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 Nutcracker at Wethersfield
Back in the long, dark Covid winter of 2020, there was no way the New York City Ballet could mount their traditional Christmas production of Tchaikovsky's fairytale. But choreographer Troy Schumacher had a dream to save the show -- reimagining a classic.
The Secret Agent
Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat in Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name — but he’ll soon come to understand precisely how rampant the country’s corruption has become.
North of Ourselves
In the depths of winter, two adventurers set out to cross Quebec from one end to the other on bike and skis, exploring its staggering geography and meeting its inhabitants (human and otherwise) along the way.
Dean Thiessen Plays Vince Guaraldi + Charlie Brown
In 1965 jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi created the perfect soundtrack to Charles Schultz's beloved Peanuts. Dean Thiessen's 5-tet pays tributes to Guaraldi's catchy tunes, followed by a screening of the first Charlie Brown feature film.
Pictures of Ghosts
A companion piece to Mendonça Filho's The Secret Agent, Pictures of Ghosts is a lovely, relaxed, ruminative riff on movies, memory, the imaginative space conferred by that place we call Cinema, seasoned with love and boundless anecdotes.
It's a Wonderful Life
Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. This Christmas classic is whimsical, sure, but it has the depth to stand up to multiple watches, and it really should be a communal experience, because that is what it's about.
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)