Event

SLIFF - Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton

Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton
Eric Slade, Stephen Silha & Dawn Logsdon, U.S., 2013, 82 min.
Sunday, Nov. 17, 1 p.m., KDHX
Considered the "father of West Coast experimental film," James Broughton received the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award for Experimental Film in 1989. Broughton's quirky, whimsical films broke long-held taboos (including frontal nudity) and pioneered the melding of image and poetry. "Big Joy" chronicles Broughton's life, art, and boldly unconventional choices (like marrying a young man) and celebrates his artistic fecundity (he produced 23 wildly different books of poetry and 23 films). Encompassing the Great Depression, the McCarthy era, the Beat and hippie movements, and gay liberation, "Big Joy" combines interviews, animation, and poetry to inspire people in joining Broughton on his quest to "follow your own Weird." Calling Broughton "an inspiring figure in the gay movement," Out Magazine says that "Big Joy" provides "a long-awaited rediscovery, enlightening us about his art and his influence on gay life, particularly in terms of spirituality and self-acceptance."