One of the most successful independent films of all time, it is a " found footage " pseudo-documentary in which three students Heather Donahue , Michael C. Williams , and Joshua Leonard hike into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland , to shoot a documentary about a local myth known as the Blair Witch.
They developed a page screenplay with the dialogue to be improvised. A casting call advertisement on Backstage magazine was prepared by the directors; Donahue, Williams, and Leonard were cast.
The film entered production in October , with the principal photography lasting eight days. About 20 hours of footage was shot, which was edited down to 82 minutes. When The Blair Witch Project premiered at the Sundance Film Festival at midnight on January 23, , its promotional marketing campaign listed the actors as either "missing" or "deceased".
The film had a limited release on July 14 of the same year, before expanding to a wider release starting on July While the film received critical acclaim, audience reception was polarized.
The Blair Witch Project was a sleeper hit. Despite the success, the three main actors had reportedly lived in poverty. The Blair Witch Project launched a media franchise , which includes two sequels Book of Shadows and Blair Witch , novels, comic books, and video games.
