A rare, revelatory film about the vast photographic and cinematic contributions of Robert Frank, told by the artist himself
This fall, Hamilton Theater will screen ‘Don’t Blink – Robert Frank,’ a fast-paced, highly original portrait of one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Frank’s reputation has often been confined to his earliest work, The Americans (1958), while his film works, artistic collaborations and breadth of imagery remain obscure. Director Laura Israel, Frank’s film and video editor for more than two decades, was given unprecedented access to the press-averse artist who is now 92 years old. Don’t Blink – Robert Frank, an Oscar-qualifying feature length film, will be screening in Hamilton, Nov. 23 through 27 at 5:30 p.m.
Frank entered the film scene with the 1959 Beat short, Pull My Daisy, co-directed by Alfred Leslie, narrated by Jack Kerouac, and starring Allen Ginsberg. Including Pull My Daisy, this documentary features seventeen of Robert Frank’s films—many recently restored by the director and seldom seen by the public.
Traveling between irrevocable moments in his life and remarkable developments in his work ‘Don’t Blink’ characterizes the link between the two realms of his experience as inextricably intertwined. The film situates his lesser known work; for example, with Walker Evans for Fortune Magazine, his documentation of Welsh coal miners, London bankers, Peruvian Indians and 1960s counterculture (including Stewart Brand of Whole Earth Catalog and Wavy Gravy).
‘Don’t Blink’ takes audiences beyond Frank’s infamous apartment on Bleecker Street and unexpected relocation to Mabou, Nova Scotia. While tracing the notably irascible artist, Laura Israel unearths startling insight into the methodology underlying his undeniable genius.
The New York Film Festival described the film as, “a fast and fleeting imprint of the life of the Swiss-born man who reinvented himself the American way, and is still standing on ground of his own making.”
The soundtrack includes Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, White Stripes, Velvet Underground, Yo La Tengo, Tom Waits and more.