Nb: Films by Robert Beavers, Peter Hutton, and Luther Price were unavailable for preview. However, I said some very nice things about these men and their work in general over at The Dissolve.
In years past, I have attempted to present this extended article as a preview; my aim has been to send it off into the world either the day before of the day of Tiff's kick-off. That has proven impossible this year, and, dear reader, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee... But the fact that Wavelengths is a beat that is becoming harder and harder for one person to adequately cover is undoubtedly a sign of good health. Since last year, when Tiff enfolded the former Visions section (a space for formally adventurous narrative features) into Wavelengths (Tiff's experimental showcase), not only has interest in the section grown exponentially. The section can now more fully reflect...
In years past, I have attempted to present this extended article as a preview; my aim has been to send it off into the world either the day before of the day of Tiff's kick-off. That has proven impossible this year, and, dear reader, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee... But the fact that Wavelengths is a beat that is becoming harder and harder for one person to adequately cover is undoubtedly a sign of good health. Since last year, when Tiff enfolded the former Visions section (a space for formally adventurous narrative features) into Wavelengths (Tiff's experimental showcase), not only has interest in the section grown exponentially. The section can now more fully reflect...
- 9/9/2013
- by Michael Sicinski
- MUBI
The 26th annual Images Festival will be taking over Toronto on April 11-20 with an epic series of experimental film screenings, media installations, expanded cinema performances, workshops, artist talks and tons more. With so much going on, the Underground Film Journal is just listing all the screening events below. For everything Images has to offer, please visit their official website.
Before the screenings list, here are some of the highlights:
Opening Night: Accompanying the documentary imagery of prolific filmmaker Robert Todd will be live music performed by electronic music deconstructionist Tim Hecker. Plus, there will be a new audiovisual work by SlowPitch called Emoralis, which pairs images of snails with crackly and droning rhythms.
Closing Night: Corredor will be a live performance piece combining South American imagery by artist Alexandra Gelis, accompanied by live music by drummer Hamid Drake and saxophonist David Mott.
Live Performances: Jodie Mack will provide live...
Before the screenings list, here are some of the highlights:
Opening Night: Accompanying the documentary imagery of prolific filmmaker Robert Todd will be live music performed by electronic music deconstructionist Tim Hecker. Plus, there will be a new audiovisual work by SlowPitch called Emoralis, which pairs images of snails with crackly and droning rhythms.
Closing Night: Corredor will be a live performance piece combining South American imagery by artist Alexandra Gelis, accompanied by live music by drummer Hamid Drake and saxophonist David Mott.
Live Performances: Jodie Mack will provide live...
- 4/11/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Ann Arbor Film Festival, having survived their half-a-century blowout in 2012, is back with another rip-roarin’ 51st edition in 2013, which will run from March 19-24, screening a mind-boggling amount of experimental short films and a few features.
Highlights of the fest include:
Special presentations by this year’s jurors, including Marcin Gizycki round-up of Polish animation from the 1950s to the present; Laida Lertxundi’s selection of some of her films as well as her biggest influences; and Kevin Jerome Everson’s mini-retrospective of his own films.
There’s also special tributes to Pat O’Neill, including a retrospective of his short films from the ’70s to the present as well as a screening of his 1989 35mm experimental epic Water and Power; Suzan Pitt, with selections of short films from her career; and a screening of Ken Burns’ latest doc The Central Park Five, co-directed with his daughter Sarah Burns and son-in-law David McMahon,...
Highlights of the fest include:
Special presentations by this year’s jurors, including Marcin Gizycki round-up of Polish animation from the 1950s to the present; Laida Lertxundi’s selection of some of her films as well as her biggest influences; and Kevin Jerome Everson’s mini-retrospective of his own films.
There’s also special tributes to Pat O’Neill, including a retrospective of his short films from the ’70s to the present as well as a screening of his 1989 35mm experimental epic Water and Power; Suzan Pitt, with selections of short films from her career; and a screening of Ken Burns’ latest doc The Central Park Five, co-directed with his daughter Sarah Burns and son-in-law David McMahon,...
- 3/19/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The mighty and all-powerful Chicago Underground Film Festival has done the absolute unthinkable: Reached their 20th year of operation! How many underground festivals have accomplished that feat? None, until now! Well, “now” being March 6-10 at the fest’s new location: The Logan Theatre.
Obviously, there are a lot of people who have worked with the fest over the years to help make it last for exactly two fantastic decades, but, truly, there is one special person who has to be specially lauded for his tireless dedication to the advancement of underground film and its makers. Especially because Cuff hasn’t just been around for 20 years: It’s been fucking awesome for 20 years.
That person, of course, is Artistic Director Bryan Wendorf, who has been with the fest for the very first edition to it’s most recent, mind-blowing one. Year after year, Wendorf has guided Cuff into defining, challenging,...
Obviously, there are a lot of people who have worked with the fest over the years to help make it last for exactly two fantastic decades, but, truly, there is one special person who has to be specially lauded for his tireless dedication to the advancement of underground film and its makers. Especially because Cuff hasn’t just been around for 20 years: It’s been fucking awesome for 20 years.
That person, of course, is Artistic Director Bryan Wendorf, who has been with the fest for the very first edition to it’s most recent, mind-blowing one. Year after year, Wendorf has guided Cuff into defining, challenging,...
- 2/13/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 15th annual Antimatter Film Festival is grinding out, as it always does, an incredible program of avant-garde and experimental short films and features from all over the world. The visual smorgasbord is assaulting Victoria, British Columbia on Oct. 12-20.
Some of the features include Matt McCormick‘s lyrical travelogue road trip The Great Northwest, Sabine Gruffat‘s Detroit & Dubai contrast and comparison I Have Always Been a Dreamer and Ben Rivers‘ acclaimed pastoral odyssey Two Years at Sea.
On the short film front, there’s Salise Hughes‘ vanishing Erasable Cities, Deborah Stratman‘s reworked silent film Village, silenced, Matt McCormick‘s meditation on abandoned spaces Future So Bright, Jem Cohen‘s portrait doc Crossing Paths With Luce Vigo, Lyn Elliot‘s stop-motion Another Dress, Another Button, Alyssa Timon‘s A Dog Wearing Glasses; and tons more.
Plus, there’s the special “Home Movie Day” tribute to Victoria, BC on Oct.
Some of the features include Matt McCormick‘s lyrical travelogue road trip The Great Northwest, Sabine Gruffat‘s Detroit & Dubai contrast and comparison I Have Always Been a Dreamer and Ben Rivers‘ acclaimed pastoral odyssey Two Years at Sea.
On the short film front, there’s Salise Hughes‘ vanishing Erasable Cities, Deborah Stratman‘s reworked silent film Village, silenced, Matt McCormick‘s meditation on abandoned spaces Future So Bright, Jem Cohen‘s portrait doc Crossing Paths With Luce Vigo, Lyn Elliot‘s stop-motion Another Dress, Another Button, Alyssa Timon‘s A Dog Wearing Glasses; and tons more.
Plus, there’s the special “Home Movie Day” tribute to Victoria, BC on Oct.
- 10/15/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 24th annual Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival, which was held back on June 21-23 in Chicago, has at last announced their award winners. Prizes were given to three lucky winners along with four others earning Honorable Mentions.
This year’s two-panel jury consisted of Chicago filmmaker Melika Bass and Cinema and Media Studies professor Adam Hart (University of Chicago).
First Prize went to Luther Price‘s Selected 35mm Slides presentation, which consisted of 80 individually handmade 35mm slides made up of frames from Price’s found footage films and other images.
Second Prize went to Stephanie Barber for her video 10 From Jhana and the Rats of James Olds, which consisted of 10 videos made during Barber’s residency at the Baltimore Museum of Art where she created a video a day for over a month.
Third Prize went to Pat O’Neill for his video Painter and Ball 1-...
This year’s two-panel jury consisted of Chicago filmmaker Melika Bass and Cinema and Media Studies professor Adam Hart (University of Chicago).
First Prize went to Luther Price‘s Selected 35mm Slides presentation, which consisted of 80 individually handmade 35mm slides made up of frames from Price’s found footage films and other images.
Second Prize went to Stephanie Barber for her video 10 From Jhana and the Rats of James Olds, which consisted of 10 videos made during Barber’s residency at the Baltimore Museum of Art where she created a video a day for over a month.
Third Prize went to Pat O’Neill for his video Painter and Ball 1-...
- 7/4/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 24th annual Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival is the largest, most jam-packed edition of Chicago’s long-running avant-garde and experimental media fest ever! Held at the Gene Siskel Film Center on June 21 and at Columbia College on June 22-23, this year’s event features two days and three nights of fantastic experimental work, including both short films and feature-length productions.
Two feature-length films will get two screenings each. First, there’s collage animator Lewis Klahr‘s latest epic work The Pettifogger, a film noir about the year in the life of a ’60s era gambler; and Tributes – Pulse, a collaboration between filmmaker Bill Morrison and Danish composer Simon Christensen. Both films will screen on the 22nd and the 23rd.
Other feature-length works include Wolfgang Lehmann’s experimental nature film Dragonflies With Birds and Snake, Barry Doupé’s computer animated mystery The Colors That Combine to Make White Are Important,...
Two feature-length films will get two screenings each. First, there’s collage animator Lewis Klahr‘s latest epic work The Pettifogger, a film noir about the year in the life of a ’60s era gambler; and Tributes – Pulse, a collaboration between filmmaker Bill Morrison and Danish composer Simon Christensen. Both films will screen on the 22nd and the 23rd.
Other feature-length works include Wolfgang Lehmann’s experimental nature film Dragonflies With Birds and Snake, Barry Doupé’s computer animated mystery The Colors That Combine to Make White Are Important,...
- 6/12/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 19th annual Chicago Underground Film Festival, which just ran for the entire first week of June at the Gene Siskel Film Center, have announced their award winners. Picking the winners this year was a jury composed of Julia Gibbs (University of Chicago’s Film Studies Center), Dan Koretzky (Drag City Records) and Jonathan Marlow (Fandor).
Awards were given in seven categories, each of which have a singular winning film and several honorable mentions. Taking home the coveted Made in Chicago Award was Jesse McLean‘s experimental short film Remote, a haunting meditation on nature and technology.
Other short films winning awards were Ben Russell‘s ethnographic film River Rites for Best Documentary Short, Bryan Boyce‘s hilarious Walt Disney’s Taxi Driver for Best Film Using Appropriation or Pre-existing Material and Peter Jessien Laugesen’s Nature’s Voice for Best Animation/Experimental Short.
On the feature film front, Daniel Schmidt...
Awards were given in seven categories, each of which have a singular winning film and several honorable mentions. Taking home the coveted Made in Chicago Award was Jesse McLean‘s experimental short film Remote, a haunting meditation on nature and technology.
Other short films winning awards were Ben Russell‘s ethnographic film River Rites for Best Documentary Short, Bryan Boyce‘s hilarious Walt Disney’s Taxi Driver for Best Film Using Appropriation or Pre-existing Material and Peter Jessien Laugesen’s Nature’s Voice for Best Animation/Experimental Short.
On the feature film front, Daniel Schmidt...
- 6/8/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Entering into its third year, Crossroads is the San Francisco Cinematheque‘s celebration of the best modern avant-garde and experimental film. Curated by Cinematheque Artistic Director Steve Polta, it will run on May 18-20 at the Victoria Theatre at 2961 16th Street (at Mission).
Some of the special programs this year include a tribute and retrospective to Cinematheque co-founder Chick Strand featuring three of her experimental works, Kristallnacht (1979), Soft Fiction (1979) and Angel Blue Sweet Wings (1966); plus, a screening of the complete works (so far) of young filmmaker Laida Lerxtundi, whose work explores “how filmic moments can be imbued with emotional resonance;” as well as a program of live expanded cinema performances by Kerry Laitala, Greg Pope and Gerritt Wittmer & Paul Knowles.
The rest of the fest consists of screening blocks of short experimental films, including Ken Jacob‘s latest, Seeking the Monkey King, plus new work by Jesse McLean, Paul Clipson,...
Some of the special programs this year include a tribute and retrospective to Cinematheque co-founder Chick Strand featuring three of her experimental works, Kristallnacht (1979), Soft Fiction (1979) and Angel Blue Sweet Wings (1966); plus, a screening of the complete works (so far) of young filmmaker Laida Lerxtundi, whose work explores “how filmic moments can be imbued with emotional resonance;” as well as a program of live expanded cinema performances by Kerry Laitala, Greg Pope and Gerritt Wittmer & Paul Knowles.
The rest of the fest consists of screening blocks of short experimental films, including Ken Jacob‘s latest, Seeking the Monkey King, plus new work by Jesse McLean, Paul Clipson,...
- 5/15/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Having been around for eighteen years, the Chicago Underground Film Festival has continually changed what it defines as “underground.”
So its 19th annual edition, which will be held on May 31 to June 7 at the Gene Siskel Film Center, feels like its most experimental edition in recent years.
While things kick off on the 31st with the Vice-produced anthology film The Fourth Dimension by Alexsei Fedorchenko, Harmony Korine and Jan Kwiecinski, the rest of the fest is packed with feature-length and short experimental work, documentaries and alternative narratives.
Some of the experimental feature highlights include the vastly prolific Robert Todd‘s Master Plan, which examines theories of modern housing from private residences to prisons; Australia’s two-person art collective Soda_Jerk’s epic rip on media piracy, Hollywood Burn; Michael Kosakowski’s compendium on murder fantasies, Zero Killing; L.A. filmmaker Daniel Martinico’s meditation on the acting process, Ok, Good...
So its 19th annual edition, which will be held on May 31 to June 7 at the Gene Siskel Film Center, feels like its most experimental edition in recent years.
While things kick off on the 31st with the Vice-produced anthology film The Fourth Dimension by Alexsei Fedorchenko, Harmony Korine and Jan Kwiecinski, the rest of the fest is packed with feature-length and short experimental work, documentaries and alternative narratives.
Some of the experimental feature highlights include the vastly prolific Robert Todd‘s Master Plan, which examines theories of modern housing from private residences to prisons; Australia’s two-person art collective Soda_Jerk’s epic rip on media piracy, Hollywood Burn; Michael Kosakowski’s compendium on murder fantasies, Zero Killing; L.A. filmmaker Daniel Martinico’s meditation on the acting process, Ok, Good...
- 5/8/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The fourth annual Migrating Forms media festival, which will run May 11-20 at the Anthology Film Archives in NYC, is a compelling mix of political films, pop culture explorations, ethnographic exposés and collections of new media art.
The fest begins and ends with political films directed and curated by Eric Baudelaire. His latest work, The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi and 27 Years without Images, opens the festival on May 11; while a pair of films – Masao Adachi & Kôji Wakamatsu’s Red Army/Pflp: Declaration of World War and The Dziga Vertov Group’s Ici et Ailleurs closes it on May 20.
Some of the special events sprinkled throughout the event include Ed Halter‘s survey of faux experimental films made for mainstream movies and TV shows that should prove to be an amazingly entertaining and enlightening discussion; a retrospective of the highly influential animation by Chuck Jones; the interactive...
The fest begins and ends with political films directed and curated by Eric Baudelaire. His latest work, The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi and 27 Years without Images, opens the festival on May 11; while a pair of films – Masao Adachi & Kôji Wakamatsu’s Red Army/Pflp: Declaration of World War and The Dziga Vertov Group’s Ici et Ailleurs closes it on May 20.
Some of the special events sprinkled throughout the event include Ed Halter‘s survey of faux experimental films made for mainstream movies and TV shows that should prove to be an amazingly entertaining and enlightening discussion; a retrospective of the highly influential animation by Chuck Jones; the interactive...
- 4/26/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
InFEST Underground Screening Series
InFEST Underground is a new monthly screening series that takes place in Brooklyn, NY at the Spectacle Theater microcinema at 124 S. 3rd St. near Bedford Avenue. It’s being organized by filmmaker Greg Hanson of Greth Productions, which has produced such underground hits as Thy Kill Be Done.
Specifically, InFEST says it is looking for “underground oddities that are insane, psychotronic, transgressive, subversive, oddball, weirdo, gonzo, mondo, mind-bending, or boundless.” And, since this is a regular screening series, there are no entry fees, nor are there any restrictions on length, year, region or anything. If it’s underground, then Hanson wants to take a look at it.
To submit, please write directly to Greg Hanson at “Grethproductions (at) gmail dot com.” Include, if you can, a link to your online video, either public or private. Or, ask how to mail in your submission.
Dallas Video Fest...
InFEST Underground is a new monthly screening series that takes place in Brooklyn, NY at the Spectacle Theater microcinema at 124 S. 3rd St. near Bedford Avenue. It’s being organized by filmmaker Greg Hanson of Greth Productions, which has produced such underground hits as Thy Kill Be Done.
Specifically, InFEST says it is looking for “underground oddities that are insane, psychotronic, transgressive, subversive, oddball, weirdo, gonzo, mondo, mind-bending, or boundless.” And, since this is a regular screening series, there are no entry fees, nor are there any restrictions on length, year, region or anything. If it’s underground, then Hanson wants to take a look at it.
To submit, please write directly to Greg Hanson at “Grethproductions (at) gmail dot com.” Include, if you can, a link to your online video, either public or private. Or, ask how to mail in your submission.
Dallas Video Fest...
- 4/23/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 7th annual Experiments in Cinema, or v7.9 if you prefer, will feature 7 days of fantastic experimental films from all over the world on April 16-22 at various locations across Albuquerque, New Mexico, including the Guild Cinema, the Southwest Film Center and the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
This year’s festival is jam-packed with a gaggle of short films, one feature and several workshops. It all kicks off on the 16th with an event devoted to films made with the Pxl 2000 video camera that was briefly produced as a kids toy, but has been adopted by visual artists. Pixel visionary Gerry Fialka will present films and a history of the camera’s use.
Some of the other special programs include a Cinegram Workshop taught by Kerry Laitala, another workshop taught by David Finkelstein on how to work with improvisational actors, a special screening of botanical-themed 16mm films curated by Caryn Cline and more.
This year’s festival is jam-packed with a gaggle of short films, one feature and several workshops. It all kicks off on the 16th with an event devoted to films made with the Pxl 2000 video camera that was briefly produced as a kids toy, but has been adopted by visual artists. Pixel visionary Gerry Fialka will present films and a history of the camera’s use.
Some of the other special programs include a Cinegram Workshop taught by Kerry Laitala, another workshop taught by David Finkelstein on how to work with improvisational actors, a special screening of botanical-themed 16mm films curated by Caryn Cline and more.
- 4/11/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The historic 50th annual Ann Arbor Film Festival wrapped up on April 1 with a whole gaggle of awards going to numerous filmmakers, celebrating the best in experimental, animation, documentary, Lgbt, international, music video and more categories.
The big winner of the event was Hayoun Kwon for her animated short film Lack of Evidence (Manque de Preuves), about a Nigerian child who survives a ritualistic murder by his own father. The Seoul-born, Paris-based filmmaker took home the Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival.
On the experimental film front, Betzy Bromberg won the Stan Brakhage Film at Wit’s End award for her feature-length experimental film Voluptuous Sleep; while Sylvia Schedelbauer won the Gus Van Sant Award for Best Experimental Film for her short film Sounding Glass; and Robert Todd won the Kodak/Colorlab Award for Best Cinematography for two films, Undergrowth and Within.
Renown animator Don Hertzfeldt shared the...
The big winner of the event was Hayoun Kwon for her animated short film Lack of Evidence (Manque de Preuves), about a Nigerian child who survives a ritualistic murder by his own father. The Seoul-born, Paris-based filmmaker took home the Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival.
On the experimental film front, Betzy Bromberg won the Stan Brakhage Film at Wit’s End award for her feature-length experimental film Voluptuous Sleep; while Sylvia Schedelbauer won the Gus Van Sant Award for Best Experimental Film for her short film Sounding Glass; and Robert Todd won the Kodak/Colorlab Award for Best Cinematography for two films, Undergrowth and Within.
Renown animator Don Hertzfeldt shared the...
- 4/2/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This week’s Must Read: Michael Varrati excellent profile of filmmaker, actor and all-around B-movie icon Paul Bartel. Not only is the article a terrific overview of Bartel’s amazing career, but the personal angle Varrati uncharacteristically tosses in is very moving.What do Abel Ferrara and John Carpenter have in common? Um, well, the Phantom of Pulp has some not nice words for them, of which he’s completely correct. Plus, a rave review of the little seen film Boy Wonder.I already urged people to do this on Facebook, but now I’m urging you all over again: Please encourage Mark Toscano to write more about the projects he’s preserving at the motion picture academy. These are articles we need to read!I have never heard of the horror movie Burning Moon (1997) and no matter how much Rick Trembles claims its awful in his latest Snubdom, he...
- 3/25/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
It’s the 50th anniversary of the Ann Arbor Film Festival and they’re preparing an all-out blowout on March 27 to April 1 to celebrate! The fest is crammed to the gills with the latest and greatest in experimental and avant-garde film, in addition to a celebration of classic work from Ann Arbors past.
Filmmaker Bruce Baillie was there at the first Aaff — and numerous times since. He’s back this year with a major retrospective of his entire career that spans three separate programs. Baillie, who’ll be in attendance of course, will present a brand-new restored version of his epic pseudo-Western Quick Billy, plus screenings of his classic short movies such as Castro Street, Yellow Horse, Quixote, To Parsifal and more.
There’s also a program dedicated to the films of the late Robert Nelson, including Bleu Shut and Special Warning, as well as sprinklings of underground classics throughout...
Filmmaker Bruce Baillie was there at the first Aaff — and numerous times since. He’s back this year with a major retrospective of his entire career that spans three separate programs. Baillie, who’ll be in attendance of course, will present a brand-new restored version of his epic pseudo-Western Quick Billy, plus screenings of his classic short movies such as Castro Street, Yellow Horse, Quixote, To Parsifal and more.
There’s also a program dedicated to the films of the late Robert Nelson, including Bleu Shut and Special Warning, as well as sprinklings of underground classics throughout...
- 3/7/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This Week’s Absolute Must Look is a series of film stills from Storm de Hirsch’s documentary about Jonas Mekas making his documentary of the performance of The Brig in 1964. So that’s what a filmmaker shooting with a film camera looks like!Aryan Kaganof had an unpleasant experience at a European film festival. Maybe it’s just me, but I think his comment to Bela Tarr is funny.Jason Kupfer has a snazzy new filmmaker website, which I’ve been meaning to link to for awhile, so I guess it’s new-ish.Dominic Deacon’s nunsploitation feature Bad Habits got reviewed on the site Scaryminds and received a 3 out of 5 on the sex and violence scale.The site Bad at Sports interviews filmmaker Jesse McLean.J.J. Murphy reviews Azazel Jacob’s feature Terri, marking it along the filmmaker’s inching closer to the mainstream. Or is there something...
- 1/22/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Incite is the best publication about experimental media in the world and, for issue #3, publisher Brett Kashmere is promising to pull out all the stops. This latest edition will contain over 160 pages of articles and art, including 20 full color images, all of which has been created and contributed by over 25 leading media artists, filmmakers, writers, curators and scholars in North America.
To bring all this awesomeness to fruition, Incite is raising funds via Kickstarter to cover publication costs. Each issue of Incite is simply more incredible than the last, so this is a really exciting opportunity to help create what promises to be a significant piece of experimental media history.
The Incite Kickstarter campaign is offering tons of great incentives, too, including a poster by Michael Betancourt, DVDs of experimental video and a silkscreened portrait of late filmmaker George Kuchar by artist Leslie Supnet. So, in addition to Incite #3, you...
To bring all this awesomeness to fruition, Incite is raising funds via Kickstarter to cover publication costs. Each issue of Incite is simply more incredible than the last, so this is a really exciting opportunity to help create what promises to be a significant piece of experimental media history.
The Incite Kickstarter campaign is offering tons of great incentives, too, including a poster by Michael Betancourt, DVDs of experimental video and a silkscreened portrait of late filmmaker George Kuchar by artist Leslie Supnet. So, in addition to Incite #3, you...
- 10/29/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, as media magician Jesse McLean pulls back the red curtain and reveals the secret of the biggest trick in human history in her brilliant short film Magic for Beginners.
You will be awestruck and dumbfounded when McLean reveals that you are not the master of your own memories and emotions. You are instead a wholly owned and manipulated subsidiary of the media. Your desires, your dreams, your happiness are all controlled by people you will never meet — probably, anyway — so that you will become an efficient little consumer. Your entire existence is enslaved by the transmission of images.
Magic for Beginners vaguely resembles the classic Owen Land short film New Improved Institutional Quality: In the Environment of Liquids and Nasals a Parasitic Vowel Sometimes Develops, which features a man listening to a found recording of a strange comprehension test that Land then created surreal...
You will be awestruck and dumbfounded when McLean reveals that you are not the master of your own memories and emotions. You are instead a wholly owned and manipulated subsidiary of the media. Your desires, your dreams, your happiness are all controlled by people you will never meet — probably, anyway — so that you will become an efficient little consumer. Your entire existence is enslaved by the transmission of images.
Magic for Beginners vaguely resembles the classic Owen Land short film New Improved Institutional Quality: In the Environment of Liquids and Nasals a Parasitic Vowel Sometimes Develops, which features a man listening to a found recording of a strange comprehension test that Land then created surreal...
- 10/27/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 14th annual Antimatter Film Festival in Vancouver, BC, Canada is an epic 9-day event of expanded cinema performances, feature-length documentaries an a ton of experimental short films and festivals.
There are seven feature documentaries screening including Marie Losier‘s hit The Ballad of Genesis & Lady Jaye, a profile of the pandrogenous entity, Breyer P-Orridge; and Chris Metzler & Lev Kalman’s popular Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, about the legendary ska punk band. Plus, there’s Adele Horne’s And Again and more.
On the expanded cinema front, Antimatter welcomes retrospectives of Kerry Laitala, who will be presenting a selection of her 3D light and motion experiments; and Roger Beebe will screen a series of multi-projector performances.
As for the short films, the real highlight of the fest is a screening of Jaimz Asmundson‘s trippy and powerful The Magus, a fictional/documentary hybrid of his father’s Satanic painting process.
There are seven feature documentaries screening including Marie Losier‘s hit The Ballad of Genesis & Lady Jaye, a profile of the pandrogenous entity, Breyer P-Orridge; and Chris Metzler & Lev Kalman’s popular Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, about the legendary ska punk band. Plus, there’s Adele Horne’s And Again and more.
On the expanded cinema front, Antimatter welcomes retrospectives of Kerry Laitala, who will be presenting a selection of her 3D light and motion experiments; and Roger Beebe will screen a series of multi-projector performances.
As for the short films, the real highlight of the fest is a screening of Jaimz Asmundson‘s trippy and powerful The Magus, a fictional/documentary hybrid of his father’s Satanic painting process.
- 10/12/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 14th annual Revelation Perth International Film Festival is, once again, packed to the gills with worldwide wonderful, weird and revelatory filmmaking. The fest runs this year on July 14-24.
The highlight of the festival is the once-in-a-lifetime live performance of Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, which will be performed on July 17 at 7:15 p.m. American animator Brent Green will be traveling Down Under to provide the live musical score and narration for his emotional, live-action animated tale about undying love and creation. He will also be accompanied by band mates and foley artists, Mike McGinley, John Swartz, Donna K and Drew Henkles.
Some other films to look out for at the fest will be the Australian premiere of Zach Clark‘s terminally twisted Vacation!, a black comedy about four girls on a debauched weekend of drinking and drugging that ends horribly for all involved; Marie Losier’s acclaimed...
The highlight of the festival is the once-in-a-lifetime live performance of Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, which will be performed on July 17 at 7:15 p.m. American animator Brent Green will be traveling Down Under to provide the live musical score and narration for his emotional, live-action animated tale about undying love and creation. He will also be accompanied by band mates and foley artists, Mike McGinley, John Swartz, Donna K and Drew Henkles.
Some other films to look out for at the fest will be the Australian premiere of Zach Clark‘s terminally twisted Vacation!, a black comedy about four girls on a debauched weekend of drinking and drugging that ends horribly for all involved; Marie Losier’s acclaimed...
- 6/17/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 18th annual Chicago Underground Film Festival is ready to have another monumental year at the Gene Siskel Film Center on June 2-9, featuring a killer lineup with new films from some true underground legends.
First, Usama Alshaibi will screen his latest, most visually stunning and conceptually innovative feature Profane, about a spiritually confused Muslim sex worker trying to recapture her lost jinn — a demon of smokeless fire — on streets of the Windy City.
Then, documentary filmmakers Jeff Krulik and John Heyn return to their hard rockin’ roots with Heavy Metal Picnic, which relives one of the most notorious ’80s weekend parties in the history of Maryland and the world — the Full Moon Jamboree, which if you can remember it means you weren’t there. Plus, Hmp will be screened with Heyn and Krulik’s underground classic Heavy Metal Parking Lot.
Also in the documentary vein, are Marie Losier‘s...
First, Usama Alshaibi will screen his latest, most visually stunning and conceptually innovative feature Profane, about a spiritually confused Muslim sex worker trying to recapture her lost jinn — a demon of smokeless fire — on streets of the Windy City.
Then, documentary filmmakers Jeff Krulik and John Heyn return to their hard rockin’ roots with Heavy Metal Picnic, which relives one of the most notorious ’80s weekend parties in the history of Maryland and the world — the Full Moon Jamboree, which if you can remember it means you weren’t there. Plus, Hmp will be screened with Heyn and Krulik’s underground classic Heavy Metal Parking Lot.
Also in the documentary vein, are Marie Losier‘s...
- 5/13/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Hooray, hooray, the first of May! Outdoor linking begins today! (My old, dear poetry professor Sam Abrams taught me that one, except he didn’t use the word “linking. He used one that began with the letter “f.” But, enough of that silliness. Onto the good stuff!)
This week’s Absolute Must Read is an extremely passionate commentary by donna k. on the need for art to speak out on injustice, something she finds lacking today — a subject on which I wholeheartedly concur. It’s an exceptionally well-written, moving piece that I hope inspires a filmmaker or two or more.Tromadance has come and gone and completely terrorized the community of Asbury Park, NJ. Metromix has the wrap up, saying that The Taint drove the audience wild, as it well should have.The website Pyramid Beach posted up Part 3 of their series on avant-garde pioneer Oskar Fischinger. You can go...
This week’s Absolute Must Read is an extremely passionate commentary by donna k. on the need for art to speak out on injustice, something she finds lacking today — a subject on which I wholeheartedly concur. It’s an exceptionally well-written, moving piece that I hope inspires a filmmaker or two or more.Tromadance has come and gone and completely terrorized the community of Asbury Park, NJ. Metromix has the wrap up, saying that The Taint drove the audience wild, as it well should have.The website Pyramid Beach posted up Part 3 of their series on avant-garde pioneer Oskar Fischinger. You can go...
- 5/1/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
On Saturday, April 9, Toronto’s massive Images Festival gave out 13 awards to 14 filmmakers, plus one honorable mention, at the closing night ceremony for their 25th annual edition. Most of the awards came with cash prizes for the winners.
The big winner of the festival was filmmaker Luo Li who took home the Images Prize for his experimental documentary hybrid Rivers and My Father, which served as the fest’s opening night film on March 31. In the film, Li explores the personal stories of his family growing up along the Yangtze River in China. The Images Prize honors the fests. Best Canadian Media Artwork. Li takes home a $1,000 cash prize, sponsored by Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan.
The On Screen Award, which celebrates the best new international media at the fest, ended up as a tie between two UK filmmakers: Duncan Campbell for his film Make it New John and to Miranda Pennell...
The big winner of the festival was filmmaker Luo Li who took home the Images Prize for his experimental documentary hybrid Rivers and My Father, which served as the fest’s opening night film on March 31. In the film, Li explores the personal stories of his family growing up along the Yangtze River in China. The Images Prize honors the fests. Best Canadian Media Artwork. Li takes home a $1,000 cash prize, sponsored by Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan.
The On Screen Award, which celebrates the best new international media at the fest, ended up as a tie between two UK filmmakers: Duncan Campbell for his film Make it New John and to Miranda Pennell...
- 4/14/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The new issue (#6) of One+One: The Filmmakers Journal is now out with articles on the Zeitgeist Movement, Imperfect Cinema, Exploding Cinema and offers a filmmaking challenge. Oh, and Mary Poppins.Not sure how much longer these are going to be up, but you can watch some experimental shorts from the Images Festival on Mubi for free.The Lunch Movie recaps some of the wonders seen at this year’s Boston Underground Film Festival, which apparently included lots of vomiting.MediaBeat has notes from a discussion with Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman in which he advocates for media piracy. I don’t agree with what he says, but he has some interesting points.Time to rejoice! The Man Who Would Be Polka King is now streaming on Netflix. This hilarious true-life story is not to be missed if you have Netflix.Job Opening: The Austin Film Society is looking for a Director of Development.
- 4/10/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 24th annual Images Festival is once again overstuffed with experimental and avant-garde media goodness. From March 31 to April 9, Toronto will be overrun with film & video screenings, live cinema performances, artist talks, gallery installations, forum discussions and more.
The fest opens with Rivers and My Father — a documentary and fictional narrative blend that explores the family stories of filmmaker Luo Li — and ends with a live hardcore music soundtrack accompanying Todd Brown’s classic silent movie West of Zanzibar.
In between that, there are artist talks with John Gianvito, Paul Clipson, Mario Pfeifer, Beatrice Gibson, James MacSwain, Steve Reinke and others; several programs exploring the state of cinema in Africa; live cinematic performances by Andrew Lampert, Ellie Ga, Lindsay Seers, Icaro Zorbar and more.
Plus, don’t forget the experimental film & video screenings, including John Gianvito’s documentary essay Vapor Trails (Clark); and short works by Jodie Mack, Lewis Klahr,...
The fest opens with Rivers and My Father — a documentary and fictional narrative blend that explores the family stories of filmmaker Luo Li — and ends with a live hardcore music soundtrack accompanying Todd Brown’s classic silent movie West of Zanzibar.
In between that, there are artist talks with John Gianvito, Paul Clipson, Mario Pfeifer, Beatrice Gibson, James MacSwain, Steve Reinke and others; several programs exploring the state of cinema in Africa; live cinematic performances by Andrew Lampert, Ellie Ga, Lindsay Seers, Icaro Zorbar and more.
Plus, don’t forget the experimental film & video screenings, including John Gianvito’s documentary essay Vapor Trails (Clark); and short works by Jodie Mack, Lewis Klahr,...
- 3/31/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
It’s four days of experimental media madness in the Sunshine State when the 7th annual Florida Experimental Film/Video Festival — also known as Flex Fest — runs in Gainesville on Feb. 17-20. The majority of the festival will take place at the Top Secret Space, with the exception of a Saturday afternoon screening of all 35mm films at the Hippodrome State Theater.
This year’s judges for the festival are film preservationist Mark Toscano and filmmaker Vanessa Renwick, both of whom will open the fest with two curated programs. First, Toscano will be screening several rare underground films from the late ’50s to the early ’70s, from filmmakers such as Fred Worden, David Bienstock, Chris Langdon and more. Then, Renwick will screen several of her own short documentaries, including the wonderfully eerie Britton, South Dakota and the touching 9 is a secret. These are two events that really are not to be missed.
This year’s judges for the festival are film preservationist Mark Toscano and filmmaker Vanessa Renwick, both of whom will open the fest with two curated programs. First, Toscano will be screening several rare underground films from the late ’50s to the early ’70s, from filmmakers such as Fred Worden, David Bienstock, Chris Langdon and more. Then, Renwick will screen several of her own short documentaries, including the wonderfully eerie Britton, South Dakota and the touching 9 is a secret. These are two events that really are not to be missed.
- 2/11/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The prestigious Art in America magazine profiles and interviews Bad Lit favorite Brent Green. Filmmaker and curator Cecilia Araneda has a new website that’s very spiffy looking. If you need a zen moment, go stare at the wonder of filmmaker and artist Daniel Barrow’s snowglobe. Michael Varrati has a great new filmmaker to know: David DeCoteau, the king of beefcake horror. I was completely unfamiliar with his work until I read this! Rhizome goes through the career of pioneering video artist Nam June Paik in conjunction with a retrospective of his work running at the Tate in London. Plus, some staff changes at the media arts website. I think the Underground Film Guild is a project of Tla Video, but I can’t say for sure. (Hey guys, update your About page from the automatic WordPress-install text.) But, if you want to read/watch about exploitation films, this...
- 1/9/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The second night of the 5th annual Ata Film & Video Festival groups its short films under the heading “Lo-Fi Future,” which couldn’t be more apt for this selection.
Several of the films are literally just that, lo-fi visions of the future. Without any special effects whatsoever, these films tell us they take place in the future either just verbally, or through just shooting at unique locations. Other films, though, explore the “future” in a different way, by showing the effect progress has on culture, but through abstract means.
Wasteland, dir. Kathleen Quillian. Quillian brilliantly uses cut-out animation to illustrate the modern food chain, which starts from crop dusting fields and ends with automobiles blowing exhaust into the atmosphere. In between, cows are injected with hormones then are decapitated and chubby suburbanites pig out on hamburgers until they need to control their cholesterol with prescription medication that they wash down with beer.
Several of the films are literally just that, lo-fi visions of the future. Without any special effects whatsoever, these films tell us they take place in the future either just verbally, or through just shooting at unique locations. Other films, though, explore the “future” in a different way, by showing the effect progress has on culture, but through abstract means.
Wasteland, dir. Kathleen Quillian. Quillian brilliantly uses cut-out animation to illustrate the modern food chain, which starts from crop dusting fields and ends with automobiles blowing exhaust into the atmosphere. In between, cows are injected with hormones then are decapitated and chubby suburbanites pig out on hamburgers until they need to control their cholesterol with prescription medication that they wash down with beer.
- 10/21/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 5th annual Ata Film & Video Festival in San Francisco is just a brief two-night affair, but is packed with more experimental and avant-garde filmmaking power than can be imagined. The fest explodes this year on Oct. 21-22.
Once again, the fest is a heady mix of local Bay Area favorites with filmmakers from all over the world. As for the locals, Paul Clipson will screen his newest, most epic work, Union; along with new animated weirdness from Kathleen Quillian; work by political mixologist Bryan Boyce; and an astounding Film/Video hybrid by Kerry Laitala made in Chromadepth. (In case you were worried, Chromadepth glasses will be provided.)
Other films come from nearby locations, such as Sam Barnett and Vera Brunner-Sung of Los Angeles; and Jeff Guay and Karl Lind of Portland. But others come from such far-flung places, such as The Netherland’s Maite Abella and Brooklyn’s Whitney Horn and Lev Kalman.
Once again, the fest is a heady mix of local Bay Area favorites with filmmakers from all over the world. As for the locals, Paul Clipson will screen his newest, most epic work, Union; along with new animated weirdness from Kathleen Quillian; work by political mixologist Bryan Boyce; and an astounding Film/Video hybrid by Kerry Laitala made in Chromadepth. (In case you were worried, Chromadepth glasses will be provided.)
Other films come from nearby locations, such as Sam Barnett and Vera Brunner-Sung of Los Angeles; and Jeff Guay and Karl Lind of Portland. But others come from such far-flung places, such as The Netherland’s Maite Abella and Brooklyn’s Whitney Horn and Lev Kalman.
- 10/15/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
It’s lucky 13 for the Antimatter Film Festival in Victoria, BC. That is, their 13th annual fest is all set to run on Oct 8-16. That’s nine mind-blowing nights of experimental short films, live film performances and culture-shattering documentaries.
The fest kicks off on the 8th with a 16mm screening of Sergei Eisenstein’s classic silent film Battleship Potemkin that will be accompanied by a live soundtrack by DJ-son Bitter Herbs [Jason Flower]. The people’s revolution never sounded so funky! Then, the fest concludes on the 16th with the event “Uzos [Underwater Zombies from Outer Space]” and will feature performances by Ryan Beattie, Atomic Vaudeville, Slut Revolver, Wes Borg and more.
Smooshed between those two events will be the debut feature film by acclaimed ethnographic filmmaker Ben Russell, Let Each One Go Where They May, which documents the amazing recreation of a bold escape made by slaves. Other feature length documentaries screening are: Teen Routines,...
The fest kicks off on the 8th with a 16mm screening of Sergei Eisenstein’s classic silent film Battleship Potemkin that will be accompanied by a live soundtrack by DJ-son Bitter Herbs [Jason Flower]. The people’s revolution never sounded so funky! Then, the fest concludes on the 16th with the event “Uzos [Underwater Zombies from Outer Space]” and will feature performances by Ryan Beattie, Atomic Vaudeville, Slut Revolver, Wes Borg and more.
Smooshed between those two events will be the debut feature film by acclaimed ethnographic filmmaker Ben Russell, Let Each One Go Where They May, which documents the amazing recreation of a bold escape made by slaves. Other feature length documentaries screening are: Teen Routines,...
- 10/4/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
So, I’ve been doing these links posts for awhile now and it’s been very encouraging that they’re some of the most viewed articles on the site every week. However, even more exciting and inspiring is that I’ve had several bloggers/writers contact me lately to tell me that my linking to them provides a bit of a bump in readers for them. It really makes me happy that my readers are actually clicking through and reading these fantastic articles on other people’s websites. I mean, obviously that’s the whole point of this project, but I didn’t know the actual result until recently. It’s nice to hear. That said, on with the show:
This week’s Must Read is an oldie, but a goodie. And by “oldie” I mean almost 50 years old. It’s Stan Vanderbeek’s 1961 manifesto “The Cinema Delimina” (careful: that...
This week’s Must Read is an oldie, but a goodie. And by “oldie” I mean almost 50 years old. It’s Stan Vanderbeek’s 1961 manifesto “The Cinema Delimina” (careful: that...
- 9/26/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
I'm adding the make-up of the Venice Film Festival Horizons sidebar selections a little late to the site, I'm mostly curious to see the low ratio of films that'll be picked up from this section for the upcoming Tiff announcements. Deemed as re-branding of the section, a more eclectic melange of titles mixing short, medium length pics, documentaries film and feature length items, of the items that will generate the most interest are the opening and closing titles which were revealed the week before, but we should see media coverage mentions on Paul Morrissey's News From Nowhere, Jose Luis Guerin's docu Guest (I've yet to see 2007/2008's In the City of Sylvia) and Sion Sono's Cold Fish and short film offerings from Guillermo Arriaga, Isaac Julien and Clara Law. Horizons: Feature-length Works "Sleeping Beauty," Catherine Breillat (France, opener) "Oki's Movie," Hong Sang-soo (South Korea, closer) "The Nine Muses,...
- 8/2/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
The 22nd annual Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival is set to run in Chicago on June 17-20. That’s four nights of some of the best short-form experimental video from all over the world.
The festival opens with a real bang this year as it screens the 2010 Cannes Palme d’Or prize winner, A Letter to Uncle Boonmee, directed Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who actually studied filmmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Other opening films are by Daïchi Saïto, Michael Robinson, Sharon Lockhart and more.
Throughout the fest there are also new works by several longtime experimental filmmakers, including Kenneth Anger, Dominic Angerame and Lewis Klar; as well as films by media artists such as Stephanie Barber, Deborah Stratman, Thorsten Fleisch and Robert Todd. Plus, on the 20th, there will be a special tribute screening to the late JoAnn Elam, Chick Strand, and Callie...
The festival opens with a real bang this year as it screens the 2010 Cannes Palme d’Or prize winner, A Letter to Uncle Boonmee, directed Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who actually studied filmmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Other opening films are by Daïchi Saïto, Michael Robinson, Sharon Lockhart and more.
Throughout the fest there are also new works by several longtime experimental filmmakers, including Kenneth Anger, Dominic Angerame and Lewis Klar; as well as films by media artists such as Stephanie Barber, Deborah Stratman, Thorsten Fleisch and Robert Todd. Plus, on the 20th, there will be a special tribute screening to the late JoAnn Elam, Chick Strand, and Callie...
- 6/15/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Chicago Underground Film Festival is always a special occasion, but the 17th edition of this venerable institution, which runs on June 24 – July 1, is a little bit extra special. This year, Cuff will be honoring the lifelong underground film champion Jonas Mekas with their Lifetime Achievement Award!
Mekas will be in attendance at the festival at will appear at several screenings in his honor. On the 25th, there will be a screening of the new documentary Visionaries: Jonas Mekas and the (Mostly) American Avant-Garde, at which director Chuck Workman, Mekas and underground film historian Fred Camper will participate in a Q&A. Then, on the 26th, several of Mekas’ own films will screen and he’ll be presented with his award.
As for the rest of the fest, Cuff usually has some sort of unifying theme, at least as far as the features go. It’s not typically a stated theme,...
Mekas will be in attendance at the festival at will appear at several screenings in his honor. On the 25th, there will be a screening of the new documentary Visionaries: Jonas Mekas and the (Mostly) American Avant-Garde, at which director Chuck Workman, Mekas and underground film historian Fred Camper will participate in a Q&A. Then, on the 26th, several of Mekas’ own films will screen and he’ll be presented with his award.
As for the rest of the fest, Cuff usually has some sort of unifying theme, at least as far as the features go. It’s not typically a stated theme,...
- 6/3/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 48th annual Ann Arbor Film Festival is another exciting celebration of underground film past and present, featuring two retrospectives of two master filmmakers and dozens of short films and features from some of the most gifted talents working today.
For the retrospectives, first, Kenneth Anger will be in attendance at the festival for two programs of his classic work, including Fireworks and Scorpio Rising. Plus, for the first Anger screening, the filmmaker will be joined on-stage by film critic Dennis Lim for a discussion of his work and career. The second retrospective is of the work of the late Chick Strand, who sadly passed away in 2009. Strand’s Angel Blue Sweet Wings (1966) will actually open the entire festival, then there will be two retrospective screenings of her work, the first of which will be presented by film scholar Irina Leimbacher.
The rest of the Aaff lineup reads like a...
For the retrospectives, first, Kenneth Anger will be in attendance at the festival for two programs of his classic work, including Fireworks and Scorpio Rising. Plus, for the first Anger screening, the filmmaker will be joined on-stage by film critic Dennis Lim for a discussion of his work and career. The second retrospective is of the work of the late Chick Strand, who sadly passed away in 2009. Strand’s Angel Blue Sweet Wings (1966) will actually open the entire festival, then there will be two retrospective screenings of her work, the first of which will be presented by film scholar Irina Leimbacher.
The rest of the Aaff lineup reads like a...
- 3/8/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
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