This past December, one of New York’s buzziest acts took over Carnegie Hall: Cameron Winter, the front man of Geese. Winter, a confident musician whose world-weariness suggests the experience of a much older artist, put on a spectacle of raw emotion that capped off a breakout year for himself and his rock band, already the most important (or at least the most discussed) to emerge from the five boroughs this decade. The sold-out show quickly gained “You had to be there” virality, attracting comparisons to Bob Dylan’s classic 1963 performance at the hall. Just ahead of his Oscar wins for One Battle After Another, director Paul Thomas Anderson was on hand to capture the 24-year-old’s grand debut at the venue, which has been immortalized in the concert documentary Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall, premiering October 1 at the New York Film Festival. (Frequent Anderson collaborator Benny Safdie was also there as a co-producer and to assist with the camera.)
“Having Paul close up like he was, I was able to watch his nostrils flare, left-right, left-right, like lights at a train crossing,” Winter says of working with Anderson. “Paul later explained to me that being a hands-on director, he’s mastered circular nasal respiration, which makes camera operation a cinch for him — and he never fogs the lens. I could see the physical exertion of directorial work up close, which was electrifying.”
