Jack Sargeant
Encyclopedia
Jack Sargeant is a writer specialising in cult film
, underground film
, and independent film
, as well as subcultures, true crime
, and other aspects of the unusual. In addition he is a film programmer and an academic. He currently lives in Australia.
, including: Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression, about Cinema of Transgression
filmmakers such as Richard Kern
and Nick Zedd
, Naked Lens: Beat Cinema, and Cinema Contra Cinema, a collection of essays on alternative film. He is the editor of the journal Suture, and has co-edited two volumes Lost Highways: An Illustrated History of the Road Movie (with Stephanie Watson) and No Focus: Punk on Film (with Chris Barber). In 2007 Deathtripping was republished by Soft Skull Press.
He has contributed to numerous books on subjects ranging from Andy Warhol
movies to road rage
and car crash songs and his work has been included in collections such as Mikita Brottman
's Car Crash Culture, Mendick & Harper's Underground USA, Wollen & Kerr's Autopia, among others.
He has also authored and edited true crime
books including Born Bad, Death Cults, Bad Cop Bad Cop, and Guns, Death Terror. These books have featured contributions from Monte Cazazza
, Michael Spann, Andrew Leavold, John Harrison, Simon Whitechapel, Chris Barber, and others.
Jack has written introductions for Joe Coleman
's Book of Joe and photographer Romain Slocombe's Tokyo Sex Underground.
He has contributed to publications such as Headpress as well as Panik, Electric Sheep
, The Wire
, Fortean Times
and Bizarre
magazine, as well as academic journals such as Senses of Cinema and M/C. Since 2008 he has written film reviews and a regular column for the Australian film magazine FilmInk focusing on unusual areas of film culture. He has also appeared as an occasional guest on ABC Radio National's MovieTime.
Between 2001-2003 he was film editor at large for Sleazenation
. Jack has written cover notes for DVDs by various underground and independent filmmakers, including the British Film Institute
's DVD release of Kirby Dick
's film Sick: The Life And Death of Bob Flanagan
, Supermasochist' and their Jeff Keen DVD box set'. In addition he has contributed liner notes to the Throbbing Gristle
TGV
DVD box set.
Jack has appeared in numerous film and TV documentaries on culture and film, as well as having cameos in underground films. He has also appeared on recordings by the experimental group I/O.
He has promoted and organized shows for filmmakers and artists at the Horse Hospital
in London and Cinematheque in Brighton, UK, and has also toured film festivals in America, Europe, and Australia, including the New York Underground Film Festival
, the Chicago Underground Film Festival
, Melbourne Underground Film Festival
, Brisbane International Film Festival
, and Sydney Underground Film Festival. In 2002 and 2003 he collaborated with Simon Kane on The Salon, an annual event that has featured performances by David Tibet
, Cosey Fanni Tutti
, and Cotton Ferox.
Since 2008 he has been Program Director for the Revelation - Perth International Film Festival
, and in 2010 he curated the film program for Sydney Biennale.
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
, underground film
Underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...
, and independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
, as well as subcultures, true crime
True crime
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
, and other aspects of the unusual. In addition he is a film programmer and an academic. He currently lives in Australia.
Biography
Since 1995 Jack Sargeant has written and contributed to numerous books on underground filmUnderground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...
, including: Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression, about Cinema of Transgression
Cinema of Transgression
The Cinema of Transgression is a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe a New York City, United States based underground film movement, consisting of a loose-knit group of like-minded artists using shock value and humor in their work...
filmmakers such as Richard Kern
Richard Kern
Richard Kern is a New York underground filmmaker, writer and photographer. He first came to underground prominence as part of the underground cultural explosion in the East Village of New York City in the 1980s, with erotic and experimental films featuring underground personalities of the time...
and Nick Zedd
Nick Zedd
Nick Zedd is an American filmmaker and author based in New York City. He coined the term Cinema of Transgression in 1985 to describe a loose-knit group of like-minded filmmakers and artists using shock value and black humor in their work...
, Naked Lens: Beat Cinema, and Cinema Contra Cinema, a collection of essays on alternative film. He is the editor of the journal Suture, and has co-edited two volumes Lost Highways: An Illustrated History of the Road Movie (with Stephanie Watson) and No Focus: Punk on Film (with Chris Barber). In 2007 Deathtripping was republished by Soft Skull Press.
He has contributed to numerous books on subjects ranging from Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
movies to road rage
Road rage
Road rage is an aggressive or angry behavior by a driver of an automobile or other motor vehicle. Such behavior might include rude gestures, verbal insults, deliberately driving in an unsafe or threatening manner, or making threats. Road rage can lead to altercations, assaults, and collisions...
and car crash songs and his work has been included in collections such as Mikita Brottman
Mikita Brottman
Mikita Brottman is a British scholar, psychoanalyst, author and cultural critic known for her psychological readings of the dark and pathological elements of contemporary culture...
's Car Crash Culture, Mendick & Harper's Underground USA, Wollen & Kerr's Autopia, among others.
He has also authored and edited true crime
True crime (genre)
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
books including Born Bad, Death Cults, Bad Cop Bad Cop, and Guns, Death Terror. These books have featured contributions from Monte Cazazza
Monte Cazazza
Monte Cazazza is an American artist and composer best known for his seminal role in helping shape the early landscape of industrial music through recordings with the London-based Industrial Records in the mid-1970s.-Career:...
, Michael Spann, Andrew Leavold, John Harrison, Simon Whitechapel, Chris Barber, and others.
Jack has written introductions for Joe Coleman
Joe Coleman
Joe Coleman may refer to:*Joe Coleman , American Major League Baseball pitcher*Joe Coleman , American Major League Baseball pitcher...
's Book of Joe and photographer Romain Slocombe's Tokyo Sex Underground.
He has contributed to publications such as Headpress as well as Panik, Electric Sheep
Electric Sheep
Electric Sheep is a distributed computing project for animating and evolving fractal flames, which are in turn distributed to the networked computers, which display them as a screensaver.-Process:...
, The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
, Fortean Times
Fortean Times
Fortean Times is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing and then I Feel Good Publishing , it is now published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. As of December 2010, its circulation was approximately 18,000...
and Bizarre
Bizarre
Bizarre may refer to:*Bizarre , solo rapper as well as member of the group D12*Bizarre , Spanish rock band*Bizarre , a Canadian sketch comedy television series...
magazine, as well as academic journals such as Senses of Cinema and M/C. Since 2008 he has written film reviews and a regular column for the Australian film magazine FilmInk focusing on unusual areas of film culture. He has also appeared as an occasional guest on ABC Radio National's MovieTime.
Between 2001-2003 he was film editor at large for Sleazenation
Sleazenation
Sleazenation was a monthly London based fashion and lifestyle magazine printed by Swinstead Publishing. The founding editor was Steve Beale, who left in 1999 to work at EMAP on The Face and Arena. Subsequent editors were Stuart Turnbull, Steve Slocombe and Neil Boorman. The magazine closed at the...
. Jack has written cover notes for DVDs by various underground and independent filmmakers, including the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's DVD release of Kirby Dick
Kirby Dick
Kirby Dick is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for directing documentary films. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature for directing Twist of Faith...
's film Sick: The Life And Death of Bob Flanagan
Bob Flanagan
Bob Flanagan was an American performance artist, comic, writer, poet, and musician.-Early life:...
, Supermasochist' and their Jeff Keen DVD box set'. In addition he has contributed liner notes to the Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
TGV
TGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
DVD box set.
Jack has appeared in numerous film and TV documentaries on culture and film, as well as having cameos in underground films. He has also appeared on recordings by the experimental group I/O.
He has promoted and organized shows for filmmakers and artists at the Horse Hospital
Horse Hospital
The Horse Hospital is an arts venue in central London, England, which caters for literary and spoken word events, underground film and avantgarde media screenings, and visual art exhibitions...
in London and Cinematheque in Brighton, UK, and has also toured film festivals in America, Europe, and Australia, including the New York Underground Film Festival
New York Underground Film Festival
Founded in 1994 by filmmakers Todd Phillips and Andrew Gurland, the New York Underground Film Festival was an annual event that occurred each March at Anthology Film Archives in New York City from 1994 through 2008...
, the Chicago Underground Film Festival
Chicago Underground Film Festival
Chicago Underground Film Festival, founded in 1994, occurs each spring at various venues in Chicago, Illinois in the USA.Over the last 18 years it has become one of the most respected festivals in the USA and is today well attended by critics and programers. The festival's stated goal is "to focus...
, Melbourne Underground Film Festival
Melbourne Underground Film Festival
The Melbourne Underground Film Festival was formed out of disagreements over the content and running of the Melbourne International Film Festival...
, Brisbane International Film Festival
Brisbane International Film Festival
Brisbane International Film Festival held in Brisbane provides a focus for film culture in Queensland, Australia. The festival has taken place since 1992 and focuses on films from the Asia-Pacific region. The event offers films including features, documentaries, shorts, experimental, silent films...
, and Sydney Underground Film Festival. In 2002 and 2003 he collaborated with Simon Kane on The Salon, an annual event that has featured performances by David Tibet
David Tibet
David Tibet is a British poet and artist who founded the music group Current 93, of which he is the only full-time member. He had earlier collaborated with Psychic TV and 23 Skidoo...
, Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti is best known as a performance artist and for her time in Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey....
, and Cotton Ferox.
Since 2008 he has been Program Director for the Revelation - Perth International Film Festival
Revelation - Perth International Film Festival
Revelation Perth International Film Festival began in 1997. Founded to showcase a large range of independent feature films, documentaries, short films, and experimental works...
, and in 2010 he curated the film program for Sydney Biennale.