4k RED. Color. 4:11. 2025
Fictionalized reality, non-professional actor. Budget <$1000 (travel inlcuded)
Jeff Reads Jokes is an ironic portrayal of an inside joke. Jeff is a great joke teller, specifically Jewish jokes. But put the camera on him, and he can’t do it. We both acknowledge this joke within a joke, and that’s why we needed to record it.
The film is in part an homage to the 1996 photography book, Ray’s a Laugh by Richard Billingham, who famously photographed his impoverished, drunken family and exposed them to the art world. In a 2016 interview for the Guardian, Billingham was asked if Ray minded the photos (many of which portray Ray as a debauched lunatic) to which Billingham answered: “I don’t think he took any notice, or if he did it was probably that he was pleased I was in the room with him. The camera acted as a mediator.”
Screenings:
2024. Long Drawings, Performance Space Gallery, UC San Diego