Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, April 22: HOCKNEY
Randall Wright’s portrait of the influential British artist made its debut at BFI London in 2014. The film went on to screen at BAFICI, Doc Aviv, Minneapolis St Paul, Brighton, Vancouver, Palm Springs, and St Louis, among other events.
Gaining access to the somewhat reclusive septuagenarian and to his extensive personal archive, Wright constructs an engaging biography of the artist. Introducing viewers to family and close friends, the film traces the artist’s roots in working class Bradford, England, his early forays into artistic expression, and his blossoming after he relocated to Los Angeles in the 1960s. In addition to sharing anecdotes about his life, they offer enjoyable anecdotes and behind-the-scenes observations about the origins of some of his famed paintings. For his part, Hockney not only offers compelling insight about his approach to time and space in his paintings, but also demonstrates surprising candor about his personal life, reflecting on his experiences as a gay man as AIDS ravaged the community in the 1980s.
