Programme
The Haunting Dreamscapes of David Lynch
On 15th January, cinema lost one of its foremost surrealists. David Lynch (1946-2025) was a singular voice in an industry that demanded conformity and homogenised commodification. As a result, he spent much of his career working on the sidelines. Whenever he was admitted into the fold, as was the case with Dune or Twin Peaks , the mainstream was left dumbfounded, while the outsiders, freaks and weirdos rejoiced at the discovery of a preacher who finally spoke their language.
Whether through film, video, music, theatre or painting, Lynch crafted surrealism within the mundane, while simultaneously dignifying the bizarre and monstrous with empathy and humanity. He wielded the ability to tilt reality on an unrecognised axis just enough to reveal a previously unseen beauty or terror within a character or situation. His perspective was so unique that it demanded re-categorisation. And so the term ‘Lynchian’ was born, describing a seemingly familiar environment, imbued with a vague, almost imperceptible uneasiness.
Lynch’s great gift to cinema was his defiant self-belief. He refused to explain the meaning behind his films, leaving that responsibility squarely in the hands of the audience. We are permitted – emboldened even – to approach, digest, interpret Lynch’s work however we see fit. Whatever we see in his films or take from them is valid. As a viewer, it is an empowering experience to understand a work of art. By allowing us and validating our own response, Lynch has ascended to unimpeachable status.
A cinematic weirdo as he might seem, Lynch did receive recognition from the industry. The Elephant Man was nominated for eight Academy Awards, and was nominated by the Academy twice more, for directing Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr. , before finally receiving an Honorary Oscar in 2020. Elsewhere, he won the Palme d’Or for Wild at Heart , as well as Best Director for Mulholland Dr. . In 2017, his belated third season of Twin Peaks was named Film of the Year by Cahiers du Cinéma, despite consisting of 17 hour-long episodes of television. One suspects that these accolades had limited value for an artist who, for years, transmitted daily weather reports across the airwaves in his own inimitable fashion.
Conducted in Cantonese. Approximately 50-minute lecture
Audience who attends the course is eligible for a complimentary copy of The Haunting Dreamscapes of David Lynch (Chinese only)
