The 19th International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography PLUS CAMERIMAGE will host a retrospective of the films of Hal Hartley. One of the most brilliant American independent filmmakers of his generation, Hartley has—over the past twenty years—created an important and distinctive body of work outside the mainstream of commercial entertainment. A critically astute and socially engaged nonconformist with a wry sense of humor, Hartley is a true renaissance man recognized around the world as an original and skillful filmmaker who writes, directs, produces, scores and often edits his films.

Hal Hartley
Hartley's career was launched in the late 1980's—an exciting period for American independent cinema. Having graduated in 1984 from the Filmmaking Program of the State University of New York at Purchase, he moved to New York City and found work—first—as an apprentice ironworker (his father and uncles were union laborers) and soon thereafter as a production assistant on TV commercials and movies. Meanwhile he wrote screenplays and made his own short films. In the fall of 1988 he shot his first feature length film, "The Unbelievable Truth". It almost instantly won the young filmmaker much deserved attention. Audiences responded excitedly to its peculiar aesthetics and to its fresh mix of comedy and social commentary. It engaged the emotions as much as the intellect.

Hartley's second feature, "Trust" (1991), confirmed what many already expected— American cinema had gained another unique filmmaker. His distinctive style developed with each new film as his experience and curiosity grew, generating a stimulating mix of deceptively ordinary narratives, unconventional comedy, eccentric characters, brilliant dialogues full of philosophy and witty repartees, and an exciting un-naturalistic acting style. Throughout these and other films of the early nineties — "Simple Men" (1992), "Amateur" (1994 )— he established a strong creative collaboration with cinematographer Michael Spiller who would shoot most of Hartley's films of the decade.

Still from "Trust"
By the mid-nineties, Hartley was pursuing opportunities to experiment even further and—with a few exceptions—moved aside from the mainstream of independent cinema starting with his film "Flirt" (1996), which opened the Sundance Film Festival of that year. Hartley always made less conventionally narrative video projects between the features films—videos that also explored the capabilities and characteristics of video as video rather than video trying to mimic film. He then began making feature length video with "The Book of Life" (1998) and "The Girl from Monday" (2004). These, together with "No Such Thing" (2000), which premiered at the Cannes Festival, represent his exploration of genres (film noir, sci-fi, and the monster movie respectively). These films are also less overtly comedic and more formally challenging. Indeed, the most important motif of the filmmaker's work in his second decade has been the individual's loss of self in a world dominated by mass media, aggressive tabloid news, and a self-righteous consumer society. Though very funny and ultimately optimistic, these films are also often scathing critiques of contemporary western values. As a result, they have been less popular and not as widely distributed.

But in an interview Hartley once said he thought a filmmaker had to go where the work told him to go, “even if it's sad to leave behind what you feel to be a receptive audience." So the filmmaker has continued to follow his own instincts and tends to go against the current in an engaging and fun way. But he consistently produces new works that are presented at major festivals and distributed internationally. A good example of this is "Fay Grim" (2006), which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. A sequel to "Henry Fool" (1998) — Hartley's biggest critical and commercial success after winning the screenwriting prize at Cannes — "Fay Grim" is both an hilarious and troubling analysis of American assumptions concerning U.S. foreign policy.

“I've always written about the world I move through," said Hartley in another interview. And the truth is that over the last two decades Hartley has, in fact, come a long way. He has allowed himself and his art to grow and change in response to the world as both it and he change. His films explore. Mostly they explore human relationships and how these relationships are affected by changing social, technological, and political realities. But they also explore filmmaking and never take for granted accepted critical or stylistic trends. These principles, though manifested in different ways, are consistently evident from his first film to his latest.

Still from "Henry Fool"
We are proud to be able to present to the Plus Camerimage participants Hal Hartley's films - a body of work of the highest artistic integrity. And we invite the festival's participants to talk to the filmmaker himself, as he will be the festival's guest for the duration.

Finally, it is a particular treat for all of us cinephiles to screen his very latest film, "Meanwhile" (2011), with which he sends a clear message that he shall not resign from creating thoughtful, funny, and inquisitive cinema on his own terms.