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Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was An Idea streams online for a limited time through Nov 17 in the “Honoring Our Veterans” package at Centre Film Festival.
The Movie Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea is a documentary about the life and work of artist and Marine H.C. (“Cliff”) Westermann. It explores how his experiences in World War II and the Korean War influenced his surreal artworks. Narrated by Ed Harris and directed by Leslie Buchbinder, the film Features interviews with prominent figures like Ed Ruscha and Frank Gehry.
The annual Oregon Independent Film Festival© returns for our 14th festival season, showcasing the best independent cinema of past year in historic venues across the magnificent state of Oregon.
Dedicated to discovering the greatest new filmmakers, the Oregon Independent Film Festival searches the globe to find the most innovative and engaging movies of the year, to screen the best new work, alongside hollywood premieres, together in the legendary cinema houses of the pacific northwest, as part of our mission to promote the majestic state of Oregon as a global film tourism destination.
A documentary about the life and work of artist H.C. (“Cliff”) Westermann, voiceacted by four-time Academy-Award nominee Ed Harris, conceived and directed by Leslie Buchbinder, and featuring interviews with Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, and many others.
As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who struggled with the ramifications of modern warfare, Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through his beguiling, surreal artworks.
The film is executive produced by KAWS, and award-winning documentary producer Caryn Capotosto, whose projects include "Won’t You Be My Neighbor," and "Best of Enemies.". Featuring music by legendary artists Laurie Anderson, the Kronos Quartet, and Terry Allen, with an original score by Tomeka Reid.
WINNER: Best Director - Leslie Buchbinder
WINNER: Best Documentary
Eugene Art House Cinemas
492 E 13th Ave. Eugene, OR 97401
In collaboration with Rhodes College, Crosstown Arts presents a special screening of Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea in Crosstown Theater.
Crosstown Theater
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Tickets: $5 at the door
Doors at 6:30 pm | Film begins at 7:00 pm (sharp!)
Leslie Buchbinder / 2023 / 86 minutes / Not Rated
A 3-D documentary film about the life and work of artist and marine H.C. (“Cliff”) Westermann, voice-acted by four-time Academy-Award nominee Ed Harris, conceived and directed by Leslie Buchbinder, and featuring interviews with Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, and many others. As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who struggled with the ramifications of modern warfare, Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through his beguiling, surreal artworks. The film is executive produced by the international art icon KAWS, and award-winning documentary producer Caryn Capotosto, whose prior projects include “Little Richard: I Am Everything” and “The Thief Collector.” Westermann features music by legendary artists Laurie Anderson, the Kronos Quartet, and Terry Allen, with an original score by MacArthur “Genius Grant” winner Tomeka Reid.
The Crosstown Arts Film Series showcases a diverse collection of independent, international, historically significant, artistic, experimental, cult, underground, and documentary features.
1ST SCREENING: 5:30 PM
2ND SCREENING: 7:30 PM
A 3D documentary film that chronicles the story of a marine veteran who navigated the profound traumas of war by making art, becoming a hero to generations of artists, including his friends Ed Ruscha and Frank Gehry, among others interviewed in this immersive film.
Runtime: 1h26
TICKETS
Director: Leslie Buchbinder
Documentary Feature, United States, 2023, 91 min, Color
This film is a documentary about the life and work of artist and U.S. Marine H.C. Westermann, voice-acted by four-time Academy-Award nominee Ed Harris, conceived and directed by Leslie Buchbinder, and featuring interviews with Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, and many others.
As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who struggled with the ramifications of modern warfare, Westermann's dramatic personal history can be traced through his beguiling, surreal artworks.
The film is executive-produced by the international art icon KAWS, and award-winning documentary producer Caryn Capotosto, whose prior projects include Won't You Be My Neighbor, Best of Enemies, and more. The film features music by legendary artists Laurie Anderson, the Kronos Quartet, and Terry Allen, with an original score by MacArthur Genius Grant winner Tomeka Reid.
St. Louis Art Museum
Friday, September 6, 2024 | 6–8 pm CDT | Free
Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea is a documentary film about the life and work of artist, marine, and acrobat H. C. (Cliff) Westermann. As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through beguiling, surreal artworks he made to process the horrors he witnessed on the front lines. In so doing, he became an inspiration for many young artists. The film was conceived and directed by Leslie Buchbinder. It features interviews with Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, William T. Wiley, Billy Al Bengston, and other artists, along with Westermann’s beloved sister, Martha Westermann Renner. 86 minutes.
NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE
As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who struggled with the ramifications of modern warfare, H.C. (“Cliff”) Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through his beguiling, surreal artworks. Processing years of horror, Westermann turned to art for control and protection – all while “walking the tightrope” of life, death, hope, and creation.
TICKETS / INFO
Followed by a post-screening panel discussion moderated by the Music Box’s Steve Prokopy featuring writer and director, Leslie Buchbinder, editor and producer, Brian Ashby, and co-writer and producer Harrison Sherrod
Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea is a 3-D documentary film about the life and work of artist and marine H.C. (“Cliff”) Westermann, voice-acted by four-time Academy-Award nominee Ed Harris, conceived and directed by Leslie Buchbinder, and featuring interviews with Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, and many others. As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who struggled with the ramifications of modern warfare, Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through his beguiling, surreal artworks. The film reveals how Westermann protected his empathic spirit – and sanity – by ‘sculpting’ his body, artworks, friendships, his hand-hewn house, and his art-filled letters to his dearest friends and family. Executive produced by the international art icon KAWS, and award-winning documentary producer Caryn Capotosto, Westermann features music by legendary artists Laurie Anderson, the Kronos Quartet, and Terry Allen, with an original score by MacArthur "Genius Grant" winner Tomeka Reid.
Director: Leslie Buchbinder
Best Score - Tomeka Reid
Best Song - "We Head Out" by Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet
The first 3-D Film Screening in our festival's history!
This documentary about the life and work of artist and marine H.C. “Cliff” Westermann (voice-acted by four-time Academy-Award nominee Ed Harris), was conceived and directed by Leslie Buchbinder, and features interviews with Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, and many others.
As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who struggled with the ramifications of modern warfare, Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through his beguiling, surreal artworks.
The film is executive produced by the international art icon KAWS, and award-winning documentary producer Caryn Capotosto, whose prior projects include "Won’t You Be My Neighbor," "Best of Enemies," and more. Westermann features music by legendary artists Laurie Anderson, the Kronos Quartet, and Terry Allen, with an original score by MacArthur Genius Grant winner Tomeka Reid.
3-D FESTIVAL PREMIERE
12:00pm
June 14th Regal Cinemas / L.A. LIVE 14
Pentimenti is honored to screen Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea at the Woodward Theater, one of Cincinnati's most renowned music and arts venues. More info below!
June 10th, 2024 | 7:30 show
Woodward Theater | 1404 Main St, (Cincinnati, OH)
Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea is a documentary film about the life and work of artist, marine, and acrobat H.C. (Cliff) Westermann. As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through beguiling, surreal artworks he made to process the horrors he witnessed on the front lines. In so doing, he became an inspiration for many young artists. The film reveals how Westermann protected his empathic spirit – and sanity – by ‘sculpting’ his body, artworks, friendships, his hand-hewn house, and his art-filled letters to his dearest friends and family.
We're thrilled to announce that Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea will be screening daily from June 3rd through the 8th at B-tree Gallery on the campus of Hongik University in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Hongik University is one of the premiere institutions for art and design in South Korea. Pentimenti wishes to thank Sohyun An for organizing the screening and translating the film into Korean. More info via the event page here.
Part of the ARThouse series
June 2 + 5 | TICKETS
This dramatic recounting of the life of artist, combat veteran, and acrobat H. C. Westerman pays special attention to the art he made to process his trauma from the Korean War. Director Buchbinder was once a professional dancer, and tried to capture the movement found in Westerman’s sculptures using 3-D and slow, rotating close-ups. Narrated by Ed Harris, the film features interviews with luminaries including Ed Ruscha, Billy Al Bengston, Frank Gehry, and more. It contains music by Laurie Anderson, the Kronos Quartet, Terry Allen, and others. It makes for a supergroup homage to this singular artist. (3-D, dir. Leslie Buchbinder, US, 2023, 86m)
On Friday, May 31st, from 6:00 – 8:30 PM the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum will screen Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea, a film about the life and work of artist, marine, and acrobat H.C. (Cliff) Westermann. This movie is voice acted by Ed Harris and features interviews with Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, William T. Wiley, Billy Al Bengston, and other artist-pals, along with his beloved sister, Martha Westermann Renner. This screening will also feature a special introductory video by Director Leslie Buchbinder.
Next month, on Thursday, June 27th, from 6:00 – 8:30 PM we are screening Hairy Who and the Chicago Imagists. It brings to life the milieu of Chicago in the 1960s, and also showcases the legacy of the Imagists’ work in contemporary art production today, from Jeff Koons to Chris Ware. Themes in the narrative include the Imagists’ emergence within the national context of Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, the rise and fall of taste within art history, and the uncharacteristic equality afforded to women artists among this Chicago group.
Both films are free for members.
$10 for guests and non-members.
For more info, and to RSVP, please visit the Ohr-O’Keefe’s event page here.
Join us for a special one-time screening of the documentary that chronicles the story of H.C. Westermann - a marine veteran who navigated the profound traumas of war by making art, becoming a hero to generations of artists, including his friends Ed Ruscha and Frank Gehry, among others interviewed in this immersive film. Sunday, May 26 at 5:00. Tickets are $12.50 each and available now.
Nomination: Best Documentary Feature
Nomination: Founders’ Choice Award
“Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea” is a 3D documentary film about the life and work of artist, Marine, and acrobat H.C. (Cliff) Westermann. As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through the beguiling, surreal artworks he made to process the horrors he witnessed on the front lines. In doing so, he became an inspiration for many young artists. The film reveals ways in which Westermann protected his empathic spirit – and sanity – by ‘sculpting’ his body, artworks, friendships, his hand-hewn house, and his art-filled letters to his dearest friends and family. The documentary explores themes of resiliency, hope, and humor with a script culled from over a thousand of Westermann’s letters and one audio-interview – voiced by four-time Academy-Award nominee Ed Harris.
DIRECTOR:
Leslie Buchbinder
CAST:
Ed Harris, Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry
SYNOPSIS:
This is a wildly imaginative documentary film about the life and work of artist and marine H.C. (“Cliff”) Westermann, voice-acted by four-time Academy Award nominee Ed Harris. The film was conceived and directed by Leslie Buchbinder, and features interviews with artists Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, and many others. As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who struggled with the ramifications of modern warfare, Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through his beguiling, surreal artworks.
DIRECTOR:
Leslie Buchbinder
CAST:
Ed Harris, Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry
SYNOPSIS:
This is a wildly imaginative documentary film about the life and work of artist and marine H.C. (“Cliff”) Westermann, voice-acted by four-time Academy Award nominee Ed Harris. The film was conceived and directed by Leslie Buchbinder, and features interviews with artists Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, and many others. As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who struggled with the ramifications of modern warfare, Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through his beguiling, surreal artworks.
Doors at 6:30 p.m.; Film at 7 p.m. Tickets $5.
Click here to buy tickets.
Click here to learn more about accessibility at the Tomorrow Theater.
ON SCREEN: Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea
2023. Directed by Leslie Buchbinder. Runtime: 86 minutes. Not Rated.
Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea is a documentary film about the life and work of artist and marine H.C. (“Cliff”) Westermann, voice-acted by four-time Academy Award nominee Ed Harris, conceived and directed by Leslie Buchbinder, and featuring interviews with Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, and many others. The film is executive produced by the international art icon KAWS, and award-winning documentary producer Caryn Capotosto, whose current projects include 2023 Sundance opening film, Little Richard: I Am Everything, and prior projects include Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Best of Enemies, and more. Westermann features music by legendary artists Laurie Anderson, the Kronos Quartet, and Terry Allen, with an original score by MacArthur “Genius Grant” winner Tomeka Reid.
As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who struggled with the ramifications of modern warfare, Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through his beguiling, surreal artworks. The documentary explores the themes of Westermann’s life and work, including resiliency, hope, and humor. Westermann used art as a means of processing the trauma of war and, in spite of these horrors, he adopted an empathic and hopeful spirit that courses through his artwork and relationships, becoming an inspiration to many young artists. These themes are woven into a visceral essay-film format (as opposed to a biopic or didactic art history lecture), which invites the audience to interact with Westermann’s story in a visually lush and meditative way. Westermann was enamored of the creative potential of tools, and their ability to transform raw materials into objects of totemic power.
Join ArtYard for a screening of “Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea,” a 3D documentary film that chronicles the story of a marine veteran who navigated the profound traumas of war by making art and becoming a hero to generations of artists, including his friends Ed Ruscha and Frank Gehry, among others interviewed in this immersive film.
A talkback with Director Leslie Buchbinder follows the screening.
We’re honored to screen Westermann as part of the 2024 Golden State Film Festival, hosted at the legendary Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Tickets are available at the box office or via the festival webpage. To purchase a ticket online, scroll down to 02/27 and select “Block GGG.” The Golden State Film Festival is designed to be a contending platform for independent filmmakers to promote independent films in California The "Golden State". The festival caters to independent filmmakers of shorts and feature projects looking to promote to distributors and film aficionados in the Los Angeles area and California.
Pentimenti is proud to announce two FREE screenings of its feature-length, 3-D H.C. Westermann documentary, written and directed by Leslie Buchbinder, Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea (86min, 3-D DCP) on Saturday, January 27 at the Logan Center for the Arts (915 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637), hosted in association with the Smart Museum and the Film Studies Center. In between screenings there will be a special collections viewing at the Smart Museum (5550 S. Greenwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60637), also free to the public.
11:30AM SCREENING
1:30PM - 4:30 PM | Post-screening special collections viewing from the Smart Museum’s H.C. Westermann Study Collection, one of the most significant public collections of artwork and archival material related to Westermann’s life and work.
5:00PM SCREENING | Post-screening panel discussion featuring John Corbett (Corbett vs Dempsey), Berit Ness (Smart Museum of Art), Leslie Buchbinder (Pentimenti Productions), and artist Alex Chitty.
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Introduced by AIC President James Rondeau, Director Leslie Buchbinder, and Curator Makayla May.
Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea" closes the Veterans Film Festival, 10/06 at 5:15pm! The screening will take place at the Veterans War Memorial Building, located at 401 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, CA.
Presented by OneVet OneVoice, the Veterans Film Festival is a robust forum for active duty, Veterans, and civilian filmmakers to express their creativity and to share their stories, which in turn helps further healing and brings greater awareness to the public on the challenges our nation’s Veterans face. The festival spotlights active duty, Veterans, and civilian filmmakers addressing issues about Veterans and military-related topics.
Please find more info at: onevetonevoice.org
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Post-screening panel discussion with Director Leslie Buchbinder, Ed Ruscha, and Frank Gehry.
REGISTER NOW
Post-screening panel discussion with Director Leslie Buchbinder, Trenton Doyle Hancock, and Aaron Curry. Moderated by John Corbett. This event will also feature an hour of films curated by Miranda July.
This Wednesday night at NEIU we’re excited to present a very rare 35mm screening of Victor Erice’s THE QUINCE TREE SUN co-presented with Chicago Film Society. Tickets are $10 at the door.
This extraordinarily rare documentary–acclaimed as one of the best films of the 1990s by the cinephiles of TIFF Cinematheque but barely distributed in the US–resurfaces as Victor Erice returns to Cannes with his first new film in three decades. Quince Tree is an exacting portrait of artist Antonio López García and the world contained in his backyard, from his family and nearby Polish laborers to the elusive beauty of the titular quince tree.
To accompany their exhibition, The Making of Husbands: Christina Ramberg in Dialogue, Frac Lorraine will screen our award-winning, critically-acclaimed film, Hairy Who & The Chicago Imagists. While Hairy Who has screened in London, Vienna, and other cities around the globe, this screening marks its premiere in France. Frac Lorraine, in collaboration with Triangle - Astérides, Marseille and the Fondation Antoine de Galbert, undertook the translation, which will be made available to other institutions interested in screening the film with French subtitles. For more information about the Christina Ramberg exhibition and the screening, please visit the Frac Lorraine website.
In the mid 1960s, the city of Chicago was an incubator for an iconoclastic group of young artists. Collectively known as the Imagists, they showed in successive waves of exhibitions with monikers that might have been psychedelic rock bands of the era—Hairy Who, Nonplussed Some, False Image, Marriage Chicago Style. Kissing cousins to the contemporaneous international phenomenon of Pop Art, Chicago Imagism took its own weird, wondrous, in-your-face tack. Variously pugnacious, puerile, scatological, graphic, comical, and absurd, it celebrated a very different version of ‘popular’ from the detached cool of New York, London and Los Angeles. Hairy Who & The Chicago Imagists is the first film to tell their wild, woolly, utterly irreverent story.
A Chicago Lost and Found event hosted by Paul Durica, with Jamie Ceaser, Jason Nargis, and Tom Palazzolo in person!
Sunday, March 8th, 2020
3:00-5:00pm
Ed Paschke Art Center
5415 W Higgins Ave, Chicago, IL 60630
PLEASE NOTE: This event is currently sold out.
Free, but spaces are limited and RSVP is required.
To attend, contact the Ed Paschke Art Center: info@edpaschkeartcenter.org
“Here Is a Man Who Stood Up” is an immersive experience that uses archival objects, never-before-seen footage, and one-time-only re-stagings to animate the life and work of lifelong Chicago artist Ed Paschke.
Paschke (1939-2004) was known for his dark version of Pop Art, which featured American icons painted in nightmarish, lurid neon colors. “Here is a man who would not take it any more… Here is a man who stood up” from 1976’s Taxi Driver served as Paschke’s answering machine message.That movie’s disturbed and lonely protagonist, Travis Bickle, resembled the elements of society that fascinated Paschke throughout his life and found expression in his art.
“Here is a Man Who Stood Up” at the Ed Paschke Art Center is hosted by Paul Durica, Director of Exhibitions at the Newberry Library, and features rare archival items and ephemera presented by Northwestern University’s Jason Nargis; screenings of Tommy “Chicago” Palazzolo’s short film The Tattooed Lady of Riverview and Chicago-based producer Jamie Ceaser’s documentary Ed Paschke: The Artist Behind the Mask; and a “virtual” true crime tour inspired by Paschke and led by Durica.
Anchoring the event and framing these activities is newly discovered and restored footage of Paschke produced by Ceaser. The footage follows Paschke around Chicago as he narrates the seamy history that has taken place on ordinary streets and offers a chance to engage with the man himself and his cultural preoccupations.
“Here is a Man Who Stood Up” is part of Media Burn Archive’s Chicago Lost & Found series. Media Burn is a nonprofit in Chicago that collects, restores and distributes documentary video created by artists, activists and community groups. Its mission is to use archival media to deepen context and encourage critical thought through a social justice lens.
Partnering with Media Burn on the event is Pentimenti, a film production company and nonprofit arts organization in the city of Chicago with a mission to produce and distribute high-quality educational documentaries on the visual arts.The inaugural project of Pentimenti Productions is the documentary Hairy Who & The Chicago Imagists, the first feature film presentation of the work and history of the group of artists who have come to be known as the Chicago Imagists.
The mission of the Ed Paschke Art Center is to preserve and provide public access to the work of legendary Ed Paschke; to serve as an educational resource for youth, adults, artists and academics; and to function as an accessible platform for artists to showcase their work.
Chicago Lost & Found is generously supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Videography Workshop for Entrepreneurs
Pentimenti is pleased to partner with the Polsky Center to host another Videography Workshop for Entrepreneurs.
Whether you need video of your product, team, or for your Instagram channel, join us for an intensive, two day crash course on the essentials of video production. Through illustrative examples from a wide range of media and hands-on exercises, this class will leverage concepts from documentary filmmaking to help participants create dynamic product and marketing videos, learn how to better shoot footage on a smartphone, and expand their visual identity with cinematic techniques.
The curriculum will cover the essential stages of the production process, with the first day devoted to cinematography and the second day focused on editing. Exercises involve: choreographing and shooting an interview; creating and editing a project in Adobe Premiere; and integrating stock footage and music. All experience levels welcome.
Polsky is excited to present this workshop in partnership with the Hyde Park Art Center and Pentimenti Productions, a documentary production company with a mission to make films about art and artists.
We're pleased to partner with the Ed Paschke Art Center to present another screening of 4 Films by Suzanne Simpson, a collection of long-lost documentaries digitally restored and re-released by Pentimenti. Each of the four short films by Simpson profiles an artist who spent formative time in California during the 1970s, including Mark di Suvero, Roy De Forest, Hassel Smith and local legend Karl Wirsum, who was briefly a visiting instructor at the California State University, Sacramento. Virtually unseen for more than four decades, Simpson's whimsical quartet of archival films captures these artists flourishing amidst the 1970s Bay Area art scene, when Funk art was thriving. View the trailer for 4 Films by Suzanne Simpson here!
The screening will be followed by a talk-back with Harrison Sherrod, executive director of Pentimenti Productions. Running time: 60 minutes
