The end of How To with John Wilson is being celebrated with several special film programs
JOHN WILSON SELECTS
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
August 19-29
212-505-5181
www.anthologyfilmarchives.org
No one captures the minute foibles of everyday life in New York City like John Wilson does. On his HBO series How To with John Wilson, which concludes its third and, sadly, final season on September 1, New York City native and documentarian Wilson incorporates a treasure trove of background shots he and his team have collected over the years into new interviews with New Yorkers as he tackles such subjects as “How To Make Small Talk,” “How To Put Up Scaffolding,” “How To Find a Spot,” “How To Throw Out Your Batteries,” and “How To Find a Public Restroom.” In each episode, the ever cool, calm, collected, and wonderfully deadpan Wilson veers off on fascinating and hilarious tangents that are quintessentially New York.
In honor of the end of the series, Anthology Film Archives invited him to curate “John Wilson Selects,” which runs August 19–29 and kicks off with “John Wilson & Crew,” a collection of short works made by many of his collaborators. “When I started to put together the team for How To, I wanted to hire camera people and editors whose vision I really admired. This program showcases original work by a handful of crew members on the show who are all amazing artists in their own right,” Wilson said in a statement.
The evening consists of Nathan Truesdell’s When the LAPD Blows Up Your Neighborhood, Nellie Kluz’s The Sunken Smile and DD, Chris Maggio’s Even a Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day, Leia Jospé’s No Delay and Let Me Luv U, Britni West’s Tired Moonlight, LJ Frezza’s Nothing and Is It Us?, Jess Pinkham’s PanoptiJohn, and Wilson’s My Morning with Magic Mike. Wilson and several crew members will be on hand for a discussion on August 19.
William H. Whyte documentary is a major influence on John Wilson
The festival continues with works by filmmakers who have inspired and influenced Wilson, beginning with Mark Lewis’s Animalicious, which Wilson pairs with his own Looner, a college film he made about balloon fetishists in Binghamton. Bruce Brown’s On Any Sunday is the follow-up to the surfing classic The Endless Summer. Les Blank, Vikram Jayanti, and Chris Simon’s Innocents Abroad tracks American tourists on a bus tour in Europe. Bronx native George Kuchar’s Weather Diary 4 has a unique soundtrack; it’s being shown with Kuchar’s Low Light Life and Award. Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin’s The Last Party is a political film in which, Wilson says, “Robert Downey Jr. is insufferable . . . but it still manages to be one of the most beautiful documentaries I’ve ever seen.” Wilson calls Tony Montana and Mark Brian Smith’s Overnight “a cautionary tale about creative hubris.”
And William H. Whyte’s The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces might have the most impact on Wilson, who says about it, “William Whyte is a legendary people watcher who likes to study the subtle ways public space is used. I think about this film constantly whenever I’m out shooting. It all feels very scientific but he has a little fun describing human behavior, like when he identifies the ‘girl watchers’ hanging out in a midtown plaza. My favorite part is when he studies the way that people use chairs.”
HOW TO NEW YORK
Rooftop Films
Gansevoort Plaza, 38 Gansevoort St. at Ninth Ave.
Wednesday, August 30, free with RSVP, 7:15
rooftopfilms.com
Rooftop Films is celebrating How To with a special evening in Gansevoort Plaza on August 30, beginning with live music at 7:15, followed by screenings of five shorts at 8:00 and a Q&A. The films begin with an advance preview of the final episode of the series, How To Track Your Package, about Wilson trying to locate a stolen delivery. In Joe Bonacci’s Cat Stickers Trilogy, someone is affixing cat stickers to walls and objects throughout an apartment complex. Alex Mallis and Travis Wood’s Dollar Pizza Documentary is about the prevalence of the ninety-nine-cent slice (which has gone up to $1.50 at some joints). Mike Donahue’s Troy finds a couple who are harassed by a neighbor’s loud sex. And in Jarreau Carrillo’s The Vacation, an overworked Black man wants to do more than just go to the beach with his friends on the last day of summer.
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]