Jan. 17, 2003

Contact: Charla Jenkins, University Theatre, (785) 864-2684.

KU film professor is cinematographer for Sundance Film Festival entry

LAWRENCE -- Matt Jacobson, assistant professor of theatre and film at the University of Kansas, is one of the cinematographers for "Bukowski: Born into This," a documentary that will premiere this month at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Jacobson shot the interviews used in the feature-length film about the life and work of blue-collar poet Charles Bukowski, directed by John Dullaghan. Jacobson was one of three cinematographers, along with Bill Langley and Matt Mindlin.

Bukowski wrote in a direct, clean style about unthinkable, but very real, degradation based on his own hellacious experiences. Best known for "Notes of a Dirty Old Man"; "Love Is a Dog from Hell"; the autobiographical novels "Women," "Hollywood" and "Post Office"; and the screenplay for "Barfly," Bukowski is considered one of the most influential authors of his generation.

Jacobson has been working on the Bukowski project with Dullaghan since 1996 and was the first cinematographer involved in the project.

"We talked to many of Bukowski's friends and personal acquaintances, who are getting along in age," Jacobson said. "In some cases, these subjects died not too long after the interviews, making the footage much more valuable as a lasting document of the life and work of Bukowski."

Jacobson said some of the footage that ended up on the cutting-room floor was heartbreaking, including a beautiful, lyrical sequence shot in the hospital room where Bukowski died, edited to one of Bukowski's poems.

"Dullaghan decided the sequence weighed the film down emotionally," he explained. "That's always the risk you take when you work on a long-term project like this. You never can be sure what will end up in the final cut."

The film will be shown five times during the Sundance festival, including the premiere at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18 -- the most prestigious screening time at the festival. Jacobson plans to attend the Jan. 24 screening in Park City.