Elmyr de Hory: master criminal or brilliant artist? Alleged to have painted more than one thousand "fakes," most of which have never been identified by the authorities, Elmyr de Hory's paintings still hang in major museums and private collections around the world. These works, now potentially worth billions of dollars, continue to roil the art market.

40 years after his death, the criminal case against one of the twentieth century's most notorious art forgers remains unproven. During his lifetime, Elmyr de Hory lived openly as a forger while eluding Interpol, Scotland Yard and the FBI. His past claims were that he was never apprehended, but the documentary proves otherwise. After a 50-year career of forgery, Elmyr lived out his final years in Ibiza, Spain while the slow dissolution of what would have been the biggest case against him and his associates allowed the art world to escape embarrassment, or worse blame.

With Real Fake, the Art, Life and Crimes of Elmyr de Hory, filmmaker Jeff Oppenheim re-examines the facts of the case. Assuming all previous information known about Elmyr to be as “wrong” as his art, the film travels the globe with a team of investigators and art experts. The investigation delves into the myriad of aliases used by Elmyr, searching never-before-utilized archival records, police files and the personal accounts of those who knew this charming, infamous con artist.