AllMovie

In 1964, pioneering video artist and experimental filmmaker Nam June Paik presented a new work called Zen For Film, in which he screened a full reel of clear leader at a gallery in New York City. Instead of the photographic images they were expecting, the audience was presented with a white screen illuminated by the light of the projector, upon which the viewer would read what they chose (or what the subconscious chose for them) into the blankness. Heleen van Haegenborgh regards Zen For Film as a misunderstood masterpiece in the manner of John Cage's silent composition 4'33", and in For Zen For Film, van Haegenborgh pays homage to the vision of Paik and Cage and a simplicity that transcends minimalism. For Zen For Film was presented as part of the 2007 Rotterdam International Film Festival.