In the wake of David Lynch’s death, San Francisco is mourning. The renowned artist died at 78 on Jan. 15 and his passing sent shockwaves through the art world spread far and wide. Between his extensive and iconic filmography, revolutionary television productions and daring paintings and albums, he left his mark and people from all corners of the world felt the loss.
Lynch’s 78 years included over 40 years of a career in the worlds of film and television. His art was often disturbing and warm all at once and usually captured uncomfortable essences of the human condition. From “Blue Velvet” to “Twin Peaks,” his art often explored the darknesses that live beneath the surface of American success and happiness. He juxtaposed the idyll with the obscene. He was obsessed with the sheen of 1950s Americana and the oppressive ideologies it operated under in equal measure.
Outpourings of admiration and love for him manifested in countless fashions. His collaborators published letters of love while fans created a vigil at Bob’s Big Boy Diner, a Los Angeles staple Lynch frequented and professed his love for throughout his life. Multiple independent theaters quickly programmed his films.
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San Francisco’s very own 4 Star, Balboa, and Roxie theaters immediately programmed a handful of his films with more to come in the following months. The Mission’s historic Roxie Theater was already screening Lynch’s “Mulholland Dr.” the week before his death for their series “On the Edge of Reality: A Liminal Cinema Series.” The day Lynch died, the theater’s website posted more screenings for that film as well as his first film “Eraserhead.” They sold out.
Matt Sigel, a staff member with the Roxie, spoke about his own relationship with Lynch as well as the Roxie’s audience’s continued passion for the man and his art.
“He’s probably our most common director we show here, in particular because we were the theater in the 1970s that had midnight screenings of ‘Eraserhead,’” said Sigel. “We had one of the longest runs in the country. When I moved to San Francisco, I walked by a theater, looked in the window and saw they had an ‘Eraserhead’ poster. I said, ‘That’s the theater I’m going to because that’s the theater that shows ‘Eraserhead.’ Next thing you know, I got a job here.”
This connection to Lynch’s work is not uncommon. Sierra Weiler, a San Francisco State University student, spoke to the quality of his work and the community that surrounded it.
“It was so strange because I feel like he has always been such a topic, especially with his movies,” said Weiler. “That’s all my friends are talking about. It felt really surreal because I knew he was sick and he wasn’t making movies, then it kind of just happened. All of a sudden, even now, still, my feed is filled with stuff about David.”
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Lynch’s art affected people emotionally, but it also had and still has the power to change people’s lives. Esme Resnais-Tabagon, another staff member with the Roxie, said watching “Mulholland Dr.” helped her realize she is transgender.
“I realized I was trans while watching ‘Mulholland Dr.’ because of the Silencio sequence,” said Resnais-Tabagon. “It’s hard to say exactly what it means, but it’s very clear that this is a breaking of reality and that everything you thought was true is falling apart. It affected me very deeply.”
The director of SFSU’s School of Cinema, Professor Aaron Kerner, says the spirit of Lynch’s works is one that aligns with SFSU’s ideals and spirit as well.
“Lynch had a thing that aligns with the School of Cinema, that we pride ourselves on independent filmmaking,” Dr. Kerner said. “While David Lynch had kind of one foot in the industry, he also had a strong independent streak.”
The Balboa Theater will screen Lynch’s “Dune” on Feb. 1 and Feb. 28 alongside 35mm screenings of “Blue Velvet” on Feb. 1 and 17 and “Inland Empire” from Feb. 2-3. The 4 Star Theater will screen “Mulholland Dr.” and “Wild at Heart” back to back from Feb. 1-2. The Roxie will screen six David Lynch films from March 6-9 including the above four films alongside “Lost Highway” with “Eraserhead” on 35mm plus Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, and Olivia Neergaard-Holm’s documentary, “David Lynch: The Art Life.” See you in the trees.
This story has been updated with additional screenings.