BEYOND A DUPLEX PLANET
Beth Harrington
USA, 2026, 93 min, in English
In 1979, David Greenberger, a recent art school grad became activities director at a Boston nursing home. David began interviewing the residents, rejecting pat questions with the unexpected: "Which do you prefer – coffee or meat?," “What is embarrassment?,” and “How close can you get to a penguin?” The result was The Duplex Planet, an early ‘zine characterized by humor, warmth and sincerity. Today David’s work takes the form of spoken word shows and recordings. Beyond the Duplex Planet explores notions of aging and its intersection with art and community. It’s also a slightly ironic look at the life of an artist devoted to documenting the elderly who is himself in his senior years.
Press
Lauren Wissot, IDA Documentary MagazineThe film paints a head-spinning portrait
Brian Tellirico, RogerEbert.comSubtly turns it into a call to find art in everyday life
Steve Kopian, Unseen FilmsThe film forces us to engage with it on a deeper, very personal level
Herbert Gambill, Mystery CatalogFor lovers of zines and alternative publications and outsider art this is a must-see.
An Unconventional Artist Sees Art Gets Better With Age Stephen Saito, The Moveable FestPrompts the kind of consideration that only great art can
Jacob Oller, Paste MagazineBeth Harrington dives headfirst into a countercultural artifact that refused to die even when its sources did.