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Eno | A live performance screening and Q&A with Director Gary Hustwit

VIFF Live

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The world’s first generative documentary is a groundbreaking exploration of the life and work of visionary musician and artist Brian Eno, a film that’s different every time it’s shown.

Renowned filmmaker Gary Hustwit’s (Helvetica, Rams) new documentary employs revolutionary technology to explore Brian Eno’s career and creative strategies. Best known for co-founding Roxy Music, pioneering the genre of ambient music, and producing David Bowie, U2, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, and dozens of others, Eno has also released over 40 solo and collaboration records.

In the first career-spanning documentary of the legendary and prolific artist and the world’s first generative feature film, Hustwit set out to decode Eno’s creative strategies and examine his lifelong search for the meaning of music. Hustwit and creative technologist Brendan Dawes developed custom generative software to sequence scenes, using Hustwit’s original interviews with Eno, extensive never-before-seen archive of unreleased footage, as well as an original score by Eno.

Each screening of Eno is unique, presenting different scenes, order, music, and meant to be experienced live. The generative and infinitely iterative quality of Eno poetically resonates with the artist’s own creative practice, his methods of using technology to compose music, and his endless deep dive into the mercurial essence of creativity.

For the Vancouver Premiere, Gary Hustwit will create a unique cut of the film live on-stage, and the version shown at VIFF Live will never be seen again. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Gary Hustwit and special guests.

 

Supported by

Media Partner

Community Partner

              

Guest
Date

Sept 29

Time

6:00 pm

Venue

Vancouver Playhouse

18+
115 min
Q&As at VIFF
A Film First / Tigerlily Production

Book Tickets

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Gary Hustwit headshot

Photo by EbruYildiz

Gary Hustwit

In 2007 he made his directorial debut with Helvetica, the world’s first feature-length documentary about graphic design and typography. He has continued to explore how design affects our daily lives with his subsequent films Objectified (2009), Urbanized (2011), Workplace (2016), and Rams (2018). The films have been broadcast on PBS, BBC, HBO, Netflix and outlets in 20 countries, and have been screened in over 300 cities worldwide. He is currently working on Eno, a documentary about musician and artist Brian Eno, which uses generative technology in its creation and exhibition. Eno will be released in 2024.

Gary’s films have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, the South by Southwest Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival, among others. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Helvetica, and has served on the grand juries of the Sundance Film Festival, the IFP
Gotham Awards, and the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Gary was named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company. He is a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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Brian Eno headshot

Photo by Shamil Tanna

Brian Eno

Eno’s visual experiments with light and video continue to parallel his musical career, with exhibitions and installations all over the globe. He has exhibited extensively, as far afield as St. Petersburg’s Marble Palace, Ritan Park in Beijing, Arcos de Lapa in Rio de Janeiro and the sails of the Sydney Opera House. He is a founding member of the Long Now Foundation, a trustee of Client Earth and patron of Videre est Credere. In April 2021, he launched EarthPercent, which raises money from the music industry for some of the most impactful environmental charities working on the climate emergency. In 2023, Brian was honored with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement by the Venice Biennale Musica.

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Brian Eno will not be in attendance at this event

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