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who is bozo texino?
WHO IS BOZO TEXINO?
USA, 2005 reĹľija/directed by fotografija/cinematography glasba/music montaĹľa/editing zvok/sound producent/producer produkcija/production format/format dolĹľina/running time 
Who is Bozo Texino? is the culmination of Daniel’s twenty-plus year investigation into the century-old folkloric practice of boxcar graffiti. Daniel rode freight trains across the west carrying a Super-8 sound camera and a 16mm Bolex, interviewing tramps and brakemen in a quest to find the originator of an ubiquitous graffiti. The recently-completed film functions both as a subcultural documentary and a stylized fable on wanderlust and escape. Who is Bozo Texino? chronicles the search for the source of a ubiquitous rail graffiti - a simple sketch of a character with an infinity-shaped hat and the scrawled moniker, “Bozo Texino” - a drawing seen on railcars for over 80 years. The film is both a somewhat fictionalized travelogue and a non-fiction essay on wanderlust, the mythology of the loner, and the function of graffiti in the creation of outsider identity. Shot on freight trips across the western US, over a period of 16 years, the film is a nitty gritty view of the trackside world, and includes interviews with some of the railroad’s greatest graffiti legends: Colossus of Roads, The Rambler, Herby (RIP) and the granddaddy of them all, Bozo Texino. The film also uncovers some of the socioeconomic history of hobo subculture, from its roots after the Civil War to its punk rock resurgence today. Photographed on 16mm and super8 film, the piece achieves a timeless quality without the use of stock historical footage. Interviews with tramps and railworkers encountered in the travels provide the structure and substance of the film. The range of the interviews and the film’s style deal with the clichés and the harsh realities of tramp life. |