Faceless (2007 film)

Lore & Background

Faceless is set in a society governed by the New Machine, where individuals have lost their faces and the RealTime calendar has destroyed understanding of history or the future. The protagonist, played by Luksch, wakes up to discover she has a face, receives an anonymous letter revealing her past life and child, and enlists Spectral Children to evade Overseers. In the ambivalent conclusion, she appears to defeat the New Machine by unveiling the power of the human face and recovering temporality.

Reader's Guide

Faceless is significant for its innovative production process: Luksch performed on London streets under CCTV cameras, then demanded copies of recordings under the UK Data Protection Act 1998, paying a statutory fee of £10. Operators were obliged to supply copies after anonymizing third parties by redacting faces. The film has no spoken dialogue, using a voice-over narrator and a soundtrack of electronic and industrial elements with solo piano recordings. Critics note its homage to Chris Marker's La Jetée and Busby Berkeley's choreography. The film is included in collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou and the BFI National Archive, and continues to be shown in film and art contexts.

Did You Know?

• The film is constructed entirely from CCTV surveillance camera images obtained under the UK Data Protection Act 1998.
• Luksch performed on London streets under CCTV cameras and sent formal letters demanding copies of recordings, paying a statutory fee of £10.
• The film has no spoken dialogue because audio surveillance is prohibited in the UK.
• Faceless is included in the collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou and the BFI National Archive.