Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 1

Colour, 35 mm
USA, 2005, 99 min
Section: Special Events
Oficiální stránky: www.williamgreaves.com/symbio_take2.htm

Synopsis

1968, Central Park, New York City. The director and crew are shooting a scene depicting a testy exchange between Freddie and Alice, a young married couple. The director repeats the same scene from different angles in various parts of the park. But the melodramatic action unfolding in front of the camera has nothing to do with what’s really going on. An unusual number of cameramen film the reactions of the actors, director, crew and onlookers. Thirty-five years later. The aging director returns to Central Park with the same actors who play the same characters. Freddie and Alice meet again for the first time after a bitter divorce more than three decades earlier. They clearly want to forget about the past. Not the director. William Greaves’ film, combinig cinéma verité with conventional filmmaking approaches, and improvising with rehearsed text, serves as a fascinating vehicle for investigating the difference between fact and fiction.

About the director

William Greaves (b. 1926, New York City) wears a variety of hats: producer, director, screenwriter, editor, cameraman, actor, dancer, acting teacher. But he is, above all, an independent filmmaker and long-time member of the Actors Studio who made a name for himself with his revolutionary documentaries focusing on the African-American experience. Two highlights of his movie career are Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey (2001; narrated by Sidney Poitier) and the award-winning Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice (1989; narrated by Toni Morrison). Spanning several decades, his career excels for experiments with various genres and styles. As executive producer on the TV series “Black Journal” he was awarded an Emmy. Last year he was honoured by the International Documentary Association (IDA) with a Career Achievement Award.