‘Master of Light’ wins the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at South by Southwest...
Congratulations to Jurgen Lisse for his win at SXSW for ‘Master of Light’ directed by Rosa Ruth Boesten. The documentary introduces us to George Anthony Morton, a classical painter, who developed his skills during a decade in federal prison. He started making paintings in prison that were good enough they gave him leverage: Morton recalls using them to justify a transfer to a less dangerous facility. After his release, he found his way to an art school in New York and further opportunities to study the history of painting. He hopes that the career he has built will help family members see a life for themselves beyond the cycle of poverty, crime and jail.
‘Master of Light’ has been described by Indiewire as ‘a gentle and graceful film defined by the capriciousness of sight. Some scenes by cinematographer Jurgen Lisse wrap the subject in a chiaroscuro lighting, wherein their visibility is defined by shadows. Others are bathed in near blinding, overexposed sunlight. Each extreme only adds rather than subtracts melancholy and personhood.'