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"This August, Spectacle is thrilled to celebrate the illustrious career of independent filmmaker and our foremost archivist of eccentric Americana, Jeff Krulik.
"Krulik got his start behind the camera as a volunteer for a local public access station in 1983, before being hired as a channel coordinator (and later producer/director) for MetroVision Public Access serving the D.C.-adjacent region of Southern Maryland. There he honed his skills as a filmmaker and programmer, his work often focusing on the humorously offbeat side of D.C.-metro area culture, while always maintaining an open, enthusiastic, and appreciative point-of-view towards even the most bizarre programming or personalities that made it to air.
"Krulik developed an underground following throughout the 80s & 90s as one of the co-directors— alongside fellow documentarian and public TV cohort, John Heyn— of the seminal 1986 documentary short, HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT. Set around a Judas Priest concert in suburban Maryland, the film has been hailed as one of the all-time great rock documentaries despite not featuring a moment of footage from the actual concert. Instead Krulik & Heyn turned their lenses on the arena parking lot, capturing the unbridled spirit and style of its tailgating fans, in turn becoming the definitive cultural touchstone for the 80s heavy metal scene.
"Krulik left public access in the late-80s and moved into independent producing and filmmaking, his fascination with the fringes of pop culture now spreading well beyond the D.C.-metro area. Over the next few decades, Krulik would produce and direct dozens of films documenting the lives and work of folks from all over the country— Academy Award-winning actors and professional wrestlers, outsider artists and traveling sideshow managers, local librarians and pinball repairmen— each work marked by Krulik’s wry observational style that found the humor, passion, and authenticity in every one of his subjects.
"Join us this month for a look back at Krulik’s vast career, with the man himself joining us in-person for Q&As on Saturday, 8/17 and Sunday, 8/18." -Spectacle