Clerks is Kevin Smith’s 1994 independent comedy debut, filmed in black and white. Smith wrote, directed, produced, and co-edited the movie, which follows convenience-store clerk Dante Hicks and video-store clerk Randal Graves through an exhausting, absurd day in Leonardo, New Jersey.
The film’s famously shoestring production cost about $27,575 before Miramax acquired the rights. Smith financed it by selling much of his comic-book collection, borrowing from his parents, using money from his jobs, and maxing out several credit cards. He also filmed inside the Quick Stop and RST Video stores where he worked, shooting only at night after the stores closed.
Clerks was shot in 21 days on black-and-white 16mm Kodak Plus-X film. It premiered at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, where it attracted attention before Miramax released it theatrically. The movie introduced Jay and Silent Bob and launched Smith’s View Askewniverse. It is sometimes confused with Smith’s later films Dogma, Chasing Amy, or Mallrats, but Clerks is the debut that established his career.