The Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OKCMOA) hosts a film series called “Summer of Lynch” screening Aug. 10 to 17. This series presents a new documentary about David Lynch’s artistic process alongside a curated six-film retrospective of newly restored and rarely screened films directed by Lynch, including a 35mm print of “Inland Empire” provided personally by the director himself.
“From his early short films through his recent feature film and television work, David Lynch has developed a specifically American, surrealist aesthetic that is both utterly distinctive and incredibly influential,” said Dr. Michael J. Anderson, director of curatorial affairs. “For ‘Summer of Lynch,’ we’ve selected a stylistically diverse group of films that demonstrate the full scope of the director’s artistic evolution.”
“The 2017 revival of the cult television series ‘Twin Peaks’ has led to a surge of critical and popular interest in Lynch’s work, as well as a number of exciting restoration projects and long-awaited theatrical rereleases,” Anderson added. “In order to remain true to Lynch’s original aesthetic vision, all the films in our retrospective will be screening in new high-definition restorations or on 35mm.”
Tickets are now on sale and are $5 for OKCMOA members, $9 for adults and $7 for seniors (62+) and college students with IDs.
“Summer of Lynch” will open on Thursday, Aug. 10 with “David Lynch: The Art Life,” an illuminating new documentary that moves between candid footage of the director at work in his Hollywood Hills studio and beautifully illustrated stories from his childhood, adolescence and early film career.
Bridging the gap between Lynch’s early work as a painter and his filmmaking career, “Summer of Lynch” will feature a newly restored, hour-long program of the director’s unsettling, darkly comic experimental short films. Presented in pristine 4K, Lynch’s first feature, “Eraserhead,” is a dark domestic fable that boasts richly tactile black and white cinematography and the evocative sound design that has become one of the director’s signatures.
The series will include a stunning new 25th anniversary restoration of the haunting “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with me” and the 30th anniversary rerelease of Lynch’s critical breakthrough, “Blue Velvet.” One of the darkest portraits of Middle America ever to grace the silver screen, “Blue Velvet” is an off-kilter neo-noir that provides a lurid glimpse at what lies beyond the white-picket fence. “Fire Walk With Me” is a must-see for fans of both the original “Twin Peaks” series and the 2017 revival as it chronicles the tragic last days of enigmatic, murdered high-school student Laura Palmer.
“Summer of Lynch” will also showcase two recent films that offer thematically consistent but formally distinct explorations of the contemporary film industry’s dark unconscious. Presented in a new 4K restoration, Lynch’s Hollywood-set magnum opus “Mulholland Dr.” was named the best film of the 21st century in a 2016 BBC poll. Lynch’s most recent, and likely final feature film, “Inland Empire,” presents a fearlessly experimental chronicle of an actress’s increasingly nightmarish break with reality. Largely absent from theaters since its 2006 release, “Inland Empire” will be screened on a 35mm print personally provided by Lynch.
For more information on the “Summer of Lynch” series and more upcoming Museum Films events, visit: http://www.okcmoa.com/films/
