In this effervescent portrait of poet, publisher and gallerist Geoffrey Young, filmmaker Nadia Szold traverses the studios of artists & writers in his orbit as they dive into a freewheeling volley on the art making practice, lineages and the essence of time & language.

Geoffrey Young is an undeniable artist – in his life, conversation, and of course in his work. But he eschewed the traditional route of climbing the establishment ladder, instead operating parallel to it. Yet he is no outsider artist. His thumb has always been on the pulse of the avant-garde, in both fine art and poetry. Young is the founder of The Figures, as a small literary press begun in 1975 that continually charted new territory, championing one of the most influential movements in latter 20th century literature — “language poetry.” In 1992 he founded The Geoffrey Young Gallery, which over the years showed scores of artists, many just breaking onto the scene. Perhaps instead Geoffrey Young is the ultimate “insider artist.”

This groundbreaking documentary project builds the world of Geoffrey Young, through the many artists and writers who know and admire Young. In true verité fashion, the film traverses the studios of James Siena, Carroll Dunham, Kirsten Deirup, Sue Muskat and Phil Knoll as well as the Berkshire home of author Laura Chester and the Manhattan apartment of conceptual poet Kenneth Goldsmith, interspersed with conversations with poets Peter Gizzi, Joanna Drucker and Clark Coolidge. Young’s enthusiasm for painting and “the word” is one of great stamina — publishing 135 books of poetry; 120 art exhibits featuring over 500 artists, as well as 40 of his own poetry chapbooks, soon to be published in a large book of Selected Writings. Geoffrey Young continually props others up, but is himself hiding in plain sight — a poet alive with wit and depth, whose generosity of spirit reflects his philosophy that in order for art to find its resonance, it must be shared.

All Tickets $10.
(Note: online ticket sales will shut off approximately 30 minutes before the event)

Movie Runtime 1h20m. A Q&A will follow with Geoffrey Young, the director Nadia Szold, and the editor Navzad Dabu.

View the trailer here:

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:
Nadia Szold is an award-winning American filmmaker, a writer and a mother. Hailing from Great Barrington, MA, her first work as a director was at 17 with Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. She directed 14 plays performed in New England and New York before turning to film. Her first feature Joy de V., starring Claudia Cardinale and Evan Louison, premiered at Slamdance in 2013 to critical acclaim and a nod from the jury. The film traverses the five boroughs of New York, excavating the emotional rollercoaster of a relationship between a con-artist and his pregnant wife who disappears one morning.

A Film Independent Fellow, Szold premiered her first documentary feature Larry Flynt for President at the 2021 Tribeca Festival to critical acclaim. Working with multiple archives of never-before-seen footage, Nadia tells the definitive story behind one of America’s most controversial dissidents and his campaign of anarchic satire against Ronald Reagan, Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority. It has since picked up multiple audience & jury awards and sold at Cannes to territories around the world.

Nadia has just completed her second documentary feature, a portrait on the poet Geoffrey Young titled The Figures. She is in development on a documentary about Naama Issachar and the practice of Russian hostage taking for prisoner exchanges. Szold has also optioned the rights to John Updike’s best-selling novel Marry Me and is currently adapting the work for the screen.