Tom Joslin
Directing
Biography
Joslin was born in Melrose, Mass. in 1946 and spent his youth in Lynnfield and Cumberland. He earned his B.A at the University of New Hampshire in 1972, and his MFA four years later from the Rhode Island School of Design. In addition to his filmmaking, he taught at Hampshire College and at the University of Southern California. Joslin began making short films in 8mm, at the age of 14. His work included Blackstar: Autobiography of a Close Friend (1976), a film about coming out and growing up as a gay filmmaker, and Architecture of Mountains (1979), a dream-based experimental film. In 1981, he chose to leave academia to try to make it as a writer/director in Hollywood. He teamed with Selise E. Eiseman forming the Primary Colors Company while working as an uncredited casting assistant for Zoetrope Studios. When Joslin and his long-time lover Mark Massi were both diagnosed with AIDS, he decided to shoot a video diary: Silverlake Life: The View From Here (co-directed by Peter Friedman, 1993). He died on July 1, 1990, in Los Angeles.
Known For
The accidental breakdown of an irrigation valve launches a hot confrontation between the mainly Latino farmers in a tiny New Mexico town and the real estate developers and politicians determined to acquire their land for a golf resort.
The Milagro Beanfield War
Prior to leaving Hampshire College in 1980, Tom was working on a 16mm film inspired by Jose Arguelles' book, The Transformative Vision: Reflections on the Nature and History of Human Expression. Shot in sync and MOS, the footage reflects Tom's interest in perception, human consciousness, and signaled his evolving interest in fusing non-fiction, experimental and dramatic genres. All the original materials for this unfinished film were stored at the LA home of Ken Levin, another Hampshire College alum who along with several other students, worked with Tom on this project, which he called the Architecture of Mountains.
Architecture Of Mountains
In this experimental, self-ethnographic documentary, Tom Joslin blends breathtaking, moving snapshots from the natural world, filmic cultural touchstones, and cutting (pseudo) cinéma vérité to dissect and reassemble his gay identity despite constant warnings to stay in the closet. Blackstar sees Joslin and partner Mark Massi fleshing out their enduring commitment and obvious love for one another amidst the insecurity that a self-conscious documentary lens instills. As interviews with Joslin’s mother, father, and brothers attempt to break down the legitimacy of Joslin and Massi’s romance, the pair use everything at their disposal, including inspiration from gay revolutionaries and painfully honest conversations, to hold up their “abnormality” as a point of pride rather than shame. – Shayna Warner
Blackstar: Autobiography of a Close Friend
Profiles Roy Smeck, a former vaudeville star known as "The Wizard of the Strings" because of his virtuoso talents on the guitar, banjo, ukelele and Hawaiian guitar, and who is shown to be still active, in his mid-80s, teaching students and giving occasional public performances.
The Wizard of the Strings
"In this experimental, self-ethnographic 1977 documentary, Tom Joslin (1946-1990) blends breathtaking, moving snapshots from the natural world, filmiccultural touchstones, and cutting (pseudo) cinéma vérité to dissect and reassemble his gay identity despite constant warnings to stay in the closet. Blackstar sees Joslin and partner Mark Massi fleshing out their enduring commitment and shining, obvious love for one another amidst the insecurity that a self-conscious documentary lens instills. As interviews with Joslin’s mother, father and brothers attempt to break down the legitimacy of Joslin and Massi’s romance, the pair use everything at their disposal, including inspiration from gay revolutionaries and painfully honest conversations, to hold up their “abnormality” as a point of pride rather than shame."
Blackstar: Autobiography of an Old Friend
An extraordinary video diary about living with AIDS documenting, with guts and humor, the love and dedication of longtime companions Tom Joslin and Mark Massi, from the emotional challenge of living with a fatal illness to the frustration of maintaining daily routines,.
Silverlake Life: The View from Here
Alba is a mystic who lives in an underground apartment. A plumber named Carlos is visiting her when a disaster causes the building to collapse, trapping both of them.
Atrapados
A situation comedy about a middle-American wife who by mistake marries the gay best man at her wedding.
Winnebago Wife
An unused excerpt for Blackstar: Autobiography of a Close Friend. No sound copies are known to exist.
Shooting At Work
Three Air Force men, a courier, a driver and a plain clothesman are assigned to pick up some important documents in Kingsbury Hall, UNH.