CINEMA


In the early 1990s, Staar was still using his birth name Paul-Anthony, and was attending both Art Center College of Design and Pasadena City College for classes in film, art, and design. While at PCC, Staar made a handful of short underground films on both Super-8 and 16mm under the instruction of teacher Michael Zingale(2nd unit camera, Taxi Driver, 1976), and put some nights together to screen these films at Troy Cafe, then a hub of the downtown arts scene located in Little Tokyo and owned by Bibbe Hansen(Warhol actress, writer, performance artist) and Sean Carillo(Asco art collective). In June of 1993, Staar put together a film collective called ‘Cinema Nouveau’ of like-minded filmmakers whose main goal it was to showcase underground, avant-garde, and experimental film. The collective had one screening at Troy Cafe before Staar moved to San Francisco to pursue film school in August of 1993. The following select photographs capture and account the various nights of the film screenings(1991-1993) as well as some candid shots of Staar shooting his first film in San Francisco, ‘Femme Fatale’ about drag personality D’arcy Drollinger, when he started attending film school at San Francisco State University in the fall of 1993. When Staar moved to San Francisco he officially became known as Apollo Staar.
Early films collection on DVD forthcoming.

CURRENT PROJECTS:

”DESTROY ALL ART”(2025) *In production
Destroy All Art is a journey into the subversive, the underground. A venture into the raw, the avant-garde. Unlike anything you’ve seen before. Forget everything you think you know about art and be prepared to experience the underground side of music, fashion, performance, cinema, and visual art like you’ve never seen it. This is a feature-length documentary about how people from all walks of life define art, how important art is to them, how important they feel that art is to society, and questions the validity of art by juxtaposing profiles of creatives who are pushing the boundaries of what they consider art.

“ASPAHLT” (fall 2025)

“SUPER DELUXE”(2026)

“BLACK MAJESTY”(2026) Avante-garde experimental fashion film.

“Get Lost”(1995) running time: 14:28
Deep within the confines of the city are a breed of people who come from nowhere, are going nowhere, and achieve nothing. This is a story about a particular man who through useless pursuits has become nothing more than a failure. Struggling to make himself a success as a pimp and lone shark, Eddy loses his woman and his longtime partner, Vinnie. Thru this, he realized that he is predestined to be a washout. His unfortunate circumstance has led him to his way of life.