Big Joy Weekend: In Bed With James Broughton And Friends
BIG JOY: The Adventures of James Broughton
A Cabaret Screening
2 p.m. Saturday January 11
Music, Jason Jenn preview & Poetry Readings to precede film.
Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton chronicles the idiosyncratic life and groundbreaking work of this influential poet and filmmaker. Like a gay, hippie version of Zelig, this Renaissance man lived many lives through many decades- a playwright in the post-war San Francisco arts scene, a filmmaking career in Europe that culminated in a special prize at Cannes and an academic life at SF Art Institute that fostered his experimental work of the 1970s and 1980s. “The Bed” with its liberal use of nudity broke new ground in U.S. cinema and censorship. Although Broughton’s personal life consisted of marriage and three children, it wasn’t till he met a male student 35 years his junior that he found the way to live the transcendent life he espoused. This film will inspire you to do the same!
Director Q&A after film..
ECSTASY FOR EVERYONE!
A performance piece celebrating James Broughton, by Jason Jenn
8 p.m. Saturday January 11
Poet James Broughton had many sublime personal mottos, including “Adventure not predicament” Follow Your Own Weird” and, as the title references, “I believe in ecstasy for everyone”! Los Angeles-based performance artist Jason Jenn, AKA the Troubadour Trixter, brings to vivid life on stage the wit, wonder, and whimsy of Broughton’s world and words. The dramatic readings are supported by movement, song, film clips, costumes, props, and other visual elements inspired by Broughton’s films to express the heart, soul, and wisdom of his extraordinary life. Broughton’s work speaks to us with a most beguiling mercurial charm, both devoutly spiritual and sexually liberated, with themes as relevant as ever in these troubling modern times.
IN BED WITH JAMES BROUGHTON
Four of his groundbreaking Experimental films & Discussion with his Friends
4 p.m. Sunday, January 12
Called by some the Father of West Coast Experimental Film, James Broughton (1913-1999) made 23 experimental films, and wrote 23 books of poetry.
Experience some of his films and discuss them with people who knew James.
Testament (1974 – 20 min) is a whimsical look at Broughton’s life. He thought it might be his last film, but then he met Joel Singer
The Water Circle (1975 – 3 min) is an example of his poem/films – an art form he pioneered
The Bed (1968 – 20 min) was his most famous film. Made during the summer of love at Alan Watts’ Marin County compound, it explores all the things that can happen on a bed. Cast includes Watts, Imogene Cunningham, Gavin Arthur, Anna Halprin, and many hippies.
Devotions (1983 – 22 min), a collaboration with his husband Joel Singer, is a look at all the different ways men can love each other