John Wilson Selects: Session 2
John Wilson, the brilliant filmmaker and creative genius behind the hit HBO show How To With John Wilson, has captivated audiences with his unique style of essayistic storytelling and observational prowess. With an uncanny ability to find humour and beauty in the everyday, Wilson has transformed the quotidian activities of New York City into captivating narratives that resonate with viewers worldwide.
Several months ago, John Wilson was invited by the prestigious New York City Anthology Film Archives to guest-curate a special series titled ‘John Wilson Selects’, featuring a variety of films that have influenced or inspired him. We are excited to have John Wilson with us in Sydney to present a version of this series at Antenna.
SOCIAL LIFE OF SMALL URBAN SPACES
William H. ‘Holly’ Whyte | 1979 | 58 min
One of the most well-regarded films about urban planning, this film explores the successes and failures of public spaces in New York City. Through the film and an accompanying book, Whyte and his team chose a variety of public spaces like plazas, streetscapes, playgrounds, even entire neighbourhoods like Harlem, and set about observing and recording how and why people use them. We learn about human nature by looking closely at how people interact with and respond to the built environment.
WEATHER DIARY 5
George Kuchar | 1989 | 38 min
A longtime luminary of underground cinema, George Kuchar has been producing ingenious, low-budget melodramas at a stunningly prolific pace since he began shooting Super 8 as a teenager in the Bronx. Kuchar’s wryly humorous ‘Weather Diary’ reflects his time living at a motel in Oklahoma while he undertook a month-long filmmaking workshop. In this final chapter of the series, Kuchar speaks with the woman who runs his motel, who introduces him to the cosmetic empire she also runs downtown – all while a dark storm lurks threateningly off-camera.