Filmmaker Jennifer Kroot and the Legion of Graduate Students of the San Francisco Art Institute created a 90-minute documentary film, It Came from Kuchar, synthesizing the work of pioneer underground filmmaker George Kuchar, featuring his then current and past students; Hollywood filmmakers who influenced him in the 1950s; his brother, underground filmmaker Mike Kuchar; and numerous artists who have been affected by his work.
George Kuchar’s career began in the 1950s when he and his twin brother Mike became obsessed with 8mm film. In the 1960s they became pioneers in the New York underground film scene. The brothers worked together on over a dozen films in the 1950s and 1960s, then worked separately, producing scores of their own films, including many George made with his students at the San Francisco Art Institute.
Lead artist Jennifer Kroot is among George Kuchar’s former students. Her films, prior to this project, included Sirens of the 23rd Century, which has screened at film festivals and small art houses internationally. Also participating were editor Tom Bullock, Director of Photography Christopher Million, and Producer Holly Million. The Legion of Graduate Students (LOGS) is the independent governing body of graduate students at the San Francisco Art Institute, the oldest art school on the West Coast.
It Came from Kuchar premiered on March 14, 2009 at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas. Its San Francisco premiere was at the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival in June 2009