Happy Rebirthday Mr. Director! - My Tribute to David Lynch

January 20, 2025

By Bessy ADUT

My deep condolences for our loss of David Lynch. A role model of “Let your kindness be what people remember about you.” Music plays in my background is the RIP by Portishead as I write. I would like to firstly announce the latest update his children shared for this special day. They have said and I am going to be one of the attendants of this worldwide group meditation.

“David Lynch, our beloved dad, was a guiding light of creativity, love, and peace. On Monday, January 20th—what would have been his 79th birthday—we invite you all to join us in a worldwide group meditation at 12:00pm NOON PST for 10 minutes.

Let us come together, wherever we are, to honor his legacy by spreading peace and love across the world. Please take this time to meditate, reflect, and send positivity into the universe.

Thank you for being part of this celebration of his life.

Love,

Jennifer, Austin, Riley and Lula Lynch”

First, I was wondering why people said he was 78 years old and (1946-2025) and I have noticed January 20th would have been David Lynch’s 79th birthday. He died just a few days before his birthday and had one last piece of his cake & celebrated with his friends, family and fans. However he left a wonderful quote behind him and his children mentioned it in their announcement on January 16th. His absence in the world is like a bulb exploded in the room, a light is gone, it created an emptiness, a void in our hearts. However, per his advice we shouldn’t focus on the hole but the donut. That also reminds us “Don’t stare at the abyss or the abyss stares back at you.” Let’s look at all the wonderful work he left behind him that we can still watch, listen, look and learn from. Let’s look at the donut, not the hole.

Unfortunately we got the sad news that we lost him on the 15th of this month right after the wild fires incident in Los Angeles. We have heard that he was dealing with some health issues and unfortunately the air quality must have affected his health as well as years of smoking which I have been guilty of myself and after many failed attempts, I managed to quit. Best to quit bad habits even they look cool and feel good and replace them with good habits. I should squeeze it in here: the cigarette industry is a candy store, a candy store filled with poison that shortens our lives. It’s very hard to quit but necessary for one thing we need the most: oxygen.

I named my article “rebirthday” because after his passing, the world was overwhelmed with love, praise and a deep sadness. In a way he is reborn in our hearts with his personality, his art, music, education & movies.

Robert McKee says in a story:

“No matter who your heroes may be, you were them because they are unique.”

David Lynch was one of my heroes with his content and visual storytelling style like no one else. We are all starved for great, original films and I’m hoping for him to continue to be an inspiration and muse for future filmmakers.

Everyone in the world, common folks as well as celebrities, shared his quotes filled with wisdom, what a wonderful human being he was, and well deserved praise for his work. I am deeply saddened that I haven't had a chance to meet him; however the reflections left of him proves not only he was a very talented artist and a filmmaker but he was a genuinely good person, otherwise all the people wouldn’t have loved him so very much. All the actors he worked with had nothing but wonderful things to say about him. David Lynch passed in our dimension however with the world meditation I believe his spirit will be reborn and he will live forever in our hearts with all his art, music and movies. He left behind 4 wonderful children and education for upcoming enlightened minds & souls as well. I don’t mean this in a Jesus way. I mean this is as many legendary musicians, artists and filmmakers before him. I think David Lynch has found the key to happiness and immortality before his passing.

David Lynch

So happy rebirthday David Lynch! You may have passed on this earth but you’ll continue to live in our hearts through all your genius work.

I was on a morning walk when I looked at my social media and immediately I shared it with my good friend who was also a David Lynch fan “Oh God, no!” I didn’t want to believe the news at first but it was coming from a reliable source.

His children announced as:

“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch. We would appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, 'Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.'

It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way."

I admired this message even though it filled me with deep sadness. As I shared on my own social media, “I don’t know why I feel as sad as I felt when I lost my grandparents today.” After my mom reacting to my sadness that I was so sad similar to I was when I lost my grandmother 3 years ago on 1.18.2022 and now I lost David Lynch one of my favorite directors, artists of all times that I still dreamed of meeting and interviewing someday is gone on 1.15.2025. I haven’t met him in person but he was very close to my heart. His work somehow reach to the depths of my mind and soul. He’s one of the directors I have seen literally all his movies, some of them several times, and studied when I was a film student.

So many people shared his children’s pain. David Lynch was a true, original and versatile artist. He was mostly known as a Film Director however when you get a closer look and watch documentaries about him you see that he was initially a painter, artist, musician, filmmaker, teacher and finally he also opened a school on transcendental meditation.

I am still grieving the loss of David Lynch. I cope with my grief listening to his music. Searching “David Lynch” you can find his music and music he liked on Spotify, YouTube everywhere. I always loved his choices of music in his soundtracks as well as artists he mentioned such as Lana Del Rey, Mazzy Star and many more he collaborated with. I coped with my grief watching a documentary about him on CRITERION COLLECTION - THE ART OF LIFE, it is free at the moment.

After this long introduction, I would like to go over all his work and my thoughts on them briefly. Let me do one more short introduction as described on my favorite encylopedia online, please everyone continue contributions to keep alive, “David Lynch was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. He received acclaim for his films, which are often distinguished by their surrealist, dreamlike qualities. In a career spanning more than fifty years, he was awarded numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2006 and an Honorary Academy Award in 2019. Described as a "visionary", Lynch was considered one of the most important filmmakers of his era.”

He was truly a visionary because in a world of remakes and sequels, he dared to make original work with his unique voice. A lot of us didn’t quiet understand his movies but he was a great, inspiring storyteller. He just knew how to tell stories be it verbally or visually. He wasn’t scared to be different or misunderstood. He was a daring director that’s what makes him stand out from the crowd of many directors out there who keep telling the same stories over and over again.

Lynch had an art background as can be found more on the documentary film I mentioned. An art background helps one to have a good eye on color, lights, shadows, depth and everything. We can notice the difference of an art educated mind in his cinematography. I am glad to have an art background as well painting in highschool and film at California Institute of the Arts. That’s why I can attest he is not only a filmmaker but a person who did film as a form of art. He studied arts before making short films. He says himself how lucky he was to earn a grant from AFI to open path to his filmmaking career as I was lucky enough to earn Fulbright Grant to come to CalArts to pursue my filmmaking. Reason of my comparison is because he was my idol. He was a director I followed the foot steps of. He was a guidance to me and many other filmmakers like me.

There is not many film directors out there that I got obsessed with their work and watched all of their movies. David Lynch is certainly one of them and I like all his beautiful, weird work. I’d like to mention each one of them that I can remember.

David Lynch started in animation and short films which I have watched them all during my film school years. Some of them are: Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times), The Alphabet, The Grandmother.

Eraserhead

His first feature-length film was the independent surrealist film Eraserhead (1977), which saw success as a midnight movie. A black and white movie that feels like seeing a strange dream. It is certainly experimental and beautiful expressionist light & camera work.

Elephant Man

He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for the biographical drama The Elephant Man (1980), this movie made me cry so much. I could relate to the Elephant Man in a way and anyone who has ever felt that loneliness and like a freak can relate to this movie. “I am a human being!” he cried out loud and anyone with a heart must have shed tears watching this incredible movie.

Blue Velvet

The neo-noir thriller Blue Velvet (1986), every time I hear the title of this movie, the music plays in my ears “She wore blue velvet, bluer than the satin of the night.” This was one of the first movies I have learned about the subtext in the movies. The opening scene was world famous. It would open up at a perfect American suburbia and camera slowly going down and showing us the worms underneath the earth. All the corruptions under the pretty pictures. The rottennes behind the candy like images. I found out many years after how finding the ear on the ground is similar to Gogol’s nose in a way.

Mulholland Drive

When I thought to myself I think I solved what was happening in Blue Velvet there came another surrealist mystery Mulholland Drive (2001). Of all David Lynch movies I think these 2 would be my favorites. I remember seeing this movie on my 1st year of Bachelor of Arts in Film & Television studies. I was pretty good at reading films and writing response papers. However this one, I couldn’t solve it. It messed with my head. It felt great to watch it because it was mysterious like a very long dream sequence but to this day I can’t say I know what was going on. That’s the beauty of it. Of course, I had a better idea what it was about after moving to Hollywood and started trying to make a career out here. Waitress/Actress scenes made much more sense. When people asked me “What’s your favorite movie?” I always puzzled but came up with Mulholland Drive because it moved me with all colors within. It was a rainbow of genres romance, thriller, adventure, a little bit sexy, a little bit comedy. There was a little bit everything in it and a lot of confusion.

Wild at Heart

His romantic crime drama Wild at Heart (1990) won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. A perfect movie for all wild at hearts with Nicholas Cage.

Dune

He also directed the space opera adaptation Dune (1984). Many people didn’t like this adaptation of the movie but it was my personal favorite because it’s one of the weirdest science fiction movies out there.

Lost Highway

The surrealist neo-noir Lost Highway (1997), this was one of the very first David Lynch movies I have seen. A friend in Europe recommended this one and I remember watching it and loving it with all its bizarreness. Music, cinematography, art, performances and everything.

the Straight story

The biographical drama The Straight Story (1999); this is an underrated movie by David Lynch. He might have directed this one to prove a point. Yes, he can direct a straight story, he can tell an easily understandable narrative however he chose not to. This is just like a painter making some “normal” paintings before finding their own unique, original voice such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Dali all the ones who dared to be different and see & show from their different point of views/perspectives.

Inland Empire

... and the experimental film Inland Empire (2006) This was the last feature film I saw from David Lynch. I remember seeing it Sunset Theaters in Hollywood. This was also one of his strangest storytelling. I still remember the dreamlike bunny sequences. Friend I went to see with wasn’t used to his style so I thought it was just him however I was also a bit lost in this one. However this was just the beginning of his Inland Empire journey. After this movie, David Lynch turned within and started his meditation journey.

Twin Peaks

One of my favorite TV shows TWIN PEAKS was also directed by Lynch and Mark Frost created the ABC series Twin Peaks (1990–91), for which he was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Lynch co-wrote and directed its film prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), and a third season in 2017.

He also portrayed FBI agent Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks and John Ford in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans (2022), and guest-starred in shows such as The Cleveland Show (2010–13) and Louie.

We should all admit Lynch looked very charismatic in the photography and on film. He was very photogenic.

In terms of David Lynch’s music and music videos career. Lynch also worked as a musician, recording the albums BlueBOB (2001), Crazy Clown Time (2011), and The Big Dream (2013), as well as painting and photography. He wrote the books Images (1994), Catching the Big Fish (2006), and Room to Dream (2018). He directed several music videos, for artists such as X Japan, Moby, Interpol, Nine Inch Nails, and Donovan, and commercials for Dior, YSL, Gucci, and the NYC Department of Sanitation.

David Lynch had an absolutely great taste in music and he combined it very well with the film medium. I still listen to his playlists on Spotify as I am writing my article. This is a very important quality for a filmmaker to be able to mix and match different art forms. It’s all a matter of combination.

As a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM), he founded the David Lynch Foundation to fund meditation lessons for students, veterans, and other "at-risk" populations. I hope to get in touch with this school for the documentary “Searching for Goodness” I have been working on as I see what they are doing is a perfect example to goodness right here. The world needs more enlightened, bright souls than ever. And at risk populations need any help they can get to stay in a good state of mental health.

We had heard in the news about his emphysema diagnosis; Lynch died on January 15, 2025, after being evacuated from his home due to the wildfires that started in Southern California earlier that month.

Wild fires and afterwards hearing sad news of loss of David Lynch, January 2025 started as a very hard year for us in Los Angeles.

This is the City of Lost Angels and we lost another Angel who is going to keep guiding us from the great beyond. His films, music, art, school, wise quotes are all here with us. His children are doing a wonderful thing on his birthday in his memory.

I recommend checking out all his work. If you haven’t seen them yet, it is a good time to start watching. If you have watched them, David Lynch movies are watchable again and again without running its course. My friend was asking this film or that film we should get together and watch again. And I said to my friend “I am down to any of his films, you can’t go wrong with a David Lynch movie.” That’s what I think.

I bow to David Lynch’s spirit for all the great work he did as an artist and as a human being. I thank him without even getting a chance to meet him in person for being such a great teacher and mentor to me. Thank you David Lynch. Happy Birthday to you! May you rest in peace, in heaven.

Related News

17 January

“Journey” is Looking At Yourself In a Puddle, Not In the Mirror

“… she watches the promenade where the Jews, who used to have taverns and are now the owners of restaurants and souvenir shops, park their cars. She looks at the sign asking pedestrians to move to the other sidewalk because this sidewalk was made with the bones and skulls of the Jews killed in the concentration camp. She thinks of Moises M´s passion and Rosa S´s despair because her Chilean granddaughter has gone astray, a man is patching the facade of his house with plaster.”

10 January

Nino Varon´s Exhibition - "A Life Spent with Art"

2 January

Visually Immaculate! - NOSFERATU