SXSW 2023 documentary review: Dan Covert paints a picture of art and artist in ‘GEOFF MCFETRIDGE: DRAWING A LIFE’

GEOFF MCFETRIDGE: DRAWING A LIFE

The mind of an artist is a splendid thing. SXSW 2023 doc GEOFF MCFETRIDGE: DRAWING A LIFE delves into the wondrous mind of a nurtured creative. Director Dan Covert puts a face and a name to the work we’ve seen for years. Meet Geoff McFetridge, graphic designer, visual artist, and family man.

Geoff’s animated drawings curiously play over his voice. Combined with the equally infectious score, you are instantly charmed. Talking heads of fellow artists, filmmakers (friends Sofia Coppola and Spike Jonze), writers, photographers, and every creative in between share their admiration of Geoff’s mind. As a child seeking identity, Geoff used drawing as an outlet. It helped him to explore his inner turmoil. Poems describe childhood moments with effortless glee. These are yet another form of communication.

“Running on ambition.” Geoff is obsessed with his process, his created color palette, and the perception of his work. Balancing his passion and his family only works because of his wife, Sarah Devincentis. She pulls him out of his angst. He 100% credits her for their work-life harmony.

Geoff uses the most minimal lines possible, and still, his work expresses life’s mundane snapshots in wildly profound ways. They are spellbinding pieces. There is something in his repertoire for every human. Geoff’s is a hot commodity in the corporate world, from Nike, Oreo, Apple, and everyone in between. Geoff is that artist you know, but you don’t know you know. Ya know? Thanks to Dan Covert, now the whole world will.


Film Screenings

 
 

Credits

Director:

Dan Covert

Executive Producer:

Spike Jonze, Andre Andreev, Amanda Adelson

Producer:

Dan Covert

Screenwriter:

Erik Auli, Dan Covert, Amy Dempsey, Tara Rose Stromberg

Cinematographer:

Claudio Rietti, Daniel Vecchione

Editor:

Erik Auli, Dan Covert

Sound Designer:

YouTooCanWoo

Music:

YouTooCanWoo: David Perlick Molinari, Derek Muro

Principal Cast:

Geoff McFetridge, Spike Jonze, Sofia Coppola, Sarah DeVincentis, Andrew Paynter, Bill Powers, Liv Siddall, Atiba Jefferson, Jesper Elg, Andy Spade

Additional Credits:

Co-Producers: Erik Auli, Amy Dempsey, Tara Rose Stromberg, Still Photography: Andrew Paynter, Camera Operators: Tucker Phillips, Andre Andreev, Andrew Trost, Sean Mattison, Connor Lawson, Adam McDaid, Herbie Wei, Sound Mixing: Matteo Liberatore, Ben Adams, Kelly Wright, Kevin Crawford, Cel Animation: Hao Li, Additional Animation: Colin Hess, Archival Researcher: Richard Kroll

I’m Baaaaaack….and Here’s My Top 50 of the Decade

Hello all! It’s been nigh on four years since I last dropped some knowledge on you here at Reel News Daily. I went off and got a Master’s degree, new job and all that, but have still been rocking films from all over the world. I’m happy to be back in the fold here at Reel News Daily and look forward to contributing more this year. Don’t you feel lucky?

So, I figured my phoenix rising from the ashes post should be something that might start a little conversation – my Top 50 films of the last decade. There were so many great films to choose from, which made this list very difficult. After two days of whittling it down and moving films around, I feel confident with what I decided on. I’m sure I missed a few of your favorites, but this is my list so you’ll just have to deal with it.

Here we go:

50) Shoplifters (2018) dir. by Hirokazu Koreeda
49) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) dir. by Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodney Rothman
48) Gone Girl (2014) dir. by David Fincher
47) A Hidden Life (2019) dir. by Terrence Malick
46) Annihilation (2018) dir. by Alex Garland
45) Under the Skin (2013) dir. by Jonathan Glazer
44) Her (2013) dir. by Spike Jonze
43) The Favourite (2018) dir. by Yorgos Lanthimos
42) Take Shelter (2011) dir. by Jeff Nichols
41) Leviathan (2012) dir. by Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verena Paravel
40) Upstream Color (2013) dir. by Shane Carruth
39) Death of Stalin (2017) dir. by Armando Iannucci
38) Columbus (2017) dir. Kogonada
37) Holy Motors (2012) dir. by Leos Carax
36) Shame (2011) dir. by Steve McQueen
35) Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World (2010) dir. by Edgar Wright
34) Midnight in Paris (2011) dir. by Woody Allen
33) Stories We Tell (2012) dir. by Sarah Polley
32) Cold War (2018) dir. by Pawel Pawlikowski
31) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) dir. by George Miller
30) Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) dir. by Ethan & Joel Coen
29) The Look of Silence (2015) dir. by Joshua Oppenheimer
28) We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) dir. by Lynne Ramsay
27) BlacKkKlansman (2018) dir. by Spike Lee
26) First Reformed (2017) dir. by Paul Schrader
25) Carol (2015) dir. by Todd Haynes
24) Winter’s Bone (2010) dir. by Debra Granik
23) Citizenfour (2014) dir. by Laura Poitras
22) Animal Kingdom (2010) dir. by David Michôd
21) A Separation (2011) dir. by Asgar Farhadi
20) Meek’s Cutoff (2010) dir. by Kelly Reichardt
19) La La Land (2016) dir. by Damien Chazelle
18) Phantom Thread (2018) dir. by Paul Thomas Anderson
17) The Lobster (2015) dir. by Yorgos Lanthimos
16) Calvary (2014) dir. by John Michael McDonagh
15) Best of Enemies: Buckley Vs. Vidal (2015) dir. by Robert Morgan & Morgan Neville
14) Looper (2012) dir. by Rian Johnson
13) Frances Ha (2013) dir. by Noah Baumbach
12) Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) dir. by Benh Zeitlin
11) Lady Bird (2018) dir. by Greta Gerwig
10) A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) dir. by Ana Lily Amirpour
9) Moonlight (2016) dir. by Barry Jenkins
8) Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) dir. by Jim Jarmusch
7) Zero Dark Thirty (2012) dir. by Kathryn Bigelow
6) The Tree of Life (2014) dir. by Terrence Malick
5) You Were Never Really Here (2017) dir. by Lynne Ramsay
4) Ex Machina (2014) dir. by Alex Garland
3) Melancholia (2011) dir. by Lars Von Trier
2) The Act of Killing (2012) dir. by Joshua Oppenheimer

1) The Master (2012) dir. by Paul Thomas Anderson

So there you have it. It was a tough job, but I was happy to do it. Here are a few that nearly made the list: Everybody Wants Some!! (underrated Richard Linklater that more people should watch), Tomas Alfredson’s slow burn spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Paul Thomas Anderson’s hippie noir adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice. Admittedly, it was hard to weave many of the films from 2019 into the list as they’ll need to sit me a longer. I will say that Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite and Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story nearly edged their way on.

Here’s to hoping that the next ten years brings as many great films as the last ten have.