Many filmgoers have remarked on media writer Leslie Savan’s appearance in the film, saying they liked the way she explained the subconsious messages of graphic design in terms that non-designers could understand. Others who haven’t read her work before have wondered, “Why is she in the film?” Well I’ll tell you why: in 1976 Savan wrote an essay for the Village Voice called “This Typeface Is Changing Your Life.” The article was about, you guessed it, Helvetica taking over New York City. She interviewed Massimo Vignelli, the people at the MTA, etc. So you could say that she’s like me, but 30 years ago. Or the other way around.

The essay isn’t online, but it is in her book, The Sponsored Life.

Granted, it’s a little heavy on the font puns towards the end. But since an A- is a better grade than I ever got in college (except for my A in Windsurfing 101… really), I’ll take it!

Due to continued strong turnout, our cinema run at the IFC Center has been extended an additional week. Thanks to everyone who’s attended so far! New Yorkers, get your tickets here.

I just got back from a weeklong adventure in Russia at the American Film Festival in Moscow… lots to write about. The best part of the trip was getting to spend time with the other filmmakers, there were only five documentaries in the lineup and all the filmmakers were in attendance. D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus were there for a retrospective of their work, and a premiere screening of Pennebaker’s never-before-seen 1959 documentary Opening in Moscow, about the American Exhibition in Moscow that year.

The films were great, the screenings were packed (they added a third screening of Helvetica after two sell-outs), the malls were enormous, the subway was ancient (but surprisingly efficient), and the design students looked just like the design students in every other city in the world (why is that???). I took lots of photos, here are a few:

Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker film the Moscow streets

Students at the design academy crowd around my laptop to watch film clips

Cyrillic lettering = revolution! “Rise up, nanny, throw off your chains!”

Subway dog

Doug Block (51 Birch Street) gets a sample at the honey market

Annie Sundberg (The Devil Came on Horseback) on the cold war-era Metro

Obligatory cathedral pic

Doug Block, documentary curator Robin Hessman, me, Bryan Gunnar Cole (Day Zero)

It was really interesting to see Moscow in transition, continuing to embrace rampant Western-style capitalism, and rushing to replace its Soviet-era architecture with 10-story shopping malls. If you can shop at Paul Smith, or Levi’s, or Hugo Boss, or buy a new BMW, do you still really need democracy?

Special thanks to Robin, Susan, and everyone at the festival for the opportunity to be part of the event, and for being such amazing hosts. And thanks to all the people I met in Moscow, and to James, Sanwaree, Catherine, and Micha, cheers!

We’re #1! We’re #1! Font fans are now rioting in the streets: the New York City opening weekend of Helvetica topped the Indiewire chart as the top-grossing independent film in the country last weekend, on a per-screen $ basis. Wow! Thanks to the cast and crew who came out to do appearances over the weekend: Tobias Frere-Jones, Shelby Siegel, and Leslie Savan.

From Indiewire:

Documentary “Helvetica” Packs IFC Center, Tops iW Bot Chart

“After its March 2007 world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival and single play dates at various film centers and design conferences across the United States, director Gary Hustwit’s feature-length documentary “Helvetica” landed Sept. 12 for an extended run at New York’s IFC Center and the response was a tidal wave turnout by typography fans. (indieWIRE recieved the box office numbers for “Helvetica” after our weekly box office column was published on Monday. The complete indieWIRE BOT weekly chart is available at indieWIRE.com.) “Helvetica,” a look at global design culture and an examination of the Helvetica typeface via interviews with acclaimed designers, earned enough for the top spot on the iWBOT. Hustwit’s on-site appearances alongside designer Tobias Frere-Jones and editor Shelby Siegel helped attract crowds. Still, its status as the top weekend specialty film confirmed what Hustwit believed all along: people can’t get enough of good design.”

Helvetica continues its run at the IFC Center through September 25th. Get tickets.

A few more shots from the opening night of the colette Paris exhibit. Special thanks to Ralph Lauren Rugby for the drinks and food, and the free cap. And thanks again to Sarah, and to our awesome gallery manager Camille!

Wow… we got an incredible review today in Time Out London. Here’s my cut-and-paste summary:

“Could first-time American director Gary Hustwit be the architect of a New Banal documentary movement? With ‘Helvetica’ he produces a gleefully engaging investigation into the world’s most ubiquitous typeface… as well as broadening the cinematic and analytical potential of the documentary form in the process. Artfully photographed, sharply edited and propelled by a gorgeous ambient rock soundtrack… this is one of the wittiest, most diligently researched, slyly intelligent and quietly captivating documentaries of the year.”

Read the full review… I like his “New Banal” movement reference, except that I’ve honestly never thought of typefaces as being banal!

Our multi-week cinema run at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London begins tomorrow… book tickets now.

The exhibit, mid-installation

I was quite busy yesterday installing “Helvetica at 50″, an exhibit I curated at the colette Paris gallery. The day started in London, I barely made the train after Saturday night’s London premiere event at the ICA. We showed the film, and then Michael C. Place, the Experimental Jetset (who’d flown over from Amsterdam) and I took over the ICA bar and spun records for hours. I did an “all-Helvetica cover art” set… which was sort of cheating because I just used the records I’d brought over for the colette exhibit. But I got to fall in love with Television’s Marquee Moon all over again, what an amazing record. We projected the album cover art on the walls as we played.

For the colette show, I managed to cobble together a nice little overview of Helvetica, with a selection of movie posters, record covers, prints, t-shirts, and other ephemera. Special thanks to Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones for their contribution of several rare Helvetica brochures from the Haas and Stempel era. The film is being shown on a loop on a huge plasma screen, and I also got to sprinkle Helvetica-releated quotes from various designers around the walls of the store. They’ve brought in stock of Lars Müller’s Helvetica book, and a bunch of great t-shirts from Blanka.

Helvetica graffiti on the walls of the store

If you’re in Paris, come by the opening reception tonight from 5pm to 6pm and check it out! I’ll post pictures from the opening tomorrow. The show will be up through September 29. Merci beaucoup to Sarah for inviting me to do the show, and to Marc for all the help installing it.