Joan Bonfill explores the art of self-exposure at the AFI Fest
Spanish filmmaker and painter Joan Bonfill paints a portrait of producer Stuart Cornfeld , responsible for films such as 'Zoolander' and 'Submarine', in his latest documentary presented this week at the AFI Fest : "I understood through Stuart that creating is about putting yourself out there ," the director tells EFE.
Bonfill met Cornfeld by chance, and his affinity with the producer led to a close creative collaboration that resulted in the creation of 'The Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld '.
Cornfeld "was a person of enormous intelligence and culture , but above all, someone capable of making others shine . He had that special gift of recognizing talent, of seeing in others what they themselves hadn't yet discovered," says Bonfill about the producer who died in 2020 at the age of 67 from cancer.
The title, which translates to 'Hanging Stuart Cornfeld ' in Spanish, was chosen humorously by the producer himself and speaks to the vulnerability artists face when they present their work to the world.
"Hanging a painting means showing your work, showing who you are, embracing vulnerability, and accepting judgment. I understood through Stuart that creating is putting yourself out there , and that's perhaps the most powerful message he left me with," Bonfill believes.
- The documentary shows conversations the director had with the producer in the last years of his life, painting a portrait of a man who dedicated himself to giving a voice to the marginalized and the misfit.
"Stuart and I shared a passion for surrealism, pop culture, and avant-garde movements. He would talk for hours about unusual topics , always with humor, clarity , and enthusiasm. That energy was contagious, and that's what I wanted to capture in the film," he explains.
The project, also produced by Bonfill, also brings together the voices of legendary directors such as David Lynch , with whom he worked on 'The Elephant Man', Ben Stiller , his collaborator on 'Zoolander', Jack Black, with whom he made 'Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny', and David Cronenberg , who worked alongside him on 'The Fly', among others.
- Bonfill recently presented in New York ' Double Portrait : Paintings in Conversation', a collection exhibited at the Angel Orensanz Foundation , which includes several of the paintings he made about Stuart Cornfeld and that appear in the documentary .
The American Film Institute's film festival ( AFI Fest ) will continue until October 26 in Los Angeles .
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