Michael Portnoy: Provocateur

Director: Michael Portnoy

Institute History

  • 2009 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Performance artist Michael Portnoy's Provocateur puts an artistic spin on the television talk-show format. Portnoy's long-standing investigation of social exchange and the rules of communication and play has led him to create the television show Provocateur for Ovation TV, where art, performance and conversation collide. Episodes are filmed in front of a live audience, and guests will be chosen from the Festival community for their capacity to challenge status quo as they push their work and our perception to the edge. Provocateur invites us to think outside the box and develop our critical sense as Portnoy leads us to a new style of TV interview, where the seriousness of Charlie Rose disputes the decalage of Andy Warhol and absurdity of Ali G/Borat. Throw in a dash of psychotherapy, and you have Provocateur.

Commissioned by Ovation TV.

Screening Details

  • Section: New Frontier
  • Film Type: Artist
  • Country: U.S.A.
  • Run Time: 7 min.

Credits

As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication. If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected]