Sean Ono Lennon's directorial debut, film "ThreeASFOUR: FULL CIRCLE"« , a moving portrait of New York's avant-garde fashion scene, will screen at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday evening. The documentary, co-directed by Brian K. Gonzalez, will also have a fall theatrical release at Film Forum in New York City, thanks to new distributor Assembly Releasing.
Gabi Asfour, Angela Donhauser, and Adi Gil of ThreeASFOUR have been creating innovative clothing for over 25 years, drawing inspiration from natural forms and cutting-edge techniques. The collective was founded in 1998 under the name AsFOUR by Kai Kühne. The group's work has earned a devoted following, a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, museum exhibitions worldwide, and admirers such as Björk and Chloë Sevigny. But behind this recognition lies a persistent problem in an industry that prioritizes commercialism over creativity, and this, according to Lennon, is precisely what drew him to the stories of the artists he has known and admired for years.
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«"I saw them struggling with the business side of their business, and it always shocked me, and I think everyone around me, because the quality of their work seemed objectively beautiful and simply amazing, and everyone saw that," the musician, writer, and producer tells Deadline. "But at the same time, they were struggling to adapt to the industry." Scenes of furious sketching, intricate patterns of delicate cutouts and swirling shapes, fabrics, pinning, sewing, and the bustle of fashion shows alternate with worries about how to pay the rent.
As the film makes clear, he says, "transferring designs to a third party is a very difficult task. Every seam is curved and non-standard, so you can't just take one of their designs and easily send it to the manufacturers.".
He was also struck by the group's dedication to each other and how their backgrounds—Asfour is of Palestinian descent, Gil is from Israel, and Angela is from Germany—seemed to shape a shared philosophy of peace, diversity of perspectives, and creative dialogue.
Their relationship, "the way they work together and create clothes that in some ways represent transcendent ideas, politically and culturally," is the central theme of the documentary, and one that had a profound impact on him personally. "It may sound overly simplistic, but the whole film was almost an extension of, you know, the peacefulness and philosophy I grew up with, and family values. And that was a huge and significant revelation for me while making the film.".
He worked with Gonzalez and writer/editor Jenny Golden on the film for more than five years.
«"I have to say, it's really hard to make a film about your friends," Lennon says. "They were so generous in agreeing to film it and allowing it, but, you know, it's not nice to have your life recorded on camera... I've been in similar situations myself, and it's hard, so I won't pretend it was an easy process. But they're happy now, and I think we all are.".
Assembly Releasing is a new documentary film distributor founded by Jessica Edwards, Shani Ankori and Emily Rothschild.
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