Private Project

Pure Art - the Work of Franklin Williams

This film follows artist Franklin Williams, a staple of the Bay Area Nut Art scene of the 1960's and 70's, over the year leading up to a retrospective of his work at the Art Museum of Sonoma County, his first major showing in decades. Through interviews with Williams, his curator and art historian Susan Landauer, his wife Carol, his students at California College of Art and others, the artist's process and passion for creating new work are revealed and the idea of what makes someone an artist is explored. From his Petaluma studio, to his classroom, to the museum, through packaging, moving, hanging and ultimately showing his art on opening night, Franklin Williams emerges, at 77, as always, hopeful.

  • Vincent Sassone
    Director
    Italian Lessons, A Tale of Two Pizzas
  • Vincent Sassone
    Producer
  • LynnAnn Klotz
    Associate Producer
  • Franklin Williams
    Key Cast
  • Carol Williams
    Key Cast
  • Susan Landauer
    Key Cast
  • Sam Parker
    Key Cast
  • Peter Fish
    Original Music
    A Tale of Two Pizzas
  • Anastasia Shepherd
    Color Grading
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    art, art education, biography
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 13 minutes 13 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 8, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Black Magic Pocket & iPhone
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Vincent Sassone

Vincent Sassone’s feature films include the festival award winning romantic comedy A Tale of Two Pizzas starring Frank Vincent and Vincent Pastore and the recently completed documentary Pure Art: The Work of Franklin Williams. His short films Italian Lessons, Tightrope and others have won awards and screened at festivals and museums in the US and Europe. He’s created short films commissioned by cultural organizations including Art Museum of Sonoma County and Palm Springs International Film Society. He studied filmmaking at American University, NY Film & Video Arts, and with cinematographer Jeri Sopanen (My Dinner With Andre) and Academy Award nominated editor Paula Heredia (Unzipped!). He earned his BA in Drama at Catholic University, worked extensively as an actor in NY and LA and has taught film related courses at NYU, FIT and Santa Rosa Junior College before joining College of the Desert where he is an adjunct film instructor developing that school’s new film program.

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Director Statement

My husband's work led us to move to Sonoma County in 2014 which led me to Franklin Williams, the subject of my film, which led me back to feature filmmaking. Like Franklin when I met him, it had been a while since I ventured too far from my studio. And now I find myself at the submission page for a film festival once again. There is no doubt that this is all Franklin inspired. I hope, through this movie, he will inspire others as well.