Westermann Awards & Accolades

“Staggeringly powerful; mind-blowing” — Frank Gehry during Hammer Museum post-screening discussion

“[Westermann’s] hand-carved wooden sculptures pop off cinema screens.” — Art Report Today

“The true star of ‘Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea’ is not its subject, the artist H.C. Westermann (1922-81), but its director, Leslie Buchbinder.” — New York Sun

“The details provided by [Westermann’s] letters and the heartfelt interviews with his family and friends (famous and otherwise), coupled with the 3D focus on his handcrafted objects, here provide a unique kind of intimacy with the subject.” — Art Newspaper

"Westermann lived a life destined for the documentary screen." — Chicago Reader

“Like Pina, the category-defying artistry of H.C. Westermann lends itself to the expanded medium of 3D. Westermann’s personalized handcrafted sculptural assemblages come to life on screen. With a voiceover by Ed Harris, the film reveals how the tragedies of war find something close to resolution in the polished surfaces of Westermann’s surrealist and anthropomorphized totems.” — Art21 Executive Director Tina Kukielski in Document

“A star-studded ensemble” — Art Net

“Westermann, [was] a marine veteran whose anti-war stance and social commentary are humorously transformed in his art practice, and who influenced a generation of renowned artists.” — Documentary Magazine

“Recommended ✓” — Time Out LA

“Explores Westermann’s work, its novel insightful into psychological trauma, its impact on generations of artists, conceptions of masculinity, hope, resiliency, and more.” — HoloFiles

“Extraordinary” — Curate LA

Runner-Up, Best Documentary Feature — Veterans Film Festival