JIFF: Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse

Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse

“A remarkably cogent and compelling presentation not just of Spiegelman’s life story but also his personality and art.” – RogerEbert.com 

“Everyone is engaging, the art is magnificent and the whole thing pleasant.” – The New York Times

Australian Premiere

Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus – an autobiographical memoir about Spiegelman’s relationship with his father, a Holocaust survivor – pioneered the appreciation of comic books as a serious artform. It came to define Spigelman’s career, however the full scope of his artistic output is more significant than many realise.  

This conversational documentary brings you up-close with the artist and his life, revealing Spiegelman’s early love of Mad magazine, his mother’s tragic death by suicide when he was 20, his prolific artistic collaborations with his wife, Françoise Mouly, art editor of The New Yorker, and his work responding to the September 11 attacks, In the Shadow of No Towers.  

Through extensive interviews with Spiegelman and those close to him, including comic book royalty Robert Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb (who died in 2022), the film celebrates Spiegelman’s particular brand of mordant humour and his talent for turning tragedy into profound works of art.

Rating

Unclassified 15+

Duration

100 min

Country

United States

Language

English, Polish (English subtitles)

Cast

Art Spiegelman, Robert Crumb, Aline Kominsky-Crumb

Director

Molly Bernstein,Philip Dolin