The Connection

Shirley Clarke / United States / 1961 / The film already had its Czech Premiere / 110 min.

synopsis

A famous director and cinematographer is making an unusual documentary about a group of drug addicts who wait in a gloomy and dirty flat for their connection to bring them heroin. The existential anxiety of the drug addicts contrasts with optimistic jazz melodies they are playing. The film about making a film is based on Jack Gelberʼs play and employs found footage and metanarrative experiments. While the director is constantly trying to incide the protagonists to act naturally in front of the camera, he starts to lose himself in their intoxicating world.

“I was really so determined to do it that I didn't care what anyone thought of me. If they thought I was crazy, it was OK by me. If they thought I was insane, that was fine. If they thought I had a lot of self-will, it was all right. And so as far as I was concerned, as long as I could get done what I wanted, I was willing to go to almost any lengths to do it.” — Shirley Clarke

biography

Shirley Clarke (1919–1997) was an American director and university teacher, initially a dancer and a choreographer. In the 1950s she made short films and later she directed various documentaries and feature films. She was active in the feminist movement and her work is often included in the New American Cinema.