the camera follows pedestrians, cars and birds while a narrator, who appears to be the (fictional) director behind the camera, seems to direct their actions.

Legacy
The film is widely acknowledged as one of the most important avant-garde films of the 20th century.

The Girl Chewing Gum was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2019.

Similar works

 * 1973: The aforementioned Academy Award-winning Day for Night by François Truffaut
 * 2011: The 2 min 28 sec Swedish short film Fågel däruppe by Mårten Nilsson