Art vs. Commerce: ThreeASFOUR Doc Premieres at Tribeca

Sean Lennon's directorial debut, "ThreeASFOUR: FULL CIRCLE," will premiere at the Tribeca Festival on Sunday night. Co-directed with Brian C. González, the film is a portrait of the avant-garde New York fashion collective, ThreeASFOUR. The documentary will also have a fall release at Film Forum in NYC.

For over 25 years, ThreeASFOUR's Gabi Asfour, Angela Donhauser, and Adi Gil have created visionary clothing inspired by natural forms. Lennon was drawn to their story due to the ongoing challenge in an industry that often favors commerce over creativity. He noted their struggle to adapt to industry demands despite the objective beauty of their work.

The film depicts the group's artistic process, from sketching to sewing, interspersed with concerns about finances. Lennon emphasizes that the collective's designs are exceptionally intricate and unconventional, making them difficult to mass-produce.

Lennon was also struck by the group's mutual dedication and how their diverse backgrounds—Asfour's Palestinian roots, Gil's Israeli heritage, and Donhauser's German upbringing—fostered a shared philosophy of peace and creative dialogue. He found the film's focus on their collaborative spirit and transcendental ideas personally impactful, resonating with his own family's ethos of peace and love.

Filming for the documentary spanned over five years. Lennon acknowledged the difficulty of making a film about friends, despite their generosity in allowing their lives to be documented. The new distributor, Assembly Releasing, was founded by Jessica Edwards, Shani Ankori, and Emily Rothschild.