A tribute to the Seventh Lively Art, from the Lumière brothers to the height of silent cinema, films under the Nazi Occupation, and the 1950s.

Max Toppard’s life remains one of the strangest enigmas in the history of world cinema. No artist has left so many unanswered questions in his wake. His life intertwines with almost half a century of film history. Yet not one film, not a single interview or photograph exists to prove he was real.
When a young journalist decides to investigate the filmmaker’s life, his research stirs old ghosts that become ever more threatening: banned films, mad actors, murderous producers. Only one thing is certain: Max Toppard’s secret is a secret... that kills!