John Wilson's Concrete Documentary Premieres at London Film

Documentarian John Wilson's debut feature film, 'The History of Concrete,' is now showing in select US cinemas. The film will have its premiere at the London Film Festival next month, with an Australian release scheduled for October 9.

Wilson, creator of the cult HBO series 'How To With John Wilson,' turned his unique perspective to the ubiquitous urban material. The film emerged from a period of creative uncertainty following the end of his show. I was having a lot of strange thoughts, crazy problems with self-esteem, especially when nobody wanted to take a chance with something like this, at least at first, Wilson told reporters.

From Sidewalk Sheds to Feature Films

The project connects to Wilson's earlier work. A 2020 episode of 'How To' focused on scaffolding, or sidewalk sheds, influencing viewers like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani featured Wilson in an April video promoting a plan to reduce scaffolding. Wilson's initial inspiration came from a poor DIY attempt to fix his Queens apartment's cracked foundation, realizing how little he knew about concrete.

Pitching a documentary about concrete proved difficult. Wilson described the general response as "an absolute emotional flatline." He initially framed it as an environmental documentary about American infrastructure, but met resistance. "I don't want to think about this," was the rough feedback he received, he said.

Handling Creative Resistance

Without an HBO contract or writer's room, Wilson felt directionless. The pressure to follow his successful show but not repeat it was creatively stifling. There was a lot of frustration when I started to pitch this idea because everyone seemed to want something different than How To, and that just felt like an arbitrary requirement to me, he explained. He resisted changing his style merely for the market.

He found clarity by returning to his basic method. I just started to do things the way that I always did, Wilson recalled. For some reason, I need to keep reminding myself of the same basic idea, that you should not wait for anyone else to make the thing that you want. You just need to do it. He decided to incorporate the voices urging him to change into the film's narrative.

A Wandering Narrative Structure

The 100-minute film follows Wilson's signature digressive style. It visits a science lab and a corporate meet-up for the women of concrete. It attends a brick-laying competition where the winner gets a sleek blue truck. Wilson meets an aging rocker at a liquor store and gathers expert testimony that makes viewers wary of the crumbling Brooklyn Queens Expressway. He even finds himself uncomfortably adjacent to celebrity, meeting Kim Kardashian.

The narrative travels from ancient Rome to the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence race in Queens, and from an Ohio driver's ed class to the set of 'Marty Supreme.' Josh Safdie, director of 'Marty Supreme,' served as an executive producer on Wilson's documentary. These avenues explore themes of motivation, self-doubt, and the human desire to create something lasting.

Wilson reflects on the value of the obstacles he faced. I'm thankful for the resistance that I got, because the very thing that you are resisting, or that's resisting you, ends up becoming the skeletal system or the spine of your work in certain ways, if you let it, he said.

He acknowledges the peculiarity of his approach. There might be a kind of sickness in shooting things this way, Wilson told reporters. But it's the kind of imagery that I want to see, because I don't see it anywhere else.