FILMWORKER Cinema's Legacy

In 1973, actor Leon Vitali was cast in Stanley Kubrick’s BARRY LYNDON. Being on set and observing Kubrick’s genius at work changed Vitali. He would eventually give up his successful acting career and dedicate his life to working behind the scenes on Kubrick’s remaining films, becoming the director’s right-hand man and a jack of all trades in assisting with the challenging productions — or, in Vitali’s words, a “filmworker.” Tony Zierra’s resulting documentary about Vitali’s relationship with Kubrick is many things at once: a cinephile’s feast of insight into one of the greatest American directors of all time, a tale of friendship and grueling hard work between two unconventional artists and, above all, a deeply moving portrait of one man’s total dedication and sacrifice to a higher art. – Beth Hanna