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
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

Cure

Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa
111 min

This month's VIFF Premium member selection is a spellbinding thriller from Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Detective Kenichi Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is faced with a string of apparently unmotivated murders committed by different people, but bearing the same signature.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
More info

Sold Out

Ken Russell's The Devils

Dir. Ken Russell
114 min

Ken Russell's controversial masterpiece is based on Aldous Huxley's The Devils of Loudun, a non-fiction account of the 17th century witchcraft trials in France starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

American Doctor

Dir. Poh Si Teng
93 min

One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
The History of Concrete
The History of Concrete film image; man smoothing just-poured concrete sidewalk

The History of Concrete

Dir. John Wilson
101 min

After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
La Bola Negra
La Bola Negra film image; man playing a trumpet

La Bola Negra

Dir. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
155 min

A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
A. Rimbaud
A. Rimbaud film image; man lighting a pipe

A. Rimbaud

Dir. Patrick Wang
175 min

Patrick Wang (The Bread Factory) presents the life of French poet Arthur Rimbaud in this staggeringly adventurous and deeply considered movie, a three-hour, one-man show quite unlike anything we have seen before. "Poetic, audacious and singular."

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre