Jon Jost: An American Cinematheque Retrospective

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The American Cinematheque is proud to welcome esteemed filmmaker Jon Jost for an in-person retrospective as part of our fourth annual ‘Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair.’ Emerging on the scene in the 1960s, Jost renders a radically personal and politically charged approach to his experimental narratives. Often working with micro-budgets and undertaking the roles of director, writer, cinematographer and editor on his own projects, Jost encapsulates the true spirit of independent filmmaking and became the first director recipient of the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Over the six decades of his film career, Jon Jost has consistently challenged traditional cinematic conventions, employing a distinctive visual language that draws meditation over notions of American identity, alienation, capitalism and injustice. Jost’s first narrative feature, LAST CHANTS FOR A SLOW DANCE, premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and follows an unemployed cowboy drifter who abandons his wife and children. Along with directing and shooting the film, Jost also wrote and recorded the country music heard throughout. FRAMEUP, a satirical take on the classic American road movie, and SURE FIRE, an Americana slice-of-life feature set in Utah’s Dixie, both played in competition at Sundance Film Festival for the Grand Jury Prize. Jost’s final film made in the United States, THE BED YOU SLEEP IN, interrogates the aftermath and devastation of a family marred by sexual abuse. Arguably one of Jost’s most acclaimed films, THE BED YOU SLEEP IN screened at prestigious festivals like Berlin International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival. Our retrospective will also include a rare screening of Jost’s most recent film, DEADENDZ, which took over ten years from its inception to be completed and released.