T h e S t r a n g e R e b i r t h of A n d r e W e i l
Written & Directed by Joel Garber
• Shot on black and white, Super 16mm film The Strange Rebirth of Andre Weil is a blackly comic love story that explores themes concerning the fragility of human consciousness and spirituality. When Andre meets Sasha it's something approximating love at first sight. She's an analog girl in a digital world. He's a hapless door-to-door salesman and notorious shut-in. Their romance becomes complicated by the introduction of Gil, an old professor of Sasha's with a nasty jealous streak. Using archival footage and a deadpan narration, The Strange Rebirth of Andre Weil loosely reconstructs the historic neurological case of Phineas Gage, who in the mid-1800s survived a freak accident in which a 13 foot metal rod shot through the frontal lobe of his brain and skull. Like Gage, Andre also suffers a traumatic brain injury and he too is transformed by the accident, reborn a new man. The Master of Fine Arts thesis project (San Francisco State University) of writer/director Joel Garber.
• The Strange Rebirth of Andre Weil is intended for a wide general audience. The subject matter is universal in its themes – the nature of identity, spirituality, and consciousness – and as such will appeal to a broad demographic.
• The Strange Rebirth of Andre Weil is fiscally sponsored by the San Francisco Film Society. For information on how to make a tax deductible donation to this project please visit the San Francisco Film Society funding page.
