In 1977, Sam Klemke started obsessively documenting his entire life on film. Starting decades before the modern obsession with selfies and status updates, we see Sam grow from an optimistic teen to a self-important 20-year-old, into an obese, self-loathing 30-something, and onwards into his philosophical 50s. The same year that Sam began his project, NASA launched the Voyager craft into deep space carrying the Golden Record, a portrait of humanity that would try to explain to extra-terrestrials who we are. The film follows two unique self-portraits as they travel parallel in a freewheeling look at time, memory, mortality, and what it means to be human.
Matthew Bate is originally from the north of England, but has lived for most of his life in South Australia, where he was one of the founders and co-directors of Closer Productions film company. His films unearth lost cultural treasures and champion characters existing on the fringes of the norm. Using collage, motion graphics and visual and sonic arcana, his films search for meaning in the white noise of pop-culture. Matt was a recipient of the David and Joan Williams Documentary Fellowship.
Selected: The Mystery of Flying Kicks (2010), Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure (2011), I Want to Dance Better at Parties (2013)
