Llyn Foulkes One Man Band premieres at the 2014 New Jersey International Film Festival at Rutgers University on Sunday, June 8!

Llyn Foulkes One Man Band premieres at the 2014 New Jersey International Film Festival at Rutgers University on Sunday, June 8! 

Here is an interview I did with Llyn Foulkes One Man Band Director Tamar Halpern:

Nigrin: Your documentary film Llyn Foulkes One Man Band is a humorous and indelibly honest feature-length doc about an artist who few have heard of. Tell us a bit about your film and why you decided to make it.

Halpern: Llyn Foulkes is a one of a kind. It's rare to impossible to find an artist with 50 years of experience, who had almost instant meteoric rise to fame in his 20's with museums collecting his paintings, who then slowly faded from the limelight and who has an incredible eloquence and ability to discuss his emotions and experiences so openly on camera. Most painters communicate through their art, but Llyn has complete access to the depth of his experiences and is an incredible communicator. Add to that the surprise that happened in the sixth year of filming, his rediscovery by the international art world at the age of 77. All of these elements combined to create a deeply compelling story.

Nigrin: How long did it take you to complete the film and what has been viewers reaction to it so far?

Halpern:  We started film in 2004. We finished filming in 2012. We edited to make a deadline for the 2013 LA Film Festival where we premiered in competition. And now it's been all about marketing, which no one tells you is actually the most difficult part of making a film. Now it's a fulltime job instead of a hobby on the side all those years. Viewers from all walks of life – painters, attorneys, accountants, stay at home moms and filmmakers – have had strong reactions to the film, citing a great personal shift in themselves and the inability to stop thinking about the film for days, sometimes weeks, after. One friend who does hair and make up for Jeff Bridges was so knocked off his feet by the study of the creative process and the artist’s struggle, he couldn’t stop talking about all the elements in the story – passion, love, love lost, obsessive pursuit, dedication, the inability to let go, perfectionism, even the constant humor in the film and the way it mixes with tears – that Jeff said he had to see it. We count Jeff Bridges as one of our biggest fans. Jeff, an artist himself on many levels, made a drawing of Llyn playing his melodious and idiosyncratic one man band instrument, called The Machine.  There are so many personal messages in this film about creativity, suffering, self sabotage, passion, commitment and love lost, I can't say which strikes each person the most. Let's just say everyone who sees this film writes to me a few days later or tells me at some point, "I couldn't stop thinking about it" and then they tell me which aspect punched them in the stomach most effectively.

Nigrin: Where there any memorable stories in getting the film finished or any other info about your film you can pass on to us?

Halpern: The painting that becomes the co-star of the film, The Awakening, was purchased by Brad Pitt after we finished filming. For centuries, people have admired paintings and wondered what the backstory was – at the Huntington Museum they have x-ray imaging of The Blue Boy by Thomas Ganinsborough, showing the different layers of paint and the stories they reveal. The Girl With The Pearl Earring by Vermeer spawned an incredible book and film in which people are driven to imagine the possibilities. Even the Mona Lisa has left everyone guessing and wondering. We documented the twenty year history of Llyn Foulkes’ The Awakening, so I guess in some ways, Mr. Pitt is quite fortunate. Instead of wondering when he looks at the painting, he can marvel and reel from the knowledge – a complete rarity.

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Two lovely short films will be screened prior to Llyn Foulkes One Man Band on Sunday, June 8 at the New Jersey International Film Festival.  Here is more info about this screening:

No Such Luck – Laura Harrison (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
An animated short about a woman who keeps on trying her luck in Atlantic City, driven by hopeless hope. 2014; 4 min.

The Commute – Jake Alexander (New York, New York)
A father attempting to return home in time for his daughter’s birthday party runs into major obstacles.  2013; 4 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Director Jake Alexander!

Llyn Foulkes One Man Band (the most famous artist you’ve never heard of) – Tamar Halpern and Chris Quilty (Los Angeles, California)
During the seven years chronicled in this very humorous and indelibly honest feature-length doc, the artist Llyn Foulkes creates, destroys, and then recreates two large 3D paintings, until he is at last rediscovered by the international art world at the ripe old age of 77.  Featuring interviews with Johnny Carson, Dennis Hopper and many other collectors and fans. The score was composed by Foulkes on his massive, fanciful, and self-invented instrument called “The Machine.” The film speaks to all our hopes and dreams of leaving a legacy, as well as our deepest concerns regarding our passions and mortality. 2014; 88 min.

Sunday, June 8, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.

Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University,
71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey
$10=General; $9=Students+Seniors; $8=Rutgers Film Co-op Friends
Information: (848) 932-8482; www.njfilmfest.com

Free Food courtesy of Jimmy Johns will be given out prior to this screening of the New Jersey International Film Festival!