From: Weekly Listing (email suppressed)
Date: Sat Nov 10 2007 - 12:06:46 PST
Part 2 of 2: This week [November 10 - 18, 2007] in avant garde cinema
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2007
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11/14
Chicago, Illinois: Gallery 400
http://gallery400.aa.uic.edu
7:30, 400 S Peoria
PICTURE THIS! GALLERY 400 PRESENTS "THE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW"
Everyone knows that Cinema is really just Photography-In-Motion, rushing
past our I-Am-Eyebeams at 24 images a second. Everyone knows that
there's a spinning shutter in the Film Projector and everyone knows that
because we are Lesser Mammals With Slow Eyes we spend half our time
watching Cinema IN THE DARK, mistaking a series of photographs for
movement, mistaking the dark gaps in between images as a constant flow
of light... So, if everyone knows this, what happens when moving images
(Cinema) depict still images (Photography)? When Filmmakers become
Photographers, does death (Photography) become Immortal (Cinema), does
the dark fill in with light, and does time stop altogether? Presented in
conjunction with Gallery 400's exhibit of contemporary photography ("I
AM EYEBEAM"), and featuring everything from Rayograms to Stereoscopes to
Dead Soldiers to Production Stills to Fiber-Prints-on-Fire, here are 8
gestures towards a new theory of the Still Image (in Moving-Image
Form)... FEATURING: La retour á la raison by Man Ray (3:00, 16mm, 1923),
Capitalism: Child Labor by Ken Jacobs (14:00, video, 2006), Pasadena
Freeway Stills by Gary Beydler (6:00, 16mm, 1974), Production Stills by
Morgan Fisher (11:00, 16mm, 1970), The Fallen by Steve Reinke (5:00,
video, 2007), Arapadaptor (I Feel So) by Anna Geyer (4:30, 16mm, 2003),
Letters, Notes by Stephanie Barber (3:00, 16mm, 2000), Nostalgia by
Hollis Frampton (36:00, 16mm, 1973) TRT 83:00
11/14
New York, New York: Anthology Film Archives
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/
7:00pm, 9:00pm, 32 2nd Avenue
MY NAME IS ALBERT AYLER
See November 12th, 7:00pm - My Name is Albert Ayler
11/14
Providence: Magic Lantern
http://magiclanterncinema.com/
9:30pm, Cable Car Cinema, 204 S Main St
THE FACE-TO-FACE SHOW
Magic Lantern Cinema Presents THE FACE-TO-FACE SHOW Wednesday, November
14, 9:30pm Cable Car Cinema, 204 S. Main Street Providence, RI We all
have to come to terms with something, and sometimes cinema can help us
do it. Join Magic Lantern for five films that deal with confrontation,
interaction, and of course, the human face in the FACE-TO-FACE SHOW.
Don't turn away, don't avert your eyes! It's time to stare head-on into
relationship quarrels, the cosmetic industry, the film star's close-up,
and a whole bunch of people kissing. Including: Scott Stark-- The Sound
of his Face (1988, 16mm, 12m) A "filmed biography" of Kirk Douglas -
literally. Pages of a book - the lines of text, and the tiny dots
comprising the half-tone photographs - create odd musical notes, which
are edited into a pounding rhythm. This film examines the molecular
fabric of Hollywood superficiality.-- www.canyoncinema.com Abigail
Child-- Perils (1985-1986, 16mm, 5m) An homage to silent films: the
clash of ambiguous innocence and unsophisticated villainy. Seduction,
revenge, jealousy, combat. The isolation and dramatization of emotions
through the isolation (camera) and dramatization (editing) of gesture. I
had long conceived of a film composed only of reaction shots in which
all causality was erased. What would be left would be the resonant
voluptuous suggestions of history and the human face. PERILS is a first
translation of these ideas. -- www.canyoncinema.com Hollis Frampton--
Critical Mass (1971, 16mm, 25.5m) As a work of art I think (Critical
Mass) is quite universal and deals with all quarrels (those between men
and women, or men and men, or women and women, or children, or war). It
is war!... It is one of the most delicate and clear statements of
inter-human relationships and the difficulties of them that I have ever
seen. It is very funny, and rather obviously so. It is a magic film in
that you can enjoy it, with greater appreciation, each time you look at
it. Most aesthetic experiences are not enjoyable on the surface. You
have to look at them a number of times before you are able to fully
enjoy them, but this one stands up at once, and again and again, and is
amazingly clear." -- Stan Brakhage Courtney Hoskins-- The Counter Girl
Trilogy (2006, 16mm, 6m) "Over the years, makeup has turned into a
multi-billion-dollar industry that, for the most part, stays within the
realms of the superficial and homogenized. The same could be said for
film. A break from the traditional look in either medium places an
artist in the realms of the 'avant-garde.' For a brief period of time, I
worked as a makeup artist and learned the art of making people look 'the
same'—and convincing them that they were inadequate without some
product. It was the most unsatisfying job I'd ever had until I
discovered three unique shades of lip gloss that utilize liquid
crystals. These were materials that I had sought for years but could
never acquire because they are 'industry secrets'—used by the cosmetics
and technology industry. I used them as paint."—C.H. Andy Warhol-- Kiss
(1963, 16mm, 45min) Recalling one of the most popular films made for
Thomas Edison's Vitascope, the Irwin-Rice Kiss (1896), Warhol's series
of close-up kisses looks back to the earliest days of the medium,
returning to a sort of degree-zero of filmmaking—before narrative,
before camera movement (mostly), before sound, before colour. Warhol
liberates the cinematic kiss from its narrative shackles and calls
attention back to it in its own right. Raising questions of circulation,
repetition, the simulacrum, the voiding of uniqueness, the logic of the
commodity and its exchange value, Kiss' simplicity is infinitely
deceptive. TRT: 93.5 min
---------------------------
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2007
---------------------------
11/15
Chicago, Illinois: Conversations at the Edge
http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/
6:00 pm, 164 N. State St.
LOVID: FLIPPED CHIPS
Tali Hinkis, Kyle Lapidus, and Jon Satrom in person! Curated by the
interdisciplinary artist-duo LoVid (Tali Hinkis and Kyle Lapidus),
FLIPPED CHIPS pairs the work of pioneering video artists who built their
own A/V hardware, with the work of a younger generation now doing the
same. In the 1970s, artists built hardware instruments in an era of
idealism, with the hope their technological advancements would elicit
widespread cultural and social change. Today, artists reared in the
subsequent "media revolution," return to the tools of their
predecessors, inspired by noise, glitch, and hacker culture, as well as
the fragility, unpredictability, and limitations of technology and its
attendant dreams. HEART BEAT (Bill Etra, 1970); SOUNDGATED IMAGES
(Steina & Woody Vasulka, 1974); UNION (Stephen Beck, 1975); A TALE OF
TWO CITIES (Nam June Paik & Paul Garrin, 1992); SPIRAL 5 PTL (Dan
Sandin, 1981); AMBIENT DANCE (Jim Wiseman, excerpt, 1986); LUMPY BANGER
(Matthew Schlanger, 1986); REX (Karl Klomp, 2005); YUPPSTER VIDEO (Jon
Satrom, 2003); TEA W/GALLACTUS (noteNdo, 2005); CYCLOPSII (LoVid, 2006);
BYE BYE ONE (NotTheSameColor [billy roisz + dieb13], 2006); SYNTHCART
(Paul Slocum, 2006); SUPER MARIO MOVIE (Cory Arcangel [beige] & Paper
Rad, 2005); and special live performances by LoVid and Jon Satrom.
(1970–2007, various directors, USA, various formats, ca 120 min)
11/15
Los Angeles, California: Filmforum
http://www.lafilmforum.org/
8:00 pm, Echo Park Film Center, 1200 Alvarado Street (at Sunset)
FILMFORUM PRESENTS GREGG BIERMANN & “MATERIAL EXCESS”
Filmforum presents Gregg Biermann & "Material Excess" at the Echo Park
Film Center. A large-scale animated movie, which borrows its structure
from Dante's The Diving Comedy, using a digital process related to the
hand-made film tradition to comment on modern consumerism and more. NOTE
CHANGE IN DAY, TIME, and LOCATION! Los Angeles Filmforum, at the Echo
Park Film Center, 1200 Alvarado Street (at Sunset). General admission
$5, free for Filmforum members, cash and check only.
11/15
New York, New York: Anthology Film Archives
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/
7:30pm, 32 2nd Avenue
CAROLEE SCHNEEMANN PROGRAM
Anthology, Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) and Performa07 join together
to celebrate the remarkable works of Carolee Schneemann. With a prolific
oeuvre that spans 40 years of activity, Schneemann never ceases to cross
all mediums, thresholds or boundaries. Whether making collaged war or
diary films, provocative performances, photos, paintings or
installations, Schneemann�s varied creations resonate with raw poetic
power. In words, images and actions, Schneemann deconstructs our
ingrained preconceptions and everyday assumptions. Her art is deeply
personal, sharply critical, intensely expressive and always innovative.
REMAINS TO BE SEEN is an opportunity to discover recent videos by
Schneemann as well as brand-new preservation prints of seminal film
works. Anthology is thrilled to debut the preservation of KITCH�S LAST
MEAL, a film originally presented as a vertical double-super-8mm
projection. A second program will feature the NYC premiere of
Anthology�s stunning restoration of FUSES, and newly discovered and
preserved Schneemann films from EAI and the Museum of Modern Art, New
York. In conjunction with Anthology�s program of screenings, EAI will
celebrate their preservation of Schneemann�s works with a special
event on Wednesday, November 7 at 6:30. Schneemann will be present to
speak about her work, answer questions from the audience and introduce a
program of new videos and recently restored performance documentation
pieces. EAI is located at 535 W. 22nd Street, 5th floor. For more
information, visit: http://www.eai.org. Very special thanks to EAI,
Performa07, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Film
Foundation, The National Film Preservation Foundation, The University of
Chicago Film Studies Center, BB Optics/Bill Brand, Mercer Media/Bill
Seery, and Cineric Inc. RESTORATIONS AND NEW WORKS This program
highlights recent preservations undertaken by Anthology, EAI and the
Museum of Modern Art, New York � a highly charged collection of
political statements, erotic episodes, domestic disturbances and
intimate moments that are among the most persuasive works of the
American avant-garde cinema. The classics listed below will be screened
alongside new videos and other archival surprises. FUSES 1965-67, 29
minutes, 16mm, silent. Preserved with support from the Andy Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts and the University of Chicago Film
Studies Center. PLUMB LINE 1968-71, 18 minutes, 16mm, sound. Preserved
by the Museum of Modern Art. VIET-FLAKES 1965, 11 minutes, 16mm, sound.
Preserved by the Museum of Modern Art. BODY COLLAGE 1967, 3.5 minutes,
16mm, silent. This film was preserved through the Avant-Garde Masters
program, funded by The Film Foundation and administered by the NFPF.
ILLINOIS CENTRAL TRANSPOSED 1968, 4.5 minutes, 16mm, silent. This film
was preserved through the Avant-Garde Masters program, funded by The
Film Foundation and administered by the NFPF.
11/15
New York, New York: Anthology Film Archives
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/
8:00pm, 32 2nd Avenue
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION
An extremely rare presentation of the semi-legendary shot-for-shot
remake of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK made by three 12-year-olds in
Mississippi. Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, and Jayson Lamb started
shooting in 1982 – and didn't have a clue what they were getting
themselves into. Their production wrapped in 1989, and was shelved and
forgotten until 2003 when Eli Roth (CABIN FEVER) screened a bootleg copy
in the middle of the night at Austin's legendary Alamo Drafthouse
Cinema. The rest is history. [A feature film based on the filmmakers'
story is now in production with Dan (GHOST WORLD) Clowes penning the
script, which resulted in producer Scott Rudin and Paramount Pictures
buying the intellectual property rights to their childhood. How weird is
that?] "Nothing short of stunning. Everything is here – the rolling
boulder, the live snakes, the heart-thudding truck sequence, and
everywhere flames, flames, flames. The boys have made a few inventive
substitutions – a puppy dog stands in for a monkey, a boat for a plane.
But even more impressive are the things they don't substitute – a
submarine, a truck on fire, a melting face, the same copy of a 1936 Life
magazine used in the original. This is not 'cute' or 'impressive
considering their age' – it is a genuine virtuoso work. The film is a
crowd-pleaser, turning all the RAIDERS action – clichéd after 20 years
of imitation – into a new and genuinely startling viewing experience.
How will they do this next scene? How can they pull that stunt off? And
don't forget that these kids are literally growing up in front of the
camera. Voices deepen, hairstyles change, the hero grows stubble, the
heroine grows breasts. Though writers abuse this phrase…it's like
nothing you've seen before." –Sarah Hepola, AUSTIN CHRONICLE
11/15
San Francisco, California: San Francisco Cinematheque
http://www.sfcinematheque.org
8:00pm, Ninth Street Center for Independent Film, 145 Ninth Street
DELICATROCITY EXHIBITION: DEMONS/TARANTISM/ ARFORD
Witness tonight's unfolding: an aural-optic remedy for dyspepsia,
constipation, sick headache dizziness, low spirit caused by disordered
stomach, neuralgia, kidney and liver complaints, bilious attacks, piles,
malaria, and general debility! Demons—the wrecked-synth duo of Nate
Young (Wolf Eyes) and Steve Kenney (Isis)—erupt amidst a live vortextual
video drone by Alivia Zivich. An uncontrollable bout of Tarantism
(Sharkiface vs. Anti-Ear) flails boundlessly, with their lurid
McCarthy-mounts-Kuchar eruption of spastic sonic ticks, screeches, and
invasive manhandling in The Black Tar of Midnight, an eye-opening epic
of overwhelming magnitude. Scott Arford's stroboscopically epilectric
video-generated audio attack rewrites the sensory registry. Come one,
come all for this delicatrocious social massage and mood enhancement.
11/15
Seattle, Washington: Northwest Film Forum
http://www.nwfilmforum.org
8pm, 1515 12th Ave
THE FILMS OF MICHAEL ROBINSON
FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE THE FILMS OF MICHAEL ROBINSON or "Learning To
Love Again, With Fear At It's Side…." (Michael Robinson, USA, 16mm &
video, 75min) Winner of the Most Promising Filmmaker Award at this
year's Ann Arbor Film Festival, Michael Robinson shapes sound, image and
text to create films and videos that both indulge in and interrogate the
nature of heartbreak and beauty. Like a daring and adept tightrope
walker, the filmmaker juxtaposes landscape and poetry, memory and
television, pop songs and melodrama in an exquisite contemplation of
sublime experience. The program will include YOU DON'T BRING ME FLOWERS,
conjuring the obsolete romanticism of a collection of National
Geographic landscapes from the 60s and 70s, viewed at their literal
seams; THE GENERAL RETURNS FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, based on a Frank
O'Hara monologue, a spellbinding yet deeply skeptical meditation on the
nature of the beautiful; AND WE ALL SHINE ON, an otherworldly broadcast,
revealing hidden demons via layered landscapes and karaoke; LIGHT IS
WAITING, a very special episode of TV's Full House, devouring itself
from the inside out; as well as two brand new works. "Bracingly smart
and a pleasure to behold, his films offer a consideration of the valence
of beauty and the chance of sincerity."-Carl Bogner, Woodland Pattern
Film & Video Series
-------------------------
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2007
-------------------------
11/16
Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles County Museum of Art
http://www.lacma.org/programs/FilmSeriesSchedule.aspx
7:30 pm, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard
EUROPEAN SURREALISM AND THE AMERICAN AVANT-GARDE CINEMA
7:30 pm Dali, Disney and Destino: Surreal Cartoon Program
(1920s-1940s/c. 60 min.); Destino (1946-2003/color/7 min. | Scr :
Salvador Dalí, John Hench; dir: Dominique Monfery). A celebration of the
magic realism of Disney's early animations (including a selection of
Silly Symphonies and excerpts from Fantasia) will culminate in a
presentation of Destino, a voyage through Dalí's inimitable dreamscapes.
The painter began work on Destino while under contract at the Disney
Studios in 1946. Though never completed by Dalí, Destino was finally
animated at Disney in 2003 from the hundreds of detailed drawings and
notes he left. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated
Short. 9:15 PM Unrealized Dalí: Moontide: 1942/b&w/95 min. | Scr: John
O'Hara ; dir: Archie Mayo: w/ Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino. Five years before
Destino, Dalí was commissioned to provide a "nightmare montage" for
Fritz Lang's Moontide. As the detailed script and surviving drawings
attest, Dalí envisioned a disquieting sequence featuring a giant sewing
machine and "the face of war." With the attack on Pearl Harbor and the
US's entry into WW II, the film slipped out of Lang's hands after three
weeks of shooting and with it went Dalí's surreal contribution. Archie
Mayo finished the picture which stars Jean Gabin in his Hollywood debut
as a longshoreman haunted by a murder he may or may not have committed.
11/16
New York, New York: Anthology Film Archives
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/
7:30pm, 32 2nd Avenue
KITCH'S LAST MEAL
Anthology, Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) and Performa07 join together
to celebrate the remarkable works of Carolee Schneemann. With a prolific
oeuvre that spans 40 years of activity, Schneemann never ceases to cross
all mediums, thresholds or boundaries. Whether making collaged war or
diary films, provocative performances, photos, paintings or
installations, Schneemann�s varied creations resonate with raw poetic
power. In words, images and actions, Schneemann deconstructs our
ingrained preconceptions and everyday assumptions. Her art is deeply
personal, sharply critical, intensely expressive and always innovative.
REMAINS TO BE SEEN is an opportunity to discover recent videos by
Schneemann as well as brand-new preservation prints of seminal film
works. Anthology is thrilled to debut the preservation of KITCH�S LAST
MEAL, a film originally presented as a vertical double-super-8mm
projection. A second program will feature the NYC premiere of
Anthology�s stunning restoration of FUSES, and newly discovered and
preserved Schneemann films from EAI and the Museum of Modern Art, New
York. In conjunction with Anthology�s program of screenings, EAI will
celebrate their preservation of Schneemann�s works with a special
event on Wednesday, November 7 at 6:30. Schneemann will be present to
speak about her work, answer questions from the audience and introduce a
program of new videos and recently restored performance documentation
pieces. EAI is located at 535 W. 22nd Street, 5th floor. For more
information, visit: http://www.eai.org. Very special thanks to EAI,
Performa07, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Film
Foundation, The National Film Preservation Foundation, The University of
Chicago Film Studies Center, BB Optics/Bill Brand, Mercer Media/Bill
Seery, and Cineric Inc. RESTORATIONS AND NEW WORKS This program
highlights recent preservations undertaken by Anthology, EAI and the
Museum of Modern Art, New York � a highly charged collection of
political statements, erotic episodes, domestic disturbances and
intimate moments that are among the most persuasive works of the
American avant-garde cinema. The classics listed below will be screened
alongside new videos and other archival surprises. FUSES 1965-67, 29
minutes, 16mm, silent. Preserved with support from the Andy Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts and the University of Chicago Film
Studies Center. PLUMB LINE 1968-71, 18 minutes, 16mm, sound. Preserved
by the Museum of Modern Art. VIET-FLAKES 1965, 11 minutes, 16mm, sound.
Preserved by the Museum of Modern Art. BODY COLLAGE 1967, 3.5 minutes,
16mm, silent. This film was preserved through the Avant-Garde Masters
program, funded by The Film Foundation and administered by the NFPF.
ILLINOIS CENTRAL TRANSPOSED 1968, 4.5 minutes, 16mm, silent. This film
was preserved through the Avant-Garde Masters program, funded by The
Film Foundation and administered by the NFPF.
11/16
New York, New York: Anthology Film Archives
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/
8:00pm, 32 2nd Avenue
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION
An extremely rare presentation of the semi-legendary shot-for-shot
remake of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK made by three 12-year-olds in
Mississippi. Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, and Jayson Lamb started
shooting in 1982 – and didn't have a clue what they were getting
themselves into. Their production wrapped in 1989, and was shelved and
forgotten until 2003 when Eli Roth (CABIN FEVER) screened a bootleg copy
in the middle of the night at Austin's legendary Alamo Drafthouse
Cinema. The rest is history. [A feature film based on the filmmakers'
story is now in production with Dan (GHOST WORLD) Clowes penning the
script, which resulted in producer Scott Rudin and Paramount Pictures
buying the intellectual property rights to their childhood. How weird is
that?] "Nothing short of stunning. Everything is here – the rolling
boulder, the live snakes, the heart-thudding truck sequence, and
everywhere flames, flames, flames. The boys have made a few inventive
substitutions – a puppy dog stands in for a monkey, a boat for a plane.
But even more impressive are the things they don't substitute – a
submarine, a truck on fire, a melting face, the same copy of a 1936 Life
magazine used in the original. This is not 'cute' or 'impressive
considering their age' – it is a genuine virtuoso work. The film is a
crowd-pleaser, turning all the RAIDERS action – clichéd after 20 years
of imitation – into a new and genuinely startling viewing experience.
How will they do this next scene? How can they pull that stunt off? And
don't forget that these kids are literally growing up in front of the
camera. Voices deepen, hairstyles change, the hero grows stubble, the
heroine grows breasts. Though writers abuse this phrase…it's like
nothing you've seen before." –Sarah Hepola, AUSTIN CHRONICLE
---------------------------
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2007
---------------------------
11/17
Chicago, Illinois: Roots & Culture Gallery Chicago
http://www.alexanderstewart.org
7:30 pm, 1034 N. Milwaukee Ave
FILMS BY ERIC PATRICK
On Saturday, November 17, Roots and Culture gallery will present a
screening of films by local filmmaker Eric Patrick. Working in the
fertile nether-region between animation and live-action filmmaking,
Patrick's films combine stop-motion, live action, photographic effects,
sound collage and performance to create unusual and compelling
narratives. Patrick will be introducing four of his experimental film
works at this screening, Stark Film (1997), Ablution (2001), Roothold
(2003) and Startle Pattern (2005.) Patrick's award-winning films have
screened extensively at festivals, museums, and on television throughout
Europe, Australia, Asia and the Americas, including screenings at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York and The Rotterdam Film Festival. A
recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Patrick also worked as an animator
on Nickelodeon's Blues Clues. He currently teaches at Northwestern
University. Stark Films: A Screening of Experimental Film Work by Eric
Patrick Saturday, November 17, 2007 7:30 pm Roots & Culture gallery 1034
N. Milwaukee Ave Chicago IL Suggested donation $5 Blue Line Division
stop, south on Milwaukee Ave. www.rootsandculturecac.org
11/17
Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles County Museum of Art
http://www.lacma.org/programs/FilmSeriesSchedule.aspx
7:30 pm, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard
EUROPEAN SURREALISM AND THE AMERICAN AVANT-GARDE CINEMA
7:30 PM Los Angeles post-1945: Curtis Harrington and Kenneth Anger:
Fragment of Seeking (1946/b&w/16 min. | Scr/dir: Curtis Harrington);
Fireworks (1947/b&w/15 min. | Scr/dir: Kenneth Anger); On The Edge
(1949/b&w/6 min. | Scr/dir: Curtis Harrington; music: Charles Ivens);
Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954/color/38 min. | Scr/dir: Kenneth
Anger). Contemporaries of Deren and Markopoulos and, like them,
residents of Los Angeles, Harrington and Anger pursued comparable trance
aesthetics. Harrington describes his Fragment of Seeking, as "a
cinematic portrait of the adolescent Narcissus." In the still shocking
Fireworks, Anger says he "released all the explosive pyrotechnics of a
dream." Harrington's own parents star in his film On the Edge which he
describes simply as "a man desperately attempts to avoid the
inevitability of his own Fate." Harrington appears, alongside Anais Nin,
in Anger's lush pageant of ritual and opulence Inauguration of the
Pleasure Dome; Amos Vogel describes the film as "startling…a luxuriant
and baroque oddity in the tradition of decadent art." 9:10 PM Paris in
the '20s: Jean Epstein, René Clair and Germaine Dulac: The Fall of the
House of Usher (1928/b&w/55 min./w/ English narration | Scr: Jean
Epstein, Luis Buñuel; dir: Epstein); Entr'acte (1924/b&w/14 min. | Scr:
Francis Picabia; dir: René Clair); The Seashell and the Clergyman
(1928/b&w/31 min. | Scr: Antonin Artaud; dir: Germaine Dulac). 1920s
Paris was a mélange of artists, ideas and styles other than surrealism;
dada slapstick and expressionist doom also reigned. Tonight's program
brings together examples of the era's breadth of experimental cinema.
Buñuel worked with the versatile Jean Epstein on an atmospheric and
Caligariesque adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher. Intended to
accompany an intermission during a new ballet by Francis Picabia,
Clair's Entr'acte features a cast of surrealists and fellow travelers -
Picabia, Erik Satie, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray - in a disjointed
series of comical escapades. Germaine Dulac foreshadowed the Dalí/Buñuel
collaborations with her anarchic tale of a priest lusting af ter a
beautiful woman. Her public feud with Antonin Artaud over her
impressionistic approach to his script led to a surrealist protest.
11/17
Los Angeles, California: Redcat
http://www.redcat.org/
8pm, 631 W. 2nd St
ALCHEMICAL DREAMS: THE SHORT FILMS OF HARRY SMITH
A rare screening of ground-breaking films by the visionary artist Harry
Smith (1923–91), including his hand-painted Early Abstractions
(1941–57); Film No. 17: Mirror Animations (1979); and Film No. 16: Oz,
The Tin Woodman's Dream (1967, CinemaScope!).
11/17
New York, New York: Anthology Film Archives
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/
4:00pm, 32 2nd Avenue
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (SPIELBERG)
1981, 115 minutes, 35mm. Starring Harrison Ford and Karen Allen
11/17
New York, New York: Anthology Film Archives
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/
7:30pm, 32 2nd Avenue
A FIRST QUARTER
In conjunction with his current retrospective at the Whitney Museum of
American Art, Anthology Film Archives will screen the complete films and
videos of Lawrence Weiner in our Jan-March calendar. At tonight's
special preview event we will celebrate our collaboration with the
Whitney by presenting a sampling of the 29 films and videos Weiner has
produced to date. His works range from short conceptual videotapes to
feature-length narrative films influenced by the model of the Nouvelle
Vague. The event will begin with a conversation between Lawrence Weiner
and Chrissie Iles, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Curator at the Whitney
Museum. Followed by a screening of: TO AND FRO. FRO AND TO. AND TO AND
FRO. AND FRO AND TO. 1972, 1 minute, video, b&w, sound. "An ashtray is
used to demonstrate five different actions related to the work. With the
camera static, the video opens with the ashtray in the center of the
screen. A hand approaches it from above and slides the object up and
down, then back up and back down. A voice states the work, the
conditions relevant to the art. Each time an act is completed, the hand
lifts off the object, making a separation from the next 'possibility.'
The acts (or movements) are identical and mimic the language (e.g. to
and fro?) as it is spoken." –Alice Weiner & A FIRST QUARTER 1973, 85
minutes, 16mm, b&w, sound. "Using the structure of a feature film as its
basic format, A FIRST QUARTER adopts the principles of Nouvelle Vague
cinema as its role model. Simultaneous realities, altered flashbacks,
plays on time and space are all components of the form and content of
the film. Because it was originally shot in video and then kinescoped to
16mm film, A FIRST QUARTER has acquired a poetic, soft look. The
dialogue consists entirely of the work as it is spoken and read, built,
enacted, written and painted by the players. As the scenarios build,
they appear as tropes, one after another." –Alice Weiner The exhibition
LAWRENCE WEINER: AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE runs from November
15-February 10, 2008 at The Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison
Avenue, New York, NY 10021. The exhibition is co-organized by the
Whitney Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
11/17
New York, New York: Anthology Film Archives
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/
7:30pm, 32 2nd Avenue
KITCH'S LAST MEAL
The third part of her autobiographical trilogy (with FUSES and PLUMB
LINE), KITCH'S LAST MEAL documents, among other things, the demise of
Schneemann's cat-comrade, Kitch. Presented in varying configurations and
lengths over the years, KITCH'S was shot in Super-8mm and shown
simultaneously on two projectors with one image arranged above another.
This configuration is duplicated in Anthology's preservation, and the
sound is played from CD in an attempt to keep the "live" nature of the
film intact. If you have not seen it before, KITCH'S undoubtedly stands
as one of Schneemann's most emotionally gripping and cathartic works.
"We see Kitch eating, cleaning herself, exploring her environment; and
we see Schneemann and her partner (filmmaker Anthony McCall) walking,
talking, making love, working, doing everyday chores… These activities
are punctuated by the periodic freight train traffic on the tracks which
pass behind the old farmhouse. We hear collage tapes composed of
comments by Schneemann about her work as a filmmaker and about the film
we're watching ('My film is about digestion'), discussions between
Schneemann and McCall (including his discomfort with her tape recorder:
'They'll be listening,' he complains at one point), the sounds of the
train, the radio, kitchen activities and the other recurrent aspects of
daily living, and Kitch's purring and meowing… [T]he intimate
domesticity which surrounded Kitch is reflected in Schneemann's use of
Super-8 for the third diary, and in her decision to allow the filmed
imagery to stand on its own, without the mediation of complex printing
procedures or the addition of directly applied imagery… Schneemann
devise[d] a formal procedure which adds a dialectically fruitful
dimension to the informal imagery… The interrelationship between the
three information sources in KITCH'S LAST MEAL comes to imply a
pervasive emotional or spiritual dimension behind the events. We can
feel how Schneemann's involvement in a web of domestic
interrelationships over a period of years came to infuse the various
threads of that web with increasing meaning." –Scott MacDonald
11/17
San Francisco, California: Other Cinema
http://www.othercinema.com/
8:30pm, 992 Valencia Street
RADICAL JESTERS + BLOWS AGAINST THE EMPIRE
To kick off our 2-week suite on culture-jamming, here's the premiere of
Tim Jackson's hour-plus celebration of contemporary cultural subversion,
a playful parade of street performers, pranksters, and
artist-provocateurs who use humor, surprise, and even confusion to
agitate against American somnambulism. Their radical tales raise
important questions about the media, advertising, public space,
surveillance, feminism, and Situationism. Featured are Guerrilla Girls,
Billboard Liberation Front, Rev. Billy, Ron English, Bread & Puppet
Theater, and the Surveillance Camera Players. PLUS a riot of recent
reality-hacking actions from Bryan Boyce, the Yes Men, Institute for
Applied Autonomy, et al. Free toast and jam.
-------------------------
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2007
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11/18
London, England: National Maritime Museum
http://www.nmm.ac.uk
12pm, Park Row, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NF
HOLLIS FRAMPTON’S MAGELLAN 3: THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN II
A screening, over two consecutive Sundays, of Hollis Frampton's
monumental film sequence Magellan, which uses Fernand Magellan's
circumnavigatory voyage as a metaphor for a meditation on the history
and language of cinema, and the phenomena of perception. In composing
his metahistory of cinema, Frampton often refers to other films and
filmic modes, quotes liberally from early cinema (specifically the paper
print collection of the Library of Congress) and explores countless
possibilities for montage and the relationship between sound and image.
11/18
London, England: National Maritime Museum
http://www.nmm.ac.uk
3pm, Park Row, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NF
HOLLIS FRAMPTON’S MAGELLAN 4: THE DEATH OF MAGELLAN
A screening, over two consecutive Sundays, of Hollis Frampton's
monumental film sequence Magellan, which uses Fernand Magellan's
circumnavigatory voyage as a metaphor for a meditation on the history
and language of cinema, and the phenomena of perception. Originally
intended as a 36-hour sequence in which individual titles would be shown
on specific days in a calendar of one year and four days, it was left
unfinished when Frampton died in 1984. The surviving 8 hours of
material, comprising of almost 30 individual films, will be screened
together for the first time in the UK.
11/18
Los Angeles, California: Filmforum
http://www.lafilmforum.org/
7:00 pm, Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. at Las Palmas
FILMFORUM PRESENTS TRUMPETISTICALLY, CLORA BRYANT AND MORE JAZZ FILMS
Filmforum presents Trumpetistically, Clora Bryant and more jazz Films,
in conjunction with the Getty Research Institute's Côte à Côte: Art and
Jazz in France and California. A lovely portrait of the musician Clora
Bryant, an essential player in the jazz scene of Los Angeles, along with
other short jazz films of California or French musicians as well, titles
to be announced. Clora Bryant will be present! General admission $9,
students/seniors $6, free for Filmforum members, cash and check only
11/18
New York, New York: Anthology Film Archives
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/
4:30pm, 32 2nd Avenue
PERFORMA07: BEL, CHARMATZ AND CHAMBLAS
France was first exposed to the work of the Judson Dance Theater in
1973, when Trisha Brown, Simone Forti, and other "representatives of
postmodern dance in America," according to LE MONDE, were invited to
perform at the Festival d'Automne in Paris. This event inspired scores
of young French dancers to travel to New York and London for training,
resulting in a wave of highly conceptual choreography emerging from
France in the 1990s. Two films showing the Judson influence are featured
in this program. Boris Charmatz and Dimitri Chamblas LES DISPARATES
(1994, 22 minutes) In 1993, Charmatz and Chamblas became the teenage
sensations of French dance with A BRAS LE CORPS, a confrontational duet
of thrilling physicality. Shortly thereafter, the two choreographers
collaborated on this film, a delightful, beautifully shot exploration of
the possibilities for fragmenting dance through editing, from bar to
boathouse and back again. & Jerome Bel VERONIQUE DOISNEAU (2004, 32
minutes) Never a star, rarely a soloist, Paris Opera Ballet dancer
Veronique Doisneau, age 41, is about to retire after a career of dancing
in the background as a corps de ballet member. On the final night of her
career, she is at long last alone onstage, in front of a huge audience.
With a humorous and moving mixture of spoken text and physical
demonstration, Doisneau performs her life's history as a dancer.
11/18
New York, New York: Anthology Film Archives
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/
6:00pm, 32 2nd Avenue
FILMS BY TONY CONRAD
THE FLICKER 1966, 30 minutes, 16mm. Preserved by Anthology Film Archives
with funding provided by The National Film Preservation Foundation.
Mathematical and rhythmical orchestration of white and black frames.
STRAIGHT AND NARROW 1970, 10 minutes, 16mm, b&w, sound. Preserved by
Anthology Film Archives with funding provided by The National Film
Preservation Foundation. STRAIGHT AND NARROW is a study in subjective
color and visual rhythm. Although it is printed on black-and-white film,
the hypnotic pacing of the images will cause viewers to experience a
programmed gamut of hallucinatory color effects. FILM FEEDBACK 1974, 15
minutes, 16mm, b&w, sound. Preserved by Anthology Film Archives with
funding provided by The National Film Preservation Foundation. "Made
with a film-feedback team which I directed at Antioch College. Negative
image is shot from a small rear-projection screen, the film comes out of
the camera continuously (in the dark room) and is immediately processed,
dried, and projected on the screen by the team. What are the qualities
of film that may be made visible through feedback?" –T.C. Total running
time: ca. 60 minutes.
11/18
San Francisco, California: San Francisco Cinematheque
http://www.sfcinematheque.org
7:30pm, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission Street (corner of Third)
FILMS BY HANS MICHAUD
Hans Michaud In Person Citing a diverse cast of major influences,
including Sharits, Breer, LaPore and Dorsky, the prolific New York
filmmaker Hans Michaud has, over twenty years, produced a body of
sublime and concentrated works of cinema entirely his own.
Simultaneously obsessive and meditative, Michaud applies a taxonomists'
rigor to both cinematography and editing, describing the city landscape
and urban experience as a locus of serenity, reflection and grace. In
his premiere West Coast screening he will present selections from The
Nicotine Series, intensely, "mindlessly and repetitively" edited works
born from the nervous wreckage of withdrawal; and The Inquiry Series,
inventories of the artist's accumulated orphan rolls. Also:
double-projection work from The MorningFilms series.
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For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.