I AM SECRETLY AN IMPORTANT MAN SCREENS AT NEW YORK CITY’S IFC CENTER DECEMBER 15-21

DOCUMENTARY ABOUT SEATTLE POET JESSE BERNSTEIN RECEIVES CRITICAL ACCLAIM; SET TO SCREEN AT COPENHAGEN’S CPH:DOX

“[Bernstein is] the godfather of grunge.”—NME

“[Bernstein is] an icon of the grunge movement.”—Seattle Times

I am Secretly an Important Man, a feature-length documentary film portrait of celebrated Seattle poet Steven Jesse Bernstein, is set to begin its New York City theatrical run at the IFC Center December 15-21 after showing at CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, November 6, 8 and 12.

The film opened to critical acclaim having premiered at Seattle’s Moore Theater prior to its Seattle theatrical run at the Northwest Film Forum. Interview Magazine says that “the film plays like an homage to [Bernstein],” while The Seattle Times calls I am Secretly an Important Man “a gritty portrait of Seattle’s guru of grunge.” KEXP FM notes that the film “affirms why some of the people attracted to the flame of the Pacific Northwest music scene aren’t moths, but are sizzling bright lights in themselves.” Please see below for more of what the press is saying.

Directed and co-produced by Peter Sillen and executive produced by Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen of Parts & Labor (Old Joy, Wild Tigers I Have Known), I am Secretly an Important Man examines the life, work, addiction and mental illness of poet, musician and performance artist Steven Jesse Bernstein. Best known for his recordings on Sub Pop Records and his close relationship with William S. Burroughs, Bernstein was a fixture of the Seattle arts scene until his suicide in 1991. He opened for artists including Nirvana, Big Black and Soundgarden and counted Kurt Cobain and Oliver Stone among his notable fans.

Peter Sillen is a New York based documentary filmmaker. Best known for his low-tech approach and sensitivity to his subjects and their environment, Sillen’s previous works include Speed Racer: Welcome to the World of Vic Chesnutt (1994) and Benjamin Smoke (2000). Sillen received grants from the Jerome Foundation and Creative Capital for his work on I am Secretly an Important Man and has screened his films at a wide array of festivals and venues including the Sundance Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, South By Southwest, Slamdance, the Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Academy of Music and San Francisco’s Castro Theater.

For more information, please contact Joe Cohen, Krista Williams or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.

 

I AM SECRETLY AN IMPORTANT MAN

“[Poet Jesse Bernstein’s] stories about drifters and societal misery enraptured the late `80s and early `90s grunge-era Pacific Northwest art scene…the film plays like an homage to this volatile artist.” —Interview

“A gritty portrait of Seattle’s ‘guru of grunge.’ ★★★ (out of 4)” —The Seattle Times

“Gushingly visual… a movie that affirms why some of the people attracted to the flame of the Pacific NW music scene aren’t moths, but are sizzling bright lights in themselves.” —KEXP

“If you live in Seattle and have no idea who the late poet Steven ‘Jesse’ Bernstein is, then you are not a citizen of this town but merely an inhabitant.” —The Stranger

“Director Peter Sillen brings considerable empathy to Bernstein’s oddball life.” —Seattle Weekly

“Evocative and haunting” —Blurt

“A must-see” —Seattlest

“A haunting, bittersweet portrait of an intriguing character.” —Belltown Messenger