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"Immortality is the only goal worth striving for." – William S Burroughs
In 1978, NYU student Howard Brookner decided to make his thesis film a documentary about Beat author William S Burroughs. With two fellow students (future directors Tom DiCillo and Jim Jarmusch), he followed the legendary writer around to discover what made him tick. Over the next few years, he expanded his project into a feature film, which played the festival circuit (including MIFF) in 1984.
The film fell out of circulation, and following Brookner's untimely death in 1989, the original print was thought lost. Recently rediscovered, it has been carefully restored and enjoyed its revival premiere at last year's New York Film Festival.
"The result is a unique cinematic artifact, a wholly transparent visual biography of a literary giant." – Slant
