Shirt Vile
Music, Documentary, 15-Mar-2019
A group of curly haired strangers help Katelyn recreate her past life as a Kurt Vile t-shirt. Directed by Drew Angle and Katelyn Douglass, “Shirt Vile,” is an evocative tribute to the musician and a portrait of a fan, a young woman who connects with him on a metaphysical level, but also a physical one (they have similar hair and body language). As she grapples with the intangible feelings of connection, she surrounds herself with other look-a-likes, and searches far and wide for the exact t-shirt she imagines she was (“faded red and really soft”). Filled with lovely, mixed-format images, vivid panoramas of Katelyn posing in the Appalachian Mountains and grainy concert footage, it’s a film characterized by a haunting melancholy but also warmth. As she tells it, “most people meet me and ask, ‘are you okay?’” and she often finds herself having to introduce herself to others several times before they remember who she is, like she imagines Vile might have to, if he weren’t Kurt Vile. -KA. Directed and Edited by: Drew Angle, Katelyn Douglass; Starring: Katelyn Douglass; Featuring: Renee Dawson Field, Vamsi Koduri, Tim Kydde, JoAnna Oziemkowski, Adam Paikowsky, Kirsten Southwell, Bessie Zolno; DP: Drew Angle; Written by: Katelyn Douglass.