nothing’s too good for the common people:
a paul kelly retrospective
saturday 15 june 2013, 11am–6pm
cantor film center, 35 east 8th street (between greene street and university place)
free and open to the public (but you must RSVP)
presented by the colloquium for unpopular culture & chickfactor 21
—
11:00am: introduction by sukhdev sandhu
11:15: this is tomorrow (2007), 54 min (NYC premiere)
12:15pm: what have you done today, mervyn day? (2005), 45 min (NYC premiere)
1:30: finisterre (2003), 60 min
2:45: take three girls: the dolly mixture story (2012), 40 min (NYC premiere)
3:45-4:15: discussion between paul kelly and bilge ebiri/ Q&A
4:30-6:00: lawrence of belgravia (2011), 86 min (NYC premiere)
over the last decade, paul kelly – already well known as a musician (as a member of the much-revered east village and birdie) and graphic designer – has forged a reputation as one of the most distinctive british documentarians of his generation. refining an unusually lyrical brand of psychogeography informed by pop-modernist aesthetics, he moves between the city symphony, film essay and companionate portraiture to fashion beautifully composed and deeply atmospheric evocations of overlooked places and individuals. whether working in collaboration with the band saint etienne on a lushly ambient trilogy about london, or in his witty and empathetic films about the much-beloved dolly mixture and lawrence of felt, kelly’s films are immediately recognizable and immediately lovable.
nothing’s too good for the common people is the first retrospective of this key filmmaker’s work to have been held anywhere. organized by the new york-based colloquium for unpopular culture (kiss me again: the life and legacy of arthur russell; leaving the factory: wang bing’s tie xi qu; a cathode ray séance: the haunted worlds of nigel kneale) in collaboration with chickfactor magazine, it will feature the US premieres of many films, introductions by a constellation of artists and musicians, and paul kelly himself in discussion with the director and writer bilge ebiri.
to mark nothing’s too good for the common people, there will be available for sale copies of a very limited-edition book designed by rob carmichael (john cale, LCD soundsystem, animal collective’s ‘crack box’) and featuring contributions by a wide range of writers, musicians and architectural historians including jon dale, travis elborough, alistair fitchett, dan fox, joe kerr, stephin merritt, jude rogers and peter terzian.