Filmmaker John Borowski to make Documentary about Surrealist Vincent Castiglia
Many artists claim to put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work, but few go so far as to literally use their blood as an artistic medium. Surrealist painter Vincent Castiglia does just that with his paintings that use exclusively human blood on paper. His artwork has won global acclaim, but award-winning filmmaker John Borowski aims to tell Castiglia’s own surreal life story in the documentary feature “Bloodlines: The Art and Life of Vincent Castiglia.”
Castiglia is the first American artist to receive an invitation to exhibit a solo exhibition at the H.R. Giger Museum Gallery in Switzerland, and his work work has been featured on album covers and movie posters as well as the walls of renowned galleries. The artist previously reached out to his followers with an online survey to gauge interest in a reality show featuring his work. Borowski—an independent filmmaker best known for his “historical horror” documentaries about late-19th and early-20th century serial killers—responded to the inquiry saying, “You deserve better than a reality show that is sensational for a short time period but forgotten in the long run. You deserve a feature documentary film highlighting your life and the reasons behind why you create your art. A film will stand the test of time.”
Whether “Bloodlines: The Art and Life of Vincent Castiglia” will be able to stand the test of time as Borowski has promised relies mainly on fans of his films and Castiglia’s paintings. To fund the documentary, Borowski has launched a Kickstarter campaign to cover production costs. Kickstarter—a popular crowdfunding resource for filmmakers and other artists—cannot offer equity in projects, so donations are all about wanting to see the project become a reality and novelty rewards for patrons. Among the rewards available in this campaign is a personal portrait done in Castiglia’s blood for a pledge of $10,000. Borowski has set a fundraising goal of $25,000 to cover post-production costs, perk-fulfillment costs, and expenses to conduct interviews with Castiglia collectors in the U.S. and Europe as well as trips to New York City to interview Castiglia in his studio.
Borowski hopes to continue production of the documentary in 2015 and finish in 2016. He also plans to reunite with composer DC McAuliffe with whom he has collaborated on four past projects. Visit the Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1707661554/bloodlines-the-art-and-life-of-vincent-castiglia