Capitalism and its Discontents: An Interview with MIke Hoolboom

I sat with Mike Hoolboom at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in January 2020, after the premiere of Judy versus Capitalism (2020), an hour-long political bio of radical Canadian activist Judy Rebick. I had already seen the film online but was interested in the crowd reaction to the film given it was not a typical political documentary. I was also familiar, since the early ‘90s, with Hoolboom’s long history of engagement and prolific production with artist film culture. Last year at IFFR, Hoolboom screened 27 Thoughts About my Father (2019), which features his own articulate ruminations on his father’s memory, who passed away in 2017. In Judy versus Capitalism, Judy Rebick’s stirring and personal voice drives the narrative and Hoolboom’s skills in shaping rhythm and organising his images to process emotion, developed over decades of film production, amplifies Judy’s story.