North American Premiere
An astonishing documentary about the elusive and provocative African-American artist David Hammons, The Melt Goes On Forever chronicles the legendary artist’s incredible body of work, from his body prints in the 1960s, to found object sculptures, to cheeky installations in upper crust galleries, which overtly mock the elite art world and critique the capitalist and arbitrary notions of value in art.
Hammons’ work is often blistering, firmly rooted in questioning the dominant culture and exposing racial injustice, and exploring the space that Black people hold in America. Hammons is notoriously private, and this conflict between his personal reticence and worldwide attention is fascinating to watch. The film reveals the tension between insiders and outsiders in art, and explores the fickleness and push-pull antics of the established art world. Using archival footage, interviews with artists, curators, and critics, alongside animation, this film is a remarkable record of the work of an artist who constantly defies the establishment and remains subversive at every turn.
Q&A Sept 30 & Oct 2
Presented by
Series Media Partner
Media Partner
USA/Canada
2022
English
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
The Secret in Their Eyes
This month's Talking Pictures screening is a multi-layered, poignant thriller interweaving the personal lives of a prosecution investigator (Ricardo Darin) and a judge, with a manhunt spanning twenty-five years. Stay for cookies, coffee and a chat after!
The Haunting
Directed by Robert Wise in 1963, The Haunting is a classic exercise in the suggestive power of cinema, adapted from Shirley Jackson's 1959 best-seller, The Haunting of Hill House, a provocative blend of supernatural and psychological horror.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Once Upon a Time in Harlem splices together footage shot by William Greaves in 1972 of a group of Harlem Renaissance luminaries in conversation at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. The film is a living archive of memory, disagreement, style, and Black genius.
Possible Love
Lee Chang-dong’s first film since Burning (2018) is a sardonic, slow-burning satire about two couples: a documentary filmmaker married to a wealthy businessman, and a working-class family struggling to make ends meet after the husband has been laid off.
Credits
Executive Producer
Lisa Cortés, Rea David Tully
Producer
Judd Tully
Screenwriter
Harold Crooks
Cinematography
John Russell Foster, Christina Wairegi
ANIM
Tynesha Foreman
Editor
Louis-Martin Paradis
Original Music
Ramachandra Borcar
Directors
Photo by Anthony Sherin
Judd Tully
Judd Tully’s career in journalism began with the 1970s underground paper The Berkeley Barb, where he covered the politically-charged trials of the Soledad Brothers, George Jackson, and Angela Davis in San Francisco and Marin County. For over two decades, he was Editor-at-Large of Art & Auction Magazine. His journalism and art criticism has appeared in Flash Art, ARTnews, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Art Newspaper, as well as his blog juddtully.net.
Photo by Medrie Macphee
Harold Crooks
Harold Crooks’ The Price We Pay premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, was voted Best Canadian Documentary in 2014 by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle, and was a New York Times Critic’s Pick. He co-directed Surviving Progress (2011), which premiered at TIFF and was screened at Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX) and International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. His film writing credits include The Gig Is Up (2021), and Sundance and TIFF Audience Award winner The Corporation (2003), whose narration he co-wrote with director Mark Achbar.
Filmography: Surviving Progress (2011); The Price We Pay (2014)