Virginia Film Festival

Since first walking onto stage in 1954, Hal Holbrook has performed his award-winning one-man show as Mark Twain on Broadway, in all fifty states, in twenty countries, behind the Iron Curtain, and before five U.S. Presidents. This documentary celebrates the sixtieth consecutive year of 89 year old Holbrook’s one-man masterpiece. Glimpses of the show intercut with his performance rituals, and features interviews with Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, Emile Hirsch, Cherry Jones, and a host of others. Filmed in classic black and white, director Scott Teems seamlessly shifts among different time periods, capturing the honest intimacies of one American legend portraying another – a man living an American odyssey. Discussion with actor Hal Holbrook, director Scott Teems, and Stephen Railton (U.Va.)

Supported by HBO