John T. Davis: Hobo 
John T. Davis is internationally recognised as Northern Ireland’s most distinctive documentary filmmaker and cinematographer.
To mark his 70th birthday on March 7th, 2017, and in recognition of his over 40 years of filmmaking, QFT is mounting a retrospective of his work.
Hobo is an intensely personal portrait of Beargrease, a man gripped with the chronic wanderlust. A fiercely independent individual, he embodies the traits of the classic American railroad vagabond.
Beargreese has travelled all his life, as a sailor, a military engineer in Vietnam, then as a hobo riding the steel rails across the length and breadth of the United States. The film follows him and the fellow ‘bos he encounters on a journey, from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington, some 2,000 miles of bitter, cold, hard travelling on a track known as the Highline.
To make this remarkable film, John T. Davis set off on a dangerous, illegal journey across America. Hiding his camera in his bedroll, he jumped freight trains and led the life of a hobo, sleeping rough and scavenging food from dumpsters. This daring, visually exquisite film examines the limits of human endurance, questions the price of freedom and responsibility, and lays bare the thin thread by which our own reality hangs.
The screening will be introduced by John T. Davis.
Part One of Peripheral Visions: John T. Davis, A Retrospective also includes:
John T. Davis' Punk Trilogy (Shellshock Rock/Protex Hurrah/Self-Conscious Over You)
Power in the Blood/Dust on the Bible (double bill)
Peripheral Visions continues at QFT in April. Discover more about the work of John T. Davis here.
This season is presented in partnership with Film Hub NI. Special thanks to Northern Ireland Screen, the Irish Film Institute, Peter Strain and Yellowmoon.
