Project Description
Ruth Dusseault’s experimental documentary projects in Atlanta have captured defining facets of the city that might have otherwise gone unnoticed – MARTA bus stops, Manuel’s Tavern, Atlantic Station. For her 2020 Idea Capital project, she will work with radio host H Johnson on a short concept film about archives, memory and the nocturnal city.
On a date of his choosing, Dusseault will film Johnson as he performs as host of the legendary WABE program Jazz Classics; just as he has from 9pm Saturday to 2am Sunday every weekend for 40 years. Johnson has been given a list of questions that he can answer however he wishes. He may curate musical answers; he may talk to his radio audience, or chat with the artist during musical interludes. Depending on what is captured in the process, the artist may create a visual reply for the final edit. The film H Johnson will approach a range of topics, including the idea of constancy in an age of turbulence; the blending of archives and personal memory; the synergy of structure and improvisation in music; the intimacy of radio; and the way reverie and time dilate after midnight.
