Bob's Death

I had no intention for this film to be "in memory of Bob Frank". Not while we were filming and not while I was editing—I didn't know he was dying, and neither did he. At the time, I'd hoped the documentary might lead to one more tour for Bob, and that he might enjoy some renewed interest in his body of work. Not that he seemed to be yearning for that.

This spring, I had a full rough cut and was making some final decisions about it, when Bob told me he'd just been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and “so the video will probly be ‘posthumous’ or whatever you call it," delivering the news with his typical nonchalance.

All I could do was cry. It felt wrong to even think about the film. I just didn’t want my friend to die.

That was out of my control. What was in my control, I determined, was the ability to complete the film while Bob was still here to see it. The best part of making this documentary was getting to talk to Bob about life and art. We’d talk on camera and off, and then often he’d send me an email clarifying his thoughts on whatever we talked about. Sometimes an essay he’d written, sometimes a poem, something with a (Bob) frankness that cut right to the core of the matter. I wanted to share what I’d made with him, and I wanted to know what he’d think of it. So I got back to work and picked up the pace on my post-production.

A little less than a month before he died, I shared the finished film with Bob. A few days later, he sent me his thoughts. It’s an email I’ll always treasure. He said he liked the film that he “liked it a lot and not because it makes me out to be some sort of unique artistic genius or something like that...” He liked the contradictions, “it's all just stories,” he wrote “and the minds that read those stories. and that's life. that's it. and there's nothing to do about it actually, other than just see how it happens…I come off as just one more ordinary, fucked up mind. which is perfect!”

Bob's gone now, and the whole thing still feels fucked up. But I loved Bob Frank, and I got to make a movie about him. And he liked it. I hope you do too.

It’s taken me a few months to reflect on this with some written words. I may write more as it comes to me.

And so, to borrow one of Bob's signature valedictions,
Squeeze it easy,

Isaac Pingree