The Walker is showing a documentary Thursday that’s sometimes feels like a of holy grail of American experimental filmmaking.
The full title is “Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton” and it’s a fairly standard biodoc about Broughton, a poet and filmmaker, who A. Won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival in the early ’50s (it was presented to him by his idol, Jean Cocteau), B. Traveled in the same circles as experimental film giants Stan Brakhage and Maya Deren, C. Poetry-wise, was a part of the City Lights Bookstore scene in San Francisco, where he worked with Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Alan Ginsberg and D. Was married to legendary movie critic Pauline Kael (and fathered a child with her, before he figured out he was gay).
“Big Joy,” which was co-directed by Twin Cities native Stephen Silha, has the same problem as many biodocs — it tries to cram in too much — but it’s playful and surprising. Silha will introduce the free screening at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, August 22 at the Walker Cinema.