The world lost one of the most notable and unique directors of our time when David Lynch, 78, passed away in January 2025. There were many interviews with Lynch through the years about his feature films including Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and The Elephant Man. Oh, and here at Scrappy Cinema, we recommend the odd combination of David Lynch and Disney Studios found in The Straight Story.
Before those features though, like so many filmmakers Lynch made several shorts. But we wasn’t making shorts because he was an aspiring filmmaker, at least not initially. Rather, Lynch was a painter, and became interested in the concept of bringing motion/animation to his works. This all began when Lynch was attending Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1967. At the Academy, Lynch became fascinated with seeing his painting in a new dimension, so to speak.
Thanks to the 2002 release The Short Films of David Lynch, we can hear in Lynch’s own words how his interest in film evolved. And thanks to the Internet Archive, we can watch this nearly-lost collection right here.