Why Isn't Chris von Sneidern Famous?
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This movie [had] better be good, because I’m in it.

I know it’s all about you, but I’m in it, at least part of the time.

-Chris, from our third interview

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Director’s Statement

Between the spring of ‘04 to winter of ‘08, Chris von Sneidern and I recorded seven sit-down interviews: in his tiny recording studio in the Tenderloin, his van driving across Washington State, his family home in Syracuse, NY and finally in his home. I’d ask a series of questions, and most seemed to bore or irritate him. At least once an interview, I’d ask a question that he found interesting and he’d say something smart and very true. I was also filming his performances, also in tiny spaces with small audiences that seemed to get smaller as we went along.

Chris had been almost famous for his entire career, through 12 albums and over 20 years of recording. I didn’t know Chris when I started this project, but I loved his music and was convinced that there must have had opportunities for him to sign with major record companies and profit from his songs. What would I have done if I were in his shoes? Would I have sold out or kept control of my work? Could I have been kept performing in these small clubs to tiny audiences?

In 2004, I sort of was in Chris’ shoes. I’d been a moderately successful oil painter for 20 years and I’d never been able to reconcile my beliefs about the relationship between art and commerce. I knew I wasn’t as successful as I could have been if I’d been able to sell my art and myself more convincingly. In Chris, I thought I’d found someone very like myself. It didn’t take long to see that Chris was unlike anyone I’d ever met before. Brainy, eccentric, funny, charismatic and a bit prickly….a challenging subject who forced me to question my attitudes about success and art.

Chris’ story is a vehicle for the stories of the working life of the many. There is a lot of focus on artists who have found success already, while most of us are working away at our art in another place. I wanted to show someone who is still a work in progress. For Chris von Sneidern and many of us there is no ending yet.

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Directed & Produced by Kathleen McNamara

Executive Producer Kent Jenkins

Co-producers Nathan Brennan, Lise Swenson

Cinematography Lise Swenson, Keith McNamara

Editors Eric Ladenburg, Jesse Spencer

Location Sound Bob Whitfield, Kimetha Vanderveen

Post Production Sound James LeBrecht

Music Chris von Sneidern

"Watching your film, I started thinking about my own struggles for recognition and success. What is success? Is it how other people see me or is it just about how I see myself? At the end of the day, I think Chris is successful because he gets to do what makes him happy, whether other people like it or not."

"Maybe he’s more interesting because he’s not famous…and how he learns to deal with that."

-Preview audiences