Is It Really So Strange?

An intimate look at contemporary fans of the Smiths and Morrissey, Los Angelesñbased filmmaker William Jones's Is It Really So Strange? focuses on mostly Latino Southern California kids whose lives revolve around those icons of 1980s' Manchester pop. Shadowing a Smiths tribute band, the Sweet and Tender Hooligans, the film explores the surprisingly iconic status Morrissey continues to hold among working-class Latino kids in southern California and offers close-up looks at the kids and musicians plus brief "sightings" of Morrissey himself (lately a resident of Los Angeles). In its review of a companion exhibition of Jones's photos, Artforum recently noted, "As in the best documentary work, the unseen photographer becomes a curious presence...moving from objective distance as an observer to an empathic proximity as a friend." (80 mins.)

Jones received postproduction support for the project from the Wexner Center's Art & Technology program.


support credits

Season support provided by the Rohauer Collection Foundation and the Corporate Annual Fund of the Wexner Center Foundation.

Contemporary films, international films, and visiting filmmakers presented with support from the Ohio Arts Council.