Barbara Rubin and the Exploding NY Underground

Overview

The 29-minute experimental film Christmas on Earth caused a sensation when it first screened in New York City in 1964. Its orgy scenes, double projections and overlapping images shattered artistic conventions and announced a powerful new voice in the city's underground film scene. All the more remarkable, that vision belonged to a teenager, 18-year-old Barbara Rubin. A Zelig of the '60s, she introduced Andy Warhol to the Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan to Kabbalah and bewitched Allen Ginsberg. The same unbridled creativity that inspired her to make films when women simply didn't, saw her breach yet another male domain, Orthodox Judaism, before her mysterious death at 35. Lifelong friend Jonas Mekas saved all her letters, creating a rich archive that filmmaker Chuck Smith carefully sculpts into this fascinating portrait of a nearly forgotten artist. An avante-garde maverick, a rebel in a man's world, Barbara Rubin regains her rightful place in film history.

Details

Status

Released

Release date

May 2, 2018

Original language

English

Spoken languages

English

Countries

United States of America

Production

Chuck Smith Productions,Juno Films

Cast

Gerard Malanga,Jonas Mekas,Andy Warhol,John Cale,Edie Sedgwick,Sterling Morrison,Lou Reed,Bob Dylan,Nico,Barbara Rubinand 5 more

Director

Chuck Smith

Producer

Chuck Smith

Cinematography

Andrew Bowley

Budget

Not recorded

Revenue

Not recorded

IMDb

tt9068190