Years after Andy Warhol took his own films out of circulation, director Esther B. Robinson discovered that her uncle's films were embedded within the Warhol collection stored at The Museum of Modern Art. In A Walk into the Sea, Robinson creates a riveting portrait of this man, Danny Williams, who was Warhol's lover and creative collaborator, as well as a filmmaker in his own right. On-camera interviews with Williams' Factory associates (among them Billy Name, Gerard Malanga, Brigid Berlin, and Paul Morrissey), Warhol historian Callie Angell and other cultural figures, situate Williams' distinct place within the Factory method and madness. Robinson's documentary features footage from films Williams shot using the 16mm silent Bolex camera Warhol gave him when the more famous artist graduated to making films with sound. Williams' cinematography, which produces a kind of halo effect around Warhol and others, is startling in its transcendent beauty; and the rapid-fire, in-camera montage reveals this filmmaker as a naturally gifted editor. Williams' films clearly establish him as an accomplished artist in his own right, distinct from the mythology of Warhol as the sole creative filmmaking genius among his collaborators. To fill in the personal portrait of Williams' childhood, Robinson interviews his mother and siblings, reconnecting her own life with that of her uncle. She also digs into the story of Williams' mysterious disappearance at age 27. His body was never recovered. Robinson's first filmmaking effort is, at once, a fascinating portrait of an era, an homage to Williams' talent, a suspenseful mystery story and a poignant journey of family discovery.
---Jon GartenbergA Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and The Warhol Factory
Information:
[WALKI] | 2006 | 75 min | Feature Documentary
(A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and The Warhol Factory)USA
U.S. Premiere
Interests: Biography, Documentary, Female Director(s), New York
Official Website
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