John Wilson, the singular mind behind the critically acclaimed HBO series How To with John Wilson, has returned to the festival circuit with his feature film debut, The History of Concrete. Following a premise as meta as it is mundane, the film documents Wilson attending a workshop on how to write and sell a Hallmark movie, only to then attempt to use that exact formula to sell a documentary about concrete. It is a project that retains the guerrilla spirit of his television work while expanding his unique, observational lens onto a feature-length canvas.
FandomWire caught up with Wilson on the red carpet at the Yarrow Theatre to discuss the transition from television to cinema. In a conversation that touched on production logistics, Wilson opened up about the solitary nature of his shooting process, how a mess of material became a movie, and which films define the Sundance experience for him.
The History of Concrete Sundance Interview
John Wilson, Clark Filio, Shirel Kozak, Francis Carr and Allie Viti attend the premiere of The History of Concrete by John Wilson, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. © 2026 Sundance Institute | photo by Breanna Downs.
FandomWire: A lot of people see this film as a spiritual successor to How To. How did you adjust your guerrilla style of filmmaking to create a feature film?
John Wilson: It was honestly easier this time around because I was really just on the street alone again without a producer beside me the whole time. The footprint was definitely a lot smaller. I think that shows in a lot of ways. When you see someone holding a microphone in this movie, it’s because I’m alone and I don’t have a sound guy. That’s a visual indication.
FW: Did this project originally begin as a movie, or did it start like previous episodes where you just started shooting?
Wilson: It was a huge mess of material for a long time. I just had about a year and a half of footage and started to cut it all together and realized that there is a story.
FW: TV is obviously different from film. Now that you have done both, what are the pros and cons? What is more rewarding to make?
Wilson: I can’t tell you. We’ll have to see the reward. Because we haven’t seen it premiere, so I guess I’ll be finding out if this is worth it. I’ve never done a feature like this. If it sells, cool; it’s probably better. But if not, TV is probably cool.
The History of Concrete screened at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, which ran January 22-February 2 in Park City and Salt Lake City, UT, and January 30-February 2 online.
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