Tribute to David Lynch
We never experience perfect reality. Reality hides in the shadows throughout our lives, but we don’t see it. We constantly mistake it for something else. Fear stems from not seeing the whole picture. If we could get there and see everything, our fear would burst like a soap bubble.
This quote concludes Catching the Big Fish, David Lynch’s memoir published in the form of a long interview conducted by journalist Chris Rodley. Yes, Lynch understood perfectly well that there is no single reality. In fact, he built much of his filmography on this belief. He also knew that what we fear the most is what lurks between realities – the unknown with a human face, like Bob or the Mystery Man. And that evil hides where we least expect it. Lynch was one of the very few filmmakers capable of building terror both in darkness and in broad daylight.
But it’s worth taking a comprehensive look at his filmography. Suddenly, what we call “Lynchian” doesn’t always have to be dreamlike or pulsating with underlying dread. After all, David Lynch directed the deeply moving, eight-time Oscar-nominated The Elephant Man, his own interpretation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, and The Straight Story, a quintessential indie film about ordinary people and their simple dreams – like reconciling with a long-lost brother. It’s easy to forget just how versatile David Lynch was — one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of cinema, who passed away on January 16th this year, just four days before his 79th birthday.
This will be commemorated with a complete retrospective of his feature films and a selection of his most interesting, lesser-known short films and animations at this year’s Timeless Film Festival Warsaw.
From Eraserhead (1977), Lynch’s surreal debut that translated his personal anxieties as a young father into the language of cinema, to Inland Empire (2006), his final feature film, partially shot in Poland. From the Lynchian canon – Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990), Lost Highway (1997), and Mulholland Drive (2001) – to the aforementioned The Elephant Man (1980), Dune (1983), and The Straight Story (1999), which all push beyond his signature style beloved by his fans. The program will also include two cinematic extensions of the Twin Peaks series – arguably the most famous production bearing his name – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) and Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014). The retrospective will be completed by a selection of Lynch’s short films, where his painterly temperament shines through most vividly. He always emphasized that he felt far more comfortable in front of a canvas than behind a camera.
It will be incredible to experience all this on the big screens of festival theaters. And yet, Lynch himself reportedly never liked going to the cinema – supposedly, it was too stressful for him. As part of the Tribute to David Lynch section, the following films will be shown:
- Eraserhead, dir. David Lynch, USA, 1977
- The Elephant Man, dir. David Lynch, USA, UK, 1980
- Dune, dir. David Lynch, USA, Mexico, 1984
- Blue Velvet, dir. David Lynch, USA, 1986
- Wild at Heart, dir. David Lynch, USA, 1990
- Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, dir. David Lynch, USA, France, 1992
- Lost Highway, dir. David Lynch, France, USA, 1997
- The Straight Story, dir. David Lynch, USA, France, UK, 1999
- Mulholland Drive, dir. David Lynch, France, USA, 2001
- Inland Empire, dir. David Lynch, France, Poland, USA, 2006
- Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces, dir. David Lynch, USA, France, 2014
- A Collection of Short Films.