PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE
United States 2008 – Director: Steven Sebring – Original language: English – Length: 109 min.
Poet; artist; musician; legend. Cult rocker Patti Smith's singular style has made her an icon for nearly four decades, from the early years of punk to the present day. Her energy and vision gave her poetry a voice through music. Her spoken word, performances, lyrics, interviews, paintings, and photographs all reveal a complicated, charismatic personality: Dream of Life incorporates them all.
Seeing Patti perform, photographer Sebring was so impressed that he asked to film her. The result was 11 years of stream-of-consciousness filming, exploring her spirituality, history and self expression. This experimental approach created a highly personal biopic, one that includes Smith's own narrative. The grainy monochrome 16mm is the perfect medium for this kaleidoscopic and intimate portrait, showing the subject as "a worker, a mother, an artist and a human being". Seamless transitions between film and photographs reflect her life, framing an artist true to both her art and ideology.
"Life isn't some vertical or horizontal line. You have your own internal world, and it's not neat." Patti Smith
"No person is just one thing. I know I am not just a fashion photographer. And Patti Smith is certainly not just a rock icon. She is much more. For me, this movie is about discovering who Patti Smith is. This process of discovery has been over the course of eleven incredible years of filming. I can't believe it, but a quarter of my life has been spent framing her in my lens. And through this film, I want to channel that experience to the audience." Steven Sebring
Writer: Steven Sebring. Camera: Philip Hunt. Sound: Margaret Crimmins, Greg Smith. Editing: Angelo Corrao. Music: Patti Smith, Lin Polito. Production: Thirteen/WNET New York. Producer: Steven Sebring, Margaret Smilow, Scott Vogel. International Sales: Celluloid dreams Distribution: Alamode Film.
