William S. Burroughs: A Man Within

Yony Leyser, Director

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"I learned about Burroughs when I was an early teen. I moved from a high school in the suburbs to one in the city of Chicago. My friend gave me a copy of Naked Lunch and that was my first introduction to anything subversive. From there I learned about punk rock, poetry, radical literature, the beat generation, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, the gay demi-monde and queer culture. So of course I went back to that book. I couldn't think of anyone more interesting to make a film about, and there wasn't really one out there about him."  Yoni Leyser

William S. Burroughs was one of the first writers to break the boundaries of queer and drug culture in the 1950’s. His novel, Naked Lunch, is one of the most recognized and respected literary works of the 20th century.

Narrated by Peter Weller, with a soundtrack by Patti Smith and Sonic Youth, this intimate documentary showcases previously unseen archival footage of Burroughs, as well as exclusive interviews with colleagues and confidants including John Waters, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Gus Van Sant, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Sonic Youth, Laurie Anderson, Amiri Baraka, Jello Biafra, and David Cronenberg.

Yony Leyser is a twenty-five-year-old filmmaker from Chicago, Illinois, who currently lives in Berlin. After film school, he moved to Lawrence, Kansas, to make his first feature film, William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, about one of the most interesting icons of 20th century culture.

Leyser also works as a curator, video artist and photographer, focusing on people who are outside the mainstream of society. His photograph series have featured Ida, a utopian transgender commune in Tennessee; Christiana, an anarchist village in Copenhagen; Kopi, Berlin’s largest squat, and naked bike rides in the US. His work has been shown in galleries and venues in Chicago, New York, London, Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Los Angeles.

USA SCREENINGS
02/02/2011 Boulder, CO International Film Series
02/04/2011 Boston, MA Brattle
02/19/2011 Missoula, MT Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
03/04/2011 Cleveland, OH Cleveland Museum of Art

INTERNATIONAL SCREENINGS:
01/30/2011 Melbourne, Australia - Rooftop Cinema
Jan 23, Feb 10, 2011 - Adelaide, Australia, Mercury Cinema
02/07/2011- Merlinka Festival, Belgrade, Serbia
Feb - 2011 - Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, Ireland
Feb - 2011 - 34th Göteborg International Film Festival, Sweden
Feb - 2011 - !F Festival, Istanbul, Turkey

Interview with Yony Leyser

t21: What inspired you to make William S. Burroughs: A Man Within?
YL: I started the film when I was kicked out of film school for an art piece I did that criticized the dean of students, so I moved to Lawrence, Kansas, where Burroughs lived and worked. I just got a camera from a film job I did and started shooting. I decided to start filming about Burroughs because I remember how accurately he critiqued control and authority, and that is exactly what I was trying to do, but he did it in a much more biting, needle-sharp accurate ways. I learned about Burroughs when I was a early teen. I moved from a high school in the suburbs to one in the city of Chicago. My friend gave me a copy of Naked Lunch and that was my first introduction to anything subversive. From there I learned about punk rock, poetry, radical literature, the beat generation, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, the gay demi-monde and queer culture.  So of course I went back to that book. I couldn't think of anyone more interesting to make a film about, and there wasn't really one out there about him.

t21: Biggest obstacle in making it?
YL: Making a film completely DIY can put you in some wild situations. I was hopping on band tour vans and craigslist ride shares to get around. I managed to get down to Miami to interview Iggy Pop. This is how I hooked that one up: Grant Hart and Thurston Moore introduced me to Mike Watt, whose band the Minutemen I absolutely love. We smoked some pot, and I think Mike asked me about my film. We were talking about Burroughs and he put me in touch with his band mate in the Stooges, Iggy Pop. So I made it down to Miami and needed a camera person. I asked my friend Nate who said I have this friend down there that shoots porn, I'm sure she knows her shit. I'll put you in touch. So I got down there and talked with her. On the day of our shoot she had to repossess some cars (that was her other job), so she put me in touch with her other friend who was also a camera person for adult kink films. He also couldn't do it, so he put me in touch with someone who was an assistant cameraman on one of his shoots. This guy picks me up in a huge fancy SUV and we do the interview. On the way back to downtown the guy drops me off at this record store that ironically has a mural of Iggy on the wall. Get out he says. He was a big guy. How much money you got he asks.... He ended up robbing me and dropping me off at that record store. Another time I was interviewing the guy with the worlds' largest snake collection—where he lived. He turned out to be a super nice guy, but a totally wild conspiracy theorist with loads of guns and venomous snakes everywhere. He had been bitten by deadly snakes over a dozen times and nearly swallowed by an anaconda. He shoulda been dead, any normal person would have, but there was something special about that guy. Anyways, I crashed at his house and was surrounded by deadly snakes and totally scared. It was election day and he had convinced me, whichever way the election went the world would be fucked because of the Amero and some giant highway and banks, etc. That night I heard people screaming outside and knew Obama had won.... Anyways even though it was an obstacle to not have a crew and stay in hotels, etc., it made it so much more fun and the video turned out beyond professional.

t21: Favorite/most unexpected response?
YL: Ex-hustlers who had slept with William Burroughs and long-lost family were in the audience at some screenings. That was pretty cool.

t21: What are some of the interesting things you learned about William S. Burroughs while making the film?
YL: Oh, man. I could write a book about that. He was such a multi-faceited man. But, one thing I learned was that while his work was so wild, liberated, free and shocking, in his personal life he was reserved and almost shy, totally afraid of talking about sex, etc. You see him squirm when he talks about it with Warhol and Ginsberg in the film.

t21: First website you check?
YL: I like the Chicagoreader and boingboing.net and Towelroad and nervous breakdown, but I am going to look into telegraph21 from now on.

t21: First book you remember enjoying?
YL: Naked Lunch.

t21: If I were not a filmmaker, I would be a _____?
YL: Zoologist / Psychologist / Bum

t21: The biggest global problem today?
YL: Oh my God, there are so many, but I would say class inequality and global warming are pretty bad. If we cure those, I think social conservativism needs to go.

t21: Favorite city or landmark?
YL: As far as the US - Chicago and New Orleans, but I live most of the time in a city in Europe.

t21: Favorite hour of the day?
YL: "The golden hour."

t21: Last song that was stuck in your head?
YL: Rollin Hunt's "The Criminal."

t21: Last meal you made?
YL: Shakshouka (Israeli style) after a really wild night. It's a Middle-Eastern breakfast dish.

t21: Coffee, tea or water?
YL: All of them. Stay HIGH-drated in the words of Chicago outsider musician "CJ" Caroline Jaffe.

t21: Boat, plane or train?
YL: Train. I haven't been on a boat lately, but I want to. Someone invite me to be on one. Email me!

t21: Latest obsession?
YL: Volleyball.

t21: Source of inspiration?
YL: Garbage pail kids, Queerdos.

t21: Personal motto?
YL: Rebel!

t21: Whom would you love to work with?
YL: Xavier Dolan. I want to act in one of his movies.

t21: Ten-year goal?
YL: Finish my photobook of alternative cultures and memoir about growing up in detention schools in Illinois. Also, have a lot of fun!

t21: Your next or current project?
YL: I'm working on two documentaries about a group of writers that travel around the country punk rock style, as well as one about another American icon (this one is still alive). I am also working on my photobook and memoir and looking into publishers.

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