Directed by Nicole Peyrafitte
and Miles Joris-Peyrafitte
RUN TIME: 22 minutes

About Basil King: Mirage
‘I am a painter and a writer, and I follow these two habits, making lines that are not always linear,’ says then 77-years old Brooklyn working artist Basil King. This 22-minute film depicts the vital ongoing dedication and intimacy between his writing and painting. The mapping of multiple layers of King’s interior terrain is structured via his reading of the autobiographical poem ‘Mirage’ and his paintings. King’s syncretic aesthetics were shaped by early childhood in WWII London, friendship with San Francisco Renaissance poets, apprenticeship to Abstract Expressionist painters Adolph Gottlieb, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko, by his mentors and friends at Black Mountain College, including Robert Creeley and Charles Olson, and by his relationship with friends like Franz Kline, Franck O’Hara, Fielding Dawson and Paul Blackburn. 

Directors:
Nicole Peyrafitte is a Pyrenean-born pluridisciplinary artist living in Brooklyn, NY. Her work in visual art and action painting, research and poetry, film and video art, music and cooking draws upon her eclectic history and the experiences of shaping identity across two continents and four languages. Recent works include Karstic-Action Paintings at Gallery Zürcher Salon in NYC for The 11 Women of Spirit in March 2020; the 2017 multi-tier exhibition & live performance Peyrafitte / Joris : Domopoetic Works at Simoncini Gallery, Luxembourg, featuring her longtime collaboration with poet & translator Pierre Joris. Gallery Simoncini will host a second multi-tier installment in February 2021, including action painting & cooking. In addition to Basil King: Mirage (2012), Nicole Peyrafitte wrote & directed Things Fall Where They Lie (2018) a documentary feature film starring Steve Dalachinsky & Yuko Otomo. Publications include books: Bi-Valve (Stockport Flats, 2013) & Landsc0pes (Plaine Page, 2018) & a series of three sketchbooks, Carnet 1 & 2 (RedfoxPress Ireland, 2014 & 2018), & Liminal Thread (les Venterniers, 2016). She has authored the albums Whisk and Don’t Churn with Michael Bisio & The Bi-Continental Chowder.  Her Action-Paintings have been performed in a range of international venues.

Miles Joris-Peyrafitte:
In 2016, Miles Joris-Peyrafitte became one of the youngest winners at the Sundance Film Festival when his feature film debut AS YOU ARE won the Dramatic Special Jury Award. Shortly after, Miles directed DREAMLAND, starring Margot Robbie, that recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival rave reviews. Caryn James of The Hollywood Reporter said, “At 27 years old, Miles Joris-Peyrafitte proves himself to be one of the most exciting young directors around.” In addition to feature film work, Miles directed the award-winning docu-short BRUJAS – as well as the podcast GASLIGHT, starring Chloe Grace-Moretz. Today, Miles is writing his next feature film THE HUNTER AND THE FOX with Annapurna Pictures, in addition to developing a TANK GIRL remake at MGM with Margot Robbie attached to star.