Ken and Mike welcome Kirsten (KJ) Johnson, who recently won Best Director for her groundbreaking film, "Dick Johnson is Dead." This film is like no other film you’ll find in your Netflix queue. KJ’s boundary-pushing documentary uses the art of cinema to keep the ravages of time and the onset of dementia from taking her beloved father Dick away from her. The solution? Keep killing her father over-and-over again on camera, all with Dick’s active participation and encouragement.
Once you survive the film, you’ll definitely want to join Mike and Ken for this refreshingly candid conversation with KJ who constantly questions everything (including our questions!) and proves herself to be every bit as provocative, playful and engaging as the film itself. Covering everything from Seventh-day Adventism and the best way to stage your father’s funeral while he’s still alive to Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera and, of course, chocolate cake, this week’s podcast is one you’ll be dying to listen to. And look out for that falling air conditioner!
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Other films directed by Kirsten Johnson:
Cameraperson
Deadline
People who worked on the film:
Judy Karp
Michael Hilow
Nels Bangerter
Peter Horner
Nadia Hallgren
John Foster
Simon Mendes
Marilyn Ness
Hidden Gem: Marjoe
Also mentioned in the pod:
Ousmane Sembène
Djibril Diop Mambéty
Wellington Bowler
Young Frankenstein
Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Charles Addams
Lacan on social death
Derrida (the documentary)
Quantum Entanglement
The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill
”When We Were Bullies” with Jay Rosenblatt
”Best Documentary Oscar Nominees” with Clayton Davis
”The Automat” with Lisa Hurwitz
”We Need to Talk About Cosby” with W. Kamau Bell
”Bring Your Own Brigade” with Lucy Walker
”Ailey” with Jamila Wignot
”Ascension” with Jessica Kingdon
”In the Same Breath” with Nanfu Wang
”Lead Me Home” with Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk
”Audible” with Matt Ogens
”Camp Confidential” with Mor Loushy
”Summer of Soul” with Ahmir Questlove Thompson
”Julia” with Betsy West and Julie Cohen
”Sophie & the Baron” with Alexandria Jackson
”Three Songs for Benazir” with Gulistan and Elizabeth Mirzaei & Omar Mullick
”Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” with R.J. Cutler
”Writing with Fire” with Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh
Sundance Lineup Preview with Basil Tsiokos
”Messwood” with Brad Lichtenstein & Emily Kuester
”Radiograph of a Family” with Firouzeh Khosrovani
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