The twelve chapters of Film Ist, each of which deals with a specific theme or theory, are discrete works that could be shown combined in various ways, but which together form a discourse on the phenomenon of the cinematographic medium. Whereas Film Ist 1-6 (1998) suggested the scientific laboratory as the birthplace of the film, the decidedly anthropological sections – 7 to 12 (2002) – focus on variety, using tricks, humour and theatre to trace a line towards the innovations of Georges Méliès. Made with the help of five international film archives, it includes documentary and fiction film footage of the first thirty years of cinema. Deutsch turns the cinema into a party using travel documentaries, animation films, propaganda, comedy, drama and observation. In this way, he manages to open the magic box of the cinema and immortalise it.
