Les Blank: A Life Well Spent

June 7–July 27, 2024

This summer, BAMPFA showcases many of Les Blank’s films in recent digital restorations. We also host filmmakers who collaborated with Blank, as well as several individuals who were subjects in his films.

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  • The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins

  • Hot Pepper

  • Spend It All

  • A Poem Is a Naked Person

  • Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers

  • Burden of Dreams

  • Upcoming
    Films
  • Upcoming
    Events
  • Selected
    Objects
  • Past
    Films
  • Past
    Events

Past Films

  • The Early Years: The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins and Hot Pepper

    Friday, June 7 7:00 PM
    Skip Gerson, Maureen Gosling, and Harrod Blank in Conversation

    The portrait of Lightnin’ Hopkins came to define Les Blank’s documentary style. With Thailand Moment, filmed and edited in 1967 but only completed posthumously, and the pulsing Cajun rhythms of Hot Pepper.

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  • The Early Years: A Well Spent Life and Spend It All

    Saturday, June 8 7:00 PM
    Skip Gerson, Maureen Gosling, and Harrod Blank in Conversation

    Discover the distinct musical styles and authentic modes of living of Texan bluesman Mance Lipscomb and the Louisiana Cajun community in these early classics by Les Blank and Skip Gerson, A Well Spent Life and Spend It All. Preceded by a 2014 interview with Chris Strachwitz.

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  • A Poem Is a Naked Person

    Les Blank, Maureen Gosling
    United States, 1974/2015

    Digital Restoration

    Saturday, June 15 7:00 PM
    Maureen Gosling and Harrod Blank in Conversation

    This seminal film, a portrait of Leon Russell and his world, was considered by Les Blank to be one of his major accomplishments. With Out in the Woods, Maureen Gosling’s film diary of that project and time.

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  • Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe & Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers

    Saturday, June 22 7:00 PM
    Maureen Gosling, Gary Meyer, L. John Harris, and Alice Waters in Conversation

    The people interviewed in Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers are beautiful, natural, and full of zest for life. With Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe, the result of Herzog’s lost bet with Errol Morris.

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  • I Went to the Dance

    Les Blank, Chris Strachwitz, Maureen Gosling
    United States, 1989

    Digital Restoration

    Friday, June 28 7:00 PM
    Maureen Gosling, Suzy Thompson, and Eric Thompson in Conversation

    “Les Blank was fascinated by the rural and small-town culture of southern Louisiana, making several documentaries throughout the 1970s and ’80s. The crowning achievement was I Went to the Dance” (G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle). With Yum, Yum, Yum!

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  • Always for Pleasure

    Les Blank
    United States, 1978
    Thursday, July 4 4:00 PM
    Maureen Gosling, Chris Simon, John Santos, and Harrod Blank in Conversation

    Immerse yourself in the festivities of America’s most festive city, New Orleans. Preceded and followed by portraits of jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and Afro-Cuban drummer Francisco Aguabella.

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  • The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists

    Les Blank, Maureen Gosling, Chris Simon
    United States, 1994
    Sunday, July 7 4:00 PM
    Maureen Gosling, Chris Simon, Gerald Gaxiola, and Harrod Blank in Conversation

    A pair of films that celebrate individuality and creativity: The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists, a portrait of local artist Gerald Gaxiola; preceded by Gap-Toothed Women, which addresses issues of beauty, womanhood, and personal fulfillment.

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  • Chulas fronteras

    Les Blank, Chris Strachwitz
    United States, 1976

    Digital Restoration

    While previously scheduled to be in person, Harrod Blank will not be appearing for this screening.

    Saturday, July 13 7:00 PM
    Maureen Gosling in Person

    Swing along with some of the greats of Mexican American music in Les Blank’s two bouncy 1970s affectionate tributes to the vivacity of Chicano culture, Chulas fronteras and Del mero corazón, both even more vibrant now thanks to new 4K digital remasters. With Good Morning, Aztlán.

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  • All in This Tea

    Les Blank, Gina Leibrecht
    United States, 2007
    Saturday, July 20 4:30 PM
    Gina Leibrecht and David Lee Hoffman in Conversation

    Follow tea importer David Lee Hoffman as he travels through China in search of handcrafted premium teas. “An entertaining portrait of an eccentric figure whose singular passion proves infectious” (Hollywood Reporter).

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  • Burden of Dreams

    Les Blank, Maureen Gosling
    United States, 1982

    Bay Area premiere of 4K Digital Restoration

    Saturday, July 27 4:00 PM
    Maureen Gosling, Harrod Blank, and Anthony Matt in Conversation

    Bay Area premiere of the new 4K restoration, Burden of Dreams documents Werner Herzog’s obsessive four-year struggle to complete his 1982 film, Fitzcarraldo. Named by Derek Malcolm (The Guardian) as one of the best one hundred films of the twentieth century.

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