Absolute Wilson chronicles the epic life, times and creative genius of Robert Wilson, intimately revealing for the first time one of the most controversial, rule-breaking and downright mysterious artists of our era. More than a biography, the film becomes an exhilarating exploration of the transformative power of creativity itself—and the inspirational tale of a boy who grew up as a troubled and learning-disabled outsider in the American South only to become a fearless artist with a profoundly original perspective to share with the world. The probing yet playful narrative reveals the deep inter-connections between Wilson's childhood experiences and the haunting beauty of his monumental works, which include the theatrical sensations "Deafman Glance," "Einstein on the Beach" and "The CIVIL WarS." Along the way, the film introduces an array of admirers, friends and critics—ranging from musician David Byrne to the late writer Susan Sontag to composer Phillip Glass and singer Jessye Norman, among others—who add insight as the film peels back layer after layer to get to a raw, forthcoming and uniquely moving view of how Wilson's work emerged from an extraordinary life and a ceaseless yearning to communicate.

A discussion with Matthew von Unwerth and Roger Copeland will follow the screening.

Roger Copeland is Professor of Theater and Dance at Oberlln College. His essays about dance and theater have appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, American Theatre, The Drama Review, Performing Arts Journal, and many other publications. He wrote program notes for The Brooklyn Academy of Music's first revival of Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach in 1984 and also for Wilson's production of Strindberg's A Dream Play when it played at BAM in 2000. Copeland's books include What Is Dance? and Merce Cunningham: The Modernizing of Modern Dance.

Matthew von Unwerth is the author of Freud's Requiem: Memory, Mourning and the Invisible History of a Summer Walk. He is Director of the A.A. Brill Library of The New York Psychoanalytic Institute and Coordinator of the Philoctetes film series. Mr. von Unwerth is a candidate in psychoanalytic training in New York.

Presented courtesy of New Yorker Films.