From: Ken Bawcom (email suppressed)
Date: Sat Jul 22 2006 - 15:01:36 PDT
I consider this to be a sub-genre of documentary, which I call personal
documentary. Some film makers work almost exclusively in this genre,
but I think many more have made such films, although it isn't
necessarily their usual genre. They range from short, to feature
length. We see many such entered in the Ann Arbor Film Festival every
year. They range from the heart-felt but uninspired, to the stunning
and deeply insightful. Here are just a few film makers who have made
fine films in this genre, and come to mind quickly:
Ross McElwee (Sherman's March, and many others, it's his genre)
Lynne Sachs (Which Way Is East, States of Unbelonging)
Midi Onodera (I Have No Memory of My Direction)
Ann Marie Flemming (You Take Care Now, Magical Life Of Long Tack Sam)
Stashu Kybartas (Cousin Kasyte) Awarded, 44th AAFF
Abraham Ravette
Steve Sanguedolche
Michael Hoolboom
All of these folks make films that, if they weren't so well-made, by
film artists, include major elements that could be called "home movies."
Ken B.
Quoting Andy Ditzler <email suppressed>:
> Dear Frameworkers,
>
> I'm planning a four-part series of films to take place this October
> at Eyedrum here in Atlanta. The series is based on the idea of home
> movies, diary films, travel films, and their relation to experimental
> filmmaking.
>
> The plan is to introduce to a largely general audience an aesthetic
> of direct, "personal" cinema exemplified by such filmmakers as Marie
> Menken, Jonas Mekas, and Warren Sonbert (and many others) and often
> characterized by handheld camerawork, modest economic circumstances,
> subjectivity, daily life, and some proximity to the history or
> aesthetic of what we know as avant-garde or experimental filmmaking.
> I've found many examples in the avant-garde 'canon' but am hoping to
> also include more contemporary works (1980s to present).
>
> If there are any filmmakers on the list whose work fits in with this
> idea, or if anyone has suggestions of others' recent works, I'd love
> to hear about it. My focus is more on filmmakers using their own
> footage for films, as opposed to using found footage of home movies,
> but I am open to this latter idea as well.
>
> The series is being curated for a citywide photography festival and
> is a follow-up to last year's series on the use of light in artists'
> films. That series attracted several hundred spectators, so happily
> there seems to be increasing interest in experimental film
> presentation here in Atlanta.
>
> Thanks for reading and for any suggestions.
>
> Yours in Film Love,
>
> Andy Ditzler
> Atlanta, GA
> www.frequentsmallmeals.com
>
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>
>
>
"Those who would give up essential liberty
to purchase a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty, nor safety."
Benjamin Franklin 1775
"I know that the hypnotized never lie... Do ya?"
Pete Townshend 1971
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.