Coming to DVD, VOD, and digital download today, Tuesday, April 19: THEORY OF OBSCURITY: A FILM ABOUT THE RESIDENTS
Don Hardy’s look at the history of the avant-garde music and art group made its bow at SXSW last year. Since then, it has screened at DOC NYC, BAFICI, Indielisboa, San Francisco, IFF Boston, DOXA, Melbourne, Revelation, Portland, Sydney Underground, and Cucalorus, among several others.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In their 40-year career, the members of the pioneering sound and video collective known as The Residents have insisted on absolute anonymity, performing in distinctive giant eyeball masks and natty suits, and never revealing their true identities. In Don Hardy’s entertaining, accessible film, longtime collaborators, ardent supporters like THE SIMPSONS’ Matt Groening, magician Penn Jillette and MoMA’s Barbara London – and maybe even band members themselves – reveal the history, cult popularity, and wild creativity of the eccentric group, set against the spectacle of their international anniversary tour.
what (not) to doc 