From: Pip Chodorov (email suppressed)
Date: Thu Sep 14 2006 - 16:17:52 PDT
The avant-garde distributor in Sweden is Filmform, in Stockholm.
Their website is http://www.filmform.com/. It was founded in 1950 and
is devoted to the distribution, promotion and preservation of Swedish
avant-garde film and video art.
The Moderna Museet has a substantial print collection. Pontus Hulten
became the first director of the museum, and he was hugely interested
in experimental film. He felt it was central to modern art in Sweden
in the 1950s. In 1958 the museum held an avant-garde film festival,
and in 1961 the "Movement in Art" show on kinetic art featured films
and film programs, light shows, happenings and concerts. Jonas Mekas
brought a huge program of American avant-garde film in 1980, on
condition the museum buy prints, which explains why they have so many
American films.
International shipping should not be prohibitive. Regular screenings
in Copenhagen and Oslo get films from Light Cone, Lux, Sixpack, the
Collectif Jeune Cinema, the Freunde der Deutschen Kinemathek, Cinedoc
and other European distributors.
On the other hand, there is also a market for buying prints. In Paris
we started the Film Gallery last year to sell artist's films, and at
the Paris art fair, FIAC, we offered 16mm film prints for sale of
Jonas Mekas, Jeff Scher, Moira Tierney, Hans Richter, Viking
Eggeling, D.A. Pennebaker, Taka Iimura, Peter Rose, Maurice
Lemaitre... The idea was to show the art world that filmmakers should
be as accessible and valuable as painters, sculptors and video
artists. Many film artists are receptive to selling their prints.
Marilyn Brakhage too. But it is important to be clear what rights
accompany the film prints you buy. It may be interesting rather to
start a film archive or a distribution cooperative, if there is a
need for one where you are.
-Pip Chodorov
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For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.