In this Reverse Shot Talkie, director Joe Frank and host Eric Hynes browse the aisles of R.A.O. Video in Little Rock, Arkansas, to discuss the unique origins and process for his debut film, Sweaty Betty, a gloriously raw hybrid of performance and documentary, lo-fi home movie and sui generis art object co-directed by Zack Reed.
In town for the late, great Little Rock Film Festival, Frank and Hynes tour a spacious, eclectic, well-stocked video store while riffing on movies and TV shows, Werner Herzog and The Blue Lagoon. Frank, who came to films and filmmaking a bit later in life, also talks about why he and Reed cast friends and acquaintances from their home neighborhood of Hyattsville, Maryland, to play themselves in Sweaty Betty. In the spirit of the film's communal approach and ambling ambitions, collaborators Jeff Reichert (director, camera) and Robert Greene (sound) join in the conversation. Thanks to Brent and Craig Renaud, R.A.O. Video, and the Little Rock Film Festival.
Sweaty Betty screens Sunday, April 17, at Museum of the Moving Image as part of the ongoing series New Adventures in Nonfiction.