Icarus of Pittsburgh

Archie McNally is known as the greatest Pittsburgh Steelers fan ever because of his daring exploits during the 1979 AFC Championship game when – using a suit of his own construction – he attempted to fly to heaven to visit his dead father.

The most successful web-stream films, of course, are made with the format in mind. American film-maker Evan Mather’s work, such as Icarus of Pittsburgh, is a good example: densely packed with visual and aural information, his films seem made to be watched intently, in isolation and cocooned by headphones.
“Eat My Shorts”, Sight & Sound, May 2004

On Sunday, January 7 1979, Archie McNally became the Pittsburgh Steelers most famous fan when he inflated a helium suit and floated high over the pitch in an attempt to rejoin his father in heaven. Or did he? Web wonder director Evan Mather, teamed here with live action partner Kirk Hostetter, has cooked up a bittersweet mockumentary cunningly disguised as a pathos-packed oddball biography. Mather’s faux-naif animations illustrate the epic feat (“I soared over the Heinz Ketchup Sign, enraptured by a frozen fountain in the park”) while Juuso Auvinen’s delicate piano score tugs at the heartstrings. Hands down the strangest and most visually audacious film – of any length – you’ll see this month.
Guardian Unlimited

***** … You think you’re a hardcore Steelers fan? Well, you’re not as hardcore as Archie McNally and his ‘daddy.’ Using computer animation and interview footage with Archie, this film tells Archie’s tale
of when in the middle of a 1979 AFC Championship game, he strapped on a couple of helium filled wet suits and attempted to fly to the heavens to let his ‘daddy’ know how his favorite team was doing. Fuckin’ hysterical!
Film Threat

A true flight-of-fancy that celebrates obsession.
29th Northwest Film and Video Festival

A strange and brilliant look at the exploits of Archie McNally, who is known as the greatest Pittsburgh Steelers fan ever for his attempt, using a suit of his construction, to fly up to heaven to visit his dead father during the 1979 AFC championship game.
Metroactive

2002
Short
U.S.A.
English
8-1/2 minutes
Kirk Hostetter & Evan Mather

Screening: Detroit Docs International Film Festival 2004, November 2004

Broadcast: The American Avant Garde: Episode 8 (The Seattle Channel), July 2004

Screening: Worldwide Short Film Festival 2004 Toronto, May 2004

Screening: Saint Balbach Volxkino, August 2003

Screening: 2003 Dallas Video Festival, March 2003

Screening: Florida Film Festival, March 2003

Screening: Durango Film Festival, March 2003

Screening: Annapolis Reel Cinema Festival, February 2003

Screening: 2nd Annual Detroit International Video Festival Detroit, January 2003

Screening: 2003 Sundance Film Festival, January 2003

Screening: Select Media Festival, December 2002