A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN WATERS: CINEMATIC IMMUNITY
Presented by Sundance Channel and Westin Grand Bohemian

Saturday, April 1, 1:00 PM at Enzian - SOLD OUT


John Waters takes the stage for 90 thrilling minutes at Enzian to share his unique perspectives about a life in cinema, his work, and "bad taste." The Florida Film Festival is proud to welcome a true master of the craft.

Dubbed the "Pope of Trash" by William Burroughs, John Waters has gained phenomenal international renown as writer and director of a range of wildly original, irreverent, and offbeat portraits of the American dream-gone-wrong. Notable among his works are Mondo Trasho, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Desperate Living, Polyester, Hairspray, Cry-Baby, Serial Mom, Pecker, Cecil B. Demented, and A Dirty Shame. Set primarily in his hometown of Baltimore, Waters's films are peopled with the familiar faces drawn from his "Dreamland Repertory Company" as well as a host of mainstream film actors who line up to work with him. His most famous lifelong collaboration was with Harris Glenn Milstead, a neighbor kid from Baltimore who grew up to become "Divine."

In recent years, Waters's films have been featured at the Cannes Film Festival, The Berlin Film Festival, and in retrospectives, internationally and abroad, including the Cinematheque Francaise, the LA County Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and many others. In addition to his prodigious work in film, Mr. Waters has published several books of essays, screenplays, and photographs as well as exhibited his photography in galleries and museums. Waters's classic Hairspray was successfully adapted to the stage to become the hottest ticket on Broadway. Also Waters lectures as Professor of Film and Subculture at The European Graduate School.

"I make fun of things I really like. I think that's very important in comedy. Nothing's funny if you make comedy about something you hate. It can be funny for about ten minutes but it doesn't really work unless you love what you're making fun of. I look up to bad taste because it's a freedom I don't have. I do care what people think. I don't sit on my front steps in my underpants and give people the finger when they go by. I'm jealous of people that do that, because they don't care. Bad taste is a great freedom if you have it, and the people who have it I respect as long as they aren't doing it to make fun of people."
--John Waters, "Filth 101: An Open Discussion with John Waters," lecture at European Graduate School, August 2001.