‘It’s something that’s human’
You probably know David Lynch is a filmmaker like no other — the guy who made Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, Elephant Man and others.
Lynch also has produced Interview Project, a web site that documents a cross-country journey, one personal story at a time. These short films give us the stories of people on the margins, typically unnoticed or bypassed by the vision of America we usually see. We learn about their childhoods, their losses, their triumphs, their beliefs, all in their own words. The films are often sad and moving — but they’re sometimes poignant in unexpected ways, as in the video below, where a flamboyant West Virginia man’s love of Stevie Nicks takes a turn toward sorrow and then toward strength.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC2PqmE9XNg
Below is Tracy, a motel manager from Texas.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APa24IdKSIg
One of the things I love about these is the uniformity of style, starting with the stilted, Lynchian introductions and atmospheric music. Another thing I love is that I’ve probably only watched about a third of the 121 films — there’s a lot of excellent stuff still to see. I only wish Interview Project had come through Spokane — the filmmakers hit eastern Montana and then cut south. A film in Dayton, Wash., is as close as it comes.
In his explanatory video, Lynch describes it a chance for viewers to meet people we not otherwise meet.
“It’s something that’s human, and you can’t stay away from it,” he says.
Here, again, is the web site’s link. Enjoy the films.
This is great, Shawn. Thanks!
Love this. It totally sucked me in. I agree with you: I kept thinking I was going to see someone I knew from Spokane. It seems to get to the heart of a lot of things in a really simple way. Thanks for posting this.
I was thinking we should do some video interviews for Willow Springs, but I’m afraid writers are too normal compared to real people.