Watch The Trailer for IRIS, A Documentary By Albert Maysles

Filmmaker Albert Maysles, director of iconic documentaries GIMME SHELTER and GREY GARDENS, died Thursday, March 5, 2015 in New York at age 88.

Here’s a first look at the trailer for his film IRIS, which had its world premiere at the 2014 New York Film Festival. IRIS pairs Maysles with Iris Apfel, the quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed 93-year-old style maven who has had an outsized presence on the New York fashion scene for decades.

More than a fashion film, the documentary is a story about creativity and how, even at Iris’ advanced age, a soaring free spirit continues to inspire. IRIS portrays a singular woman whose enthusiasm for fashion, art and people are life’s sustenance and reminds us that dressing, and indeed life, is nothing but an experiment.

Despite the abundance of glamour in her current life, she continues to embrace the values and work ethic established during a middle-class Queens upbringing during the Great Depression. “I feel lucky to be working. If you’re lucky enough to do something you love, everything else follows.”

Rebekah Maysles, daughter of Albert Maysles and one of the producers of IRIS said, “My father was always interested in making portraits of people, of them just being who they were. He really loved working with Iris. I would often stand aside and see him nudge her and say something sweet about how he really liked shooting her. I would catch him saying things to her like “were getting good stuff”- or as she was walking back to her bedroom he’d give her the thumbs up. We were a small team and liked being in each other’s company. Once we finished the final cut and all met together to watch I heard my dad say, ‘Iris let us know when something interesting comes up and I’ll come and film it!'”

In July 2014, Maysles was awarded the National Medal of Arts, honoring his six decades of filmmaking.

Iris caught the attention of many for her fearless and original style — while other women were dressing in head-to-toe designers, Iris combined haute couture tops with pants fashioned from church vestments and tribal jewelry. She mixed designer pieces with flea market finds, transforming dressing to improvised artistic expression.

In 2005, the Metropolitan Museum approached Iris about sharing her collections.

The show, “Iris Patel, Rare Bird of Fashion,” showcasing Iris’s irreverent style, became a runaway hit and travelled the country making Iris, at age of 87, a self-described “geriatric starlet.” Iris’s broad appeal landed her on the pages of publications as diverse as European editions of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar as well as PAPER and Dazed and Confused. Along the way, becoming a favorite model of Bruce Weber. She appeared in a Coach Ads, designed a sell-outline for MAC Cosmetics and now sells clothing and accessories on HSN. She is a visiting professor of School of Human Ecology at The University of Texas, where selected students join her annually for a weeklong tour of the fashion industry that involves every aspect of the business.

Magnolia Pictures will release IRIS in New York on April 29, 2015, Los Angeles May 1, 2015 and additional cities throughout May.

http://www.magpictures.com/iris/

https://www.facebook.com/IrisFilm