Haunting Gregory Crewdson doc screens at DFT

An acclaimed photographer with the eye of a filmmaker, Gregory Crewdson has created some gorgeously haunting pictures. His meticulously composed, large-scale images are narratives of small-town American life — moviescapes crystallized into a single frame. While the photographs are staged with crews that rival the size and budget of many feature film productions, Crewdson takes inspiration as much from his own dreams and fantasies as the worlds of Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch (Blue Velvet, specifically), Edward Hopper and Diane Arbus.

Filmed over a decade with unprecedented access, Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters provides a view of the moment of creation of his images. It bares the artist’s process, and it’s a film every bit as mesmerizing and startling as the images themselves.

At the Detroit Film Theatre this Friday through Sunday (Jan. 11-13), 5200 Woodward Ave., in Midtown’s Cultural Center.