How To Live With Regret
2018 · 10m · USA
Directed by John Wilson
Genres: comedy, documentary
Tones: contemplative, darkly comic, melancholic
John Wilson delivers a halting, sincere video essay 'tutorial' on regret, weaving his trademark shakycam footage of New York City's mundane absurdities with voiceover life advice; Caveh Zahedi, who has kept a written journal of his regrets for twenty years, appears as a kind of expert witness.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
John Wilson before the HBO show, doing the exact same thing — shaky NYC footage, voice-over that sounds like someone talking themselves off a ledge, a guest who has literally kept a regret journal for twenty years. Pre-fame origin document for the best formal voice in American nonfiction.
Early John Wilson essay with Caveh Zahedi appearing as an expert witness to his own twenty-year regret journal — that's a casting choice that immediately signals real curatorial intelligence, and Wilson's voice is already locked in.
John Wilson's pre-HBO 'how to' essay format with Caveh Zahedi as expert witness — Zahedi has actually kept a written regret journal for 20 years. Wilson's awkward-sincere voice meeting that subject is a perfect match.
Festivals
- Rooftop Films 2018