Skip to main content
John Singer Sargent: Fashion & Swagger film image; cameraman filming a painted portrait

John Singer Sargent: Fashion & Swagger

Portraits

This event has passed

Canadian Premiere

The latest in the popular Exhibition on Screen series, John Singer Sargent: Fashion & Swagger provides new insight into one of America’s most beloved painters. Known for his incandescent portraits of the upper echelons of high society, Sargent possessed the ability to capture the essence and soul of a person, producing some of the most memorable portraits ever created. Filmed in conjunction with twin blockbuster shows at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Tate Gallery in London, this allows a detailed look at his masterworks alongside the wardrobes that have been preserved, allowing us to see how Sargent rendered each fold and gather with his brushstrokes.

The film also highlights other important aspects of his work, like his large-scale murals in Boston, and explores his artistic influences, placing his painting within the context of art history and haute couture. Director David Bickerstaff gathers art historians, curators, artists, and fashion experts to illuminate the intersection of art, fashion, and society, and invites us to arrive at a new appreciation for this master of portraiture and light.

 

Sept 28 & 30: Q&A with producer Phil Grabsky

 

Presented by

Media Partner

Director
Credits
Country of Origin

UK

Year

2024

Language

English

Film Contact
Links
Content Warning

Nudity

G

Open to youth!

93 min
Art, Music & Photography Documentary Q&As at VIFF U18 May Attend
Exhibition on Screen, Seventh Art Productions

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Phil Grabsky

Producer

Phil Grabsky

Screenwriter

David Bickerstaff, Phil Grabsky

Cinematography

David Bickerstaff, Joshua Csehak, Phil Grabsky, Hugh Hood

Editor

David Bickerstaff

Original Music

Asa Bennett

David Bickerstaff headshot; John Singer Sargent: Fashion & Swagger director

David Bickerstaff

David Bickerstaff is an artist, award-winning filmmaker, and BAFTA member who founded AtomicTV in 1997. His work has been showcased internationally at venues like the Wellcome Collection and the documentary fortnight at the Museum of Modern Art New York. He directs short artist documentaries for Art360 Foundation and collaborates with producer Phil Grabsky at Exhibition on Screen, creating acclaimed features on artists like Van Gogh and Michelangelo. As Creative Director at NewAngle Productions, David designs video installations for institutions including the Royal Collection Trust and the British Museum.

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Whispers in the Woods

Dir. Vincent Munier
94 min

A luxuriant, healing immersion in nature with ravishing wildlife photography, this is the cinematic equivalent of "forest bathing," a trip deep into the Vosges, France, with photographer Vincent Munier (The Velvet Queen), his father and his son.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Ask E. Jean

Dir. Ivy Meeropol
91 min

An inspiring and engaging portrait of E. Jean Carroll, the trailblazing journalist, author and advice columnist who stood up to power and beat Donald Trump in court, twice.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould

Dir. François Girard
93 min

A bona fide classic and arguably the greatest Canadian film of the 90s, Girard's dazzling deconstruction of the biopic gives us the mercurial pianist Glenn Gould as Picasso might have rendered him, a cubist portrait combining multimedia vignettes.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

King Arthur's Night

Dir. John Bolton
110 min

John Bolton's film of Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef's musical staging recreates Camelot at Harrison Hot Springs. It's a self-referential piece which joyfully reframes a classical narrative through the prisms of disability, inclusivity, and imagination.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Dazed and Confused

Dir. Richard Linklater
102 min

The last day of high school in May, 1976: seniors debate party politics while next term's freshmen run the gauntlet of brutal initiation rites, barely comforted by the knowledge that they'll wield the stick one day.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Democracy Under Siege

Dir. Laura Nix
90 min

As the USA turns 250, Oscar-nominated director Laura Nix considers the roots of the current political crisis with commentary from historian Heather Cox Richardson, progressive politician Jamie Raskin, and cartoonist Ann Telnaes, among others.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre