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02.25.08

February 19, 2008

For More Information: Lea McLees, 404.727.0211, lmclees@emory.edu.
Andy Ditzler, 404.727.6992, aditzle@emory.edu

For Immediate Release

INDEPENDENT FILM DIRECTOR GEORGE KUCHAR TO VISIT EMORY ON MARCH 20

Independent film legend George Kuchar will visit Emory University on March 20 as part of a three-day series of Atlanta events examining his work.

“Stormy Weather: George Kuchar in the Elements,” scheduled for 8 p.m. March 20 in 101 White Hall on the Emory campus, will focus on the role that weather plays in many of the director’s films. Kuchar will provide commentary and answer questions as attendees view his short films “A Town Called Tempest,” “Back to Nature,” “Weather Diary 3” and “500 Millibars to Ecstasy.”

Kuchar’s appearance at Emory will be preceded March 18 with an 8 p.m. special lecture by Gene Youngblood, professor of moving image arts at the College of Santa Fe, on “The Video Diaries of George Kuchar” in 206 White Hall. Youngblood has extensively studied and written on Kuchar’s video diaries, having viewed all 160 of them. He is preparing a book and website on the diaries and has been awarded the first Creative Capital/Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writing Grant for this project. Youngblood’s lecture will give an overview of the themes and the importance of Kuchar’s diary works, using clips from Youngblood’s own collection.

Kuchar will wrap up his visit to Atlanta with an 8 p.m. March 21 appearance at the interdisciplinary Eyedrum gallery for contemporary art, music and new media . “A Zest for Life: Classic Early Films by the Kuchars” will highlight several of the first 8mm films George Kuchar and his brother Mike created that influenced generations of filmmakers, including Andy Warhol and John Waters. Short films to be shown include “I, An Actress,” “Anita Needs Me,” “I Was A Teenage Rumpot,” “Sylvia’s Promise” and “Hold Me While I’m Naked,” along with other selections to be announced.

Kuchar, who has directed more than 200 films, is known for bridging boundaries in high and low culture. He began creating films in the 1950s as a teenager with his brother Mike. Their work up-ended Hollywood melodramas into small-scale epics noted for creative low-budget effects, over-the-top plots and enthusiastic performances by their cast of friends. Kuchar’s classic film “Hold Me While I’m Naked” is beloved by several generations of fans and filmmakers, and was voted one of the 100 best films of the 20th century by the critics of the Village Voice.

Most of Kuchar’s work is available for viewing via only 16mm film prints, or videos owned by institutions such as libraries, says Andy Ditzler, media coordinator for the Marian K. Heilbrun Music and Media Library at Emory University.

“These films are not released on consumer videos, so the best opportunity people have to see them is through events like the one we’ve organized,” Ditzler said. “The majority of Kuchar’s work is stored in libraries or other institutions; most of it has never been released to the public.”

In the mid-1980s, Kuchar turned to videomaking, and created what is possibly the largest single collection of video diaries. This ongoing chronicle of the artist’s life is called “unique in film history” by the scholar Gene Youngblood. In Kuchar’s video universe, nothing is safe from the camera. His sometimes shocking imagery is often accompanied by Kuchar’s outrageous and often funny commentary. Below the witty surface lie profound and moving meditations on human existence.

The events at Emory are free and open to the public. The Eyedrum event is free, but donations at the door are greatly appreciated. The films to be screened contain adult content.

The Kuchar series is organized by Frequent Small Meals productions and is co-sponsored by several units of Emory University: The Hightower Fund,the Race & Difference Initiative, the Studies in Sexualities Initiative, the Office of Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender Life, the Heilbrun Music and Media Library, the Art History department, the American Studies Department, the Film Studies Department and the Institute of Liberal Arts.

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The Emory University Libraries in Atlanta and Oxford, Ga., are dedicated to fostering courageous inquiry among students and scholars at Emory University and around the world. The nine libraries' holdings include more than 3.1 million print and electronic volumes, 40,000-plus electronic journals, and internationally renowned special collections.

Emory University is one of the nation’s leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Emory is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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