The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of “In the Realms of the Unreal” at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.
Directed by Jessica Yu, “In the Realms of the Unreal” is described as “an innovative masterpiece that literally gives wings to one man’s singular vision of an imaginary world,” according to information at www.rottentomatoes.com/.
An obscure janitor, outsider artist Henry Darger lived a reclusive life and died alone in a Catholic mission in 1973. For more than 60 years, he created a massive literary and graphic body of work, including “The Realms of the Unreal,” a 15,000-page novel with hundreds of paintings that recounts the wars between nations on an enormous unnamed planet, according to the website. His work was discovered posthumously.
The film is unrated, but some aspects of it may not be appropriate for young children. It won the National Film Board Award for Best Documentary at the 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival.
This screening is part of the School of Art’s monthly Friday Night Film Series and is sponsored in part by the Nacogdoches Junior Forum.
The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.
