Screening

Meditations on Crime Presents: An Evening Of Film And Music With Jonah Freeman And Harper Simon

Friday, November 10, 2023
7PM

On Friday, November 10, New York City’s Roxy Cinema will host An Evening Of Film And Music With Jonah Freeman And Harper Simon, a film screening and Q&A around their collaborative short film Meditations on Crime. An ambitious multi-media project that also includes a book and an album of the same name, the film was co-directed by author Harper Simon and Jonah Freeman of the acclaimed Freeman and Lowe. This event will also include a screening of Freeman and Lowe’s 2016 short film Mercury City, a Q&A session moderated by Adam Green of The Moldy Peaches, and a book signing.

The Meditations on Crime short film was produced to coincide with the release of the project’s book/album package, available now via Hat & Beard. It uses Simon’s music and excerpts from an essay by Booker Prize winning author Ben Okri as an armature for Freeman’s kaleidoscopic cinematic collage of found and original footage. Acclaimed actress Katherine Waterston (Babylon, Logan Lucky, Alien: Covenant, Inherent Vice) narrates the film which, while touching upon a broad spectrum of crime, finds its focus in the prison system and all its contradictions.

The book, which is co-edited by Jonah Freeman and Harper Simon, features essays by such notables as Miranda July, Hooman Majd, and Jerry Stahl, alongside artwork from giants like Cindy Sherman, Nate Lowman, Chase Hall, Julian Schnabel, Tracy Emin, and Raymond Pettibon.

The album produced by Simon features musical collaborations with a sweeping range of contributors, including Julia Holter, Gang Gang Dance, King Khan, Ian Svenonius, and the Sun Ra Arkestra.