Almost There

“A strong and original film, and one you will respond to.”—Steve James (Life Itself, Hoop Dreams)

The unusually engrossing and surprising documentary Almost There follows the twists and turns that Chicago filmmakers Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden encountered after meeting (and befriending) the octogenarian outsider artist Peter Anton. Fascinated by the artist’s paintings and elaborate autobiographical collage diaries that he created over several decades (the latter of which are often built into the very walls of his dilapidated house), the filmmakers helped Anton mount his first gallery exhibition. Unanticipated revelations about Anton's past emerge, along with a radical change in his already unfathomable living situation, that raise complex questions about the limits of altruism, questions that implicate the filmmakers themselves. Rybicky and Wickenden visited the Wexner Center's Film/Video Studio on numerous occasions to finish the film, and we're thrilled to have them back for what is sure to be a lively screening and discussion of this remarkable film. (93 mins., video)