The World of Bob Dylan welcomes Mitch Blank and directors Nick Canfield and Paul Lovelace for a special screening and discussion of MY BACK PAGES during this year’s conference. This documentary presents a portrait of Mitch, the world’s foremost collector of Bob Dylan memorabilia and recordings, all kept in his tiny New York City apartment. The story follows Mitch as he donates his life’s work to the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a voyage into the ephemera of one of the greatest American musicians, a study on the nature of collecting and what it means to devote your life to something – then let it go forever.
Canfield and Lovelace met while working on Albert Maysles’ 2014 documentary IRIS. Several years later Paul edited and co-produced Nick’s 2022 feature documentary THE REVEREND, his directorial debut. Along the way they met the beloved and notable Dylanologist Mitch Blank, who has amassed one of the all-time great collections of Bob Dylan related materials.
Both were drawn to Mitch’s generous and charming personality in addition to being big Dylan fans. They were primarily interested in exploring the idea of letting go of one’s life’s work. What happens when you part with something that has taken over such a large part of a life? And how can these materials live on for future generations? The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma granted permission to film this process. They are grateful for Mitch’s and the museum’s trust and are eager to share this wonderful journey with viewing audiences.
This event will take place on Thursday, July 24 at 8:15 p.m. in the Gussman Concert Hall (Lorton Performance Center).
Nick Canfield is an award-winning Director and Cinematographer from New York City. He got his start as camera assistant to legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, developing an intimate vérité style as a cinematographer and archivist for Maysles Films. His first film, the feature music documentary The Reverend, won the Audience Award at DOC NYC and Best Domestic Feature at Thin Line Festival. Distributed theatrically by Factory 25, it streamed on The Criterion Channel. Working on the camera teams for a range of projects, Nick has enjoyed the opportunity to learn from a diverse group of subjects and filmmakers. His camera work can be seen in documentaries such as Iris (NYFF premiere, distributed by Magnolia Pictures), The Fifty Year Argument (HBO, directed by Martin Scorsese), Born to Fly (SxSW premiere), In Transit (Tribeca Special Jury Mention), and Making a Murderer (Netflix). His films have been covered in media including The New York Times and Rolling Stone. Nick is a member of the Documentary Cinematographer’s Alliance, was named one of DOC NYC’s 40 Filmmakers Under 40 in 2022, and was a member of their Short Films Jury in 2023.
Paul Lovelace is an Austin, Texas based filmmaker who has produced, edited and directed a wide range of documentaries, including Iris (Edited and co-produced with the late Albert Maysles, released by Magnolia Pictures), After Spring (Editor, Executive Produced by Jon Stewart) documenting the Syrian refugee crisis, and Radio Unnamable (Director and Producer, released by Kino Lorber and aired on PBS). In 2019, Paul edited Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy which won the Audience Award at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival. In 2021 Paul co-produced and edited The Reverend, a feature length documentary about the New York musician Reverend Vince Anderson which won the Audience Award at the DOC NYC film festival, was released theatrically by Factory 25 in 2022, and streamed on The Criterion Channel. More recently, Paul produced and co-edited the feature length documentary Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted, which premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival.