“One of the greatest movies about movie making.”- Richard Brody, New Yorker
“A movie from the past that's also eerily of a piece with the film culture of now and tomorrow.” - Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
“Greaves's place in history is unarguable, whether it's then, now, in the future, or all of the above.” - Michael Atkinson, Village Voice
Thursday, June 20, 9:00 a.m. | With his daring and wholly original fiction/documentary hybrid SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM: TAKE ONE William Greaves made “one of the greatest movies about filmmaking ever made.” (The New Yorker) This show-within-a-show stars Greaves as a version of himself, presiding over a beleaguered and confused cast and crew (also playing themselves…maybe) on a hot day in Central Park. As his actors struggle with their motivations and his crew nervously try to understand what kind of movie they're making, Greaves draws the audience further into the “metaverse” by giving the audience access to tense sidebar conversations between actors, and placing us within a meeting of concerned crew members—openly filmed but without the director’s knowledge, for now. “Let’s make one thing clear,” says a production manager, “this is a note to Bill…and to anybody else out there who may be watching it too if he decides to put this into his film: we are not trying to take this film away from Bill Greaves.” A brilliant and witty coiling commentary on creativity, SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM: TAKE ONE is unlike any movie you’ve ever seen.
Awards & Nominations
Winner - Experimental Film Award, National Society of Film Critics Awards
Rise & Shine: Mere hours after you’ve opened your eyes to the day, the Film Center invites you to open your eyes in an entirely different way with a morning screening of soul-altering cinema. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, play the slightest bit of hooky with us, after which you will emerge onto the hustle and bustle of State Street feeling energized, maybe even with your humanity restored, and all before lunchtime! Tickets include unlimited coffee from Dark Matter Coffee, and enjoy 10 percent off your order when you show your Rise & Shine ticket at Goddess and the Baker at 33 South Wabash or 225 North LaSalle on the day of your screening. What a way to start the day! View full series.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu