David Lynch: The Art Life just debuted at the Venice Film Festival. The new documentary chronicles the early life and upbringing of the radical director we all know from his work on Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Dr., Eraserhead and more. Since premiering at Venice, the film has been picked up by global distributors for an upcoming release next spring.
The film originally started out as a Kickstarter campaign that raised nearly six times its funding goal. Production began in 2012, and now four years later the documentary is earning praise and acclaim from audiences around the world. The Art Life is currently on the international festival circuit and is now scheduled to be in theaters and on VOD in early 2017.
Amazon and Criterion partner Janus Films are planning a theatrical run in the United States next year, and Soda Pictures just acquired the film for U.K. distribution. European distribution has already been secured for Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Turkey and Scandinavia. Film Constellation is also currently working to bring the doc to Canada, Japan, and Australia as well.
Is it worth seeing?
The genesis of what eventually led David Lynch to create a lifetime of art is an incredibly interesting story. I have always found his short film works to be evocative even if some of them are discomforting and unsettling. This movie will be worth seeing for fans of the filmmaker as well as people interested in where the creative force behind some of the most provocative films in cinema history came from.
David Lynch has always been a strange and fascinating creative force, and this documentary will no doubt give fans an insightful glance into the man’s earliest years. The trailer looks fantastic and highlights Lynch’s paintings and mixed media work while glancing at his family life and artistic development. This is one theater experience you don’t want to miss.
