Why Not Watch?
Don’t worry world! We always support watching documentaries legally and many of the films we recommend on Influence Film Club are available where you live too. We suggest using your preferred method for watching a film – such as searching iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, VOD platforms (video-on-demand), or renting/buying a DVD.
Find out more about starting a film club!
For filmmakers Rybicky and Wickenden, Peter Anton’s home is a treasure trove, a startling collection of unseen and fascinating paintings, drawings, and notebooks, not to mention Anton himself. ALMOST THERE is a remarkable journey following a gifted artist through startling twists and turns.
Director: Dan Rybicky, Aaron Wickenden
Share this film. Give others the chance to be touched and inspired by its story.
Consider supporting INTUIT, “the only non-profit center in the United States that promotes outsider, intuitive and self-taught art,” also the gallery that first exhibited Peter Anton’s work.
Donate to Kartemquin Films, the film’s production company that believe in supporting “film as a vehicle to deepen our understanding of society through everyday human drama.”
Support Caring that provides support to caretakers, offering information on how to navigate the emotionally and physically challenging territory of caretaking.
Learn more about outsider art, that is gaining more and more widespread appeal, for example through Raw Vision magazine – published since 1989.
Read the full interview here.
“An analysis of the debate surrounding the art exhibit Almost There: A Portrait of Peter Anton at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in 2010 reveals sets of actors with competing interests and claims on the term outsider art.”
Read the full analysis here.
RUN ALONG THE EDGE OF MADNESS…
The following six films allow us a view of the world detached from logic through the eyes of dreamers and madmen.
Explore the kickstarter for ALMOST THERE, the pledges and the goals here.
“Folk art, Outsider art, Art Brut — no matter what you call it, the work of self-taught artists has been fascinating doctors, curators, and other artists for the past hundred years. Inspired by a vision, these artists are often driven by obsession to realize their ideas on found materials using makeshift methods that might seem illogical but end up leading to profound works of art.”
Explore the list on Flavor Wire.
Our interview with Aaron Wickenden.
Real progress has been made in destigmatising mental illness through campaigns such as Time to Change and Black Dog. But some mental illnesses suffer more from bad public perceptions. What of the more stigmatised and often chronic conditions such as schizophrenia, dementia or personality disorders?
Read the full article here.
Curious about what happened next?
Check out these touching and heartwarming DVD Extras from the ALMOST THERE team.
“The idea of the tortured artist has long been debated in our culture, but to me it always seemed a self-evident truth. Art is a reflection of humanity, and humanity’s greatest virtue is its ability to overcome adversity.”
Read the full article on the Huffington Post.
Our interview with Dan Rybicky.
Brian (BrRice) started a fascinating debate on the Painting Forum.
Here are some of the responses. (At the bottom there’s a space to add your own thoughts.)
"ALMOST THERE blossoms into one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen."
Indie Outlook
"Fascinating"
Madison Film Forum
