BARNEY’S WALL: PORTRAIT OF A GAME CHANGER
USA, 2019, 78 min
Directors: Sandy Gotham Meehan, Williams Cole
Producers: Sandy Gotham Meehan, Williams Cole
Editors: Kasia Plazinska, Williams Cole
Cinematographer: David Leitner
Fiery cultural/political activist, filmmaker, and bad-ass Grove Press publisher Barney Rosset battled 1950’s literary censorship, sexual taboos, and the era’s racial bigotry. Barney had, in effect, inspired the Sixties counterculture rebellion, defying censors and publishing and promoting the most radical writers of the day--among them Beckett, Burroughs, the Beats, Malcolm X, Che Guevara--along with the cream of Europe’s avant-garde, blowing the minds of mainstream middle America and fundamentally changing the culture.
The film probes the lasting political and cultural impact of Barney Rosset by focusing on Barney’s final act of creative expression, a sculptural wall mural he painted obsessively as a visual memoir of his life, through the memories of Barney’s friends, family and the artists who considered Barney a formative influence on their work.
Sandy Gotham Meehan works with independent filmmakers on narrative refinement and project development through her New York City film production company FoxHog Productions.
She directed and produced the documentary “James Salter: A Sport and a Pastime”
Williams Cole has been producing, editing and directing feature documentaries for over 15 years including Giuliani Time, Gun Fight (with dir. Barbara Kopple) and Rebel Rossa among others.
He grew up much of his life year round on the East End of Long Island.
UP CLOSE Intro by Director Sandy Gotham Meehan and Williams Cole