Playing with Cinema, a retrospective of John Smith’s work, is currently screening on Mubi. On October 1, 2022, a ten-week survey of Smith’s films, “John Smith: Introspective (1972-2022),” launched at London’s Ica, with further events at Close-Up Cinema. Screening 50 films to celebrate his 50 years of filmmaking, it is the most extensive look at his work to date.Hotel Diaries (2001-2007).In the films of John Smith, nothing is quite as it seems. Even if you already come to them with preconceived notions about the destabilizing powers of the avant-garde, Smith’s work still defies expectations. Its distinct marriage of formal dexterity and a clever, questioning, wily wit has been integral to the British filmmaker’s art world–transcending appeal and ongoing success in the field of moving images over the last 50 years.There are plenty of ways into Smith’s expansive body of work, from prescient debates on...
- 10/7/2022
- MUBI
The films in this program, for the most part, seem to pertain to global space, in particular the subjective experience of movement that one can glean from travel, displacement, or the disorienting impact of visual technologies. Now, I know from experience that I always enjoy the disorientations generated by the 3D films of Blake Williams, but sadly I was unable to preview his new film 2008 because I could not secure equipment on which to view it. Apologies for that. The rest of the program is discussed below.Amusement RideQ: What's a "structural film"?
A: That's easy! Everybody knows what a structural film is! It's when engineers design an airplane or a bridge, and they build a model to find out if it will fall apart too soon. The film shows where all the stresses are!—Owen Land, On the Marriage Broker Joke as Cited by Sigmund Freud in Wit and...
A: That's easy! Everybody knows what a structural film is! It's when engineers design an airplane or a bridge, and they build a model to find out if it will fall apart too soon. The film shows where all the stresses are!—Owen Land, On the Marriage Broker Joke as Cited by Sigmund Freud in Wit and...
- 9/8/2019
- MUBI
Part One of this series is about the origin of the Robert Beck Memorial Cinema (Rbmc). Part Two covers all the screenings in 1998.
Continuing into 1999 at the Collective Unconscious theater space in NYC, the Rbmc — co-programmed by Brian L. Frye and Bradley Eros — went on hiatus for the first week of the year, but resumed on January 12. Below is a list of screenings from then until a May 18 event that celebrated the Rbmc’s first full year of existence.
The films and filmmakers selected to screen by Frye and Eros represent an interesting time in the sphere of avant-garde and experimental cinema. Up until this point, there seemed to be a distinct separation between the formal style of, say, structuralism, and the more raucous, punk rock world of the “underground.” However, in the 1990s, these two worlds appear to be colliding. The Rbmc seemed just as content screening Hollis Frampton‘s Critical Mass (Feb.
Continuing into 1999 at the Collective Unconscious theater space in NYC, the Rbmc — co-programmed by Brian L. Frye and Bradley Eros — went on hiatus for the first week of the year, but resumed on January 12. Below is a list of screenings from then until a May 18 event that celebrated the Rbmc’s first full year of existence.
The films and filmmakers selected to screen by Frye and Eros represent an interesting time in the sphere of avant-garde and experimental cinema. Up until this point, there seemed to be a distinct separation between the formal style of, say, structuralism, and the more raucous, punk rock world of the “underground.” However, in the 1990s, these two worlds appear to be colliding. The Rbmc seemed just as content screening Hollis Frampton‘s Critical Mass (Feb.
- 6/17/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This is Part Two in a series about Chicago’s Experimental Film Coalition; and covers their screening series. You can read Part One here.
Formed in 1983, the Experimental Film Coalition started holding regular monthly screenings starting in 1984. The screenings brought to Chicago the work of independent, experimental filmmakers across the country, as well as screening local work.
Screenings were held at the Randolph Street Gallery, an alternative performance and exhibition space located at 756 N. Milwaukee Ave. The Gallery eventually closed down in 1998 and donated their archives to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; which exhibits some of the Coalition’s flyers on their website.
Below is a sample of screening information culled from those archives, listed in chronological order:
1984
March 23
2 Razor Blades, dir. Paul Sharits
Make Me Psychic, dir. Sally Cruikshank
Unsere Afrikareise, dir. Peter Kubelka
Roslyn Romance, dir. Bruce Baillie
Musical Poster #1, dir. Len Lye
April 27
Rainbow Dance,...
Formed in 1983, the Experimental Film Coalition started holding regular monthly screenings starting in 1984. The screenings brought to Chicago the work of independent, experimental filmmakers across the country, as well as screening local work.
Screenings were held at the Randolph Street Gallery, an alternative performance and exhibition space located at 756 N. Milwaukee Ave. The Gallery eventually closed down in 1998 and donated their archives to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; which exhibits some of the Coalition’s flyers on their website.
Below is a sample of screening information culled from those archives, listed in chronological order:
1984
March 23
2 Razor Blades, dir. Paul Sharits
Make Me Psychic, dir. Sally Cruikshank
Unsere Afrikareise, dir. Peter Kubelka
Roslyn Romance, dir. Bruce Baillie
Musical Poster #1, dir. Len Lye
April 27
Rainbow Dance,...
- 12/17/2017
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Há Terra!I want to apologize for providing this Wavelengths avant-garde preview a little later than I might've liked. Hell, given that it's been over a week since movies died, I'm not exactly sure how much more kindling I can chuck onto the pyre. But I should remark that compared with previous years' iterations of the Tiff Wavelengths series, 2016 does feel a bit...off. I'm chiefly referring to the experimental short films here. (My second part, addressing the Wavelengths features, will be along in a matter of days.) Make no mistake. There's plenty of great work in this year's programs. But I do feel that the disparity this year between the truly exceptional films and the mediocre-to-not-very-good ones is markedly high.I enjoy films, and more than this, I enjoy enjoying them. I hardly get my kicks by being a nattering nabob of negativity. But programmers have to work with what is available to them,...
- 9/13/2016
- MUBI
Get your beret and warm up the espresso! Some of the most famous deep-dish art film is here -- in HD -- starting with attempts to translate various art 'isms' to the screen, to graphics-oriented abstractions, to 'city symphonies' to the dream visions of Maya Deren and beyond. The careful remasters reproduce proper projection speeds and original music. Masterworks of American Avant-Garde Experimental Film 1920-1970 Blu-ray + DVD Flicker Alley 1920-1970 / B&W and Color / 1:33 full frame / 418 min. / Street Date October 6, 2015 / 59.95 With films by James Agee, Kenneth Anger, Bruce Baillie, Stan Brakhage, James Broughton, Rudolph Burckhardt, Mary Ellen Bute, Joseph Cornell, Jim Davis, Maya Deren, Marcel Duchamp, Emien Etting, Oksar Fischinger, Robert Florey, Amy Greenfield, A. Hackenschmied, Alexander Hammid, Hillary Harris, Hy Hirsh, Ian Hugo, Lawrence Janiac, Lawrence Jordan, Owen Land, Francis Lee, Fernand Léger, Helen Levitt, Jan Leyda, Janice Loeb, Jonas Mekas, Marie Menken, Dudley Murphy, Ted Nemeth, Bernard O'Brien,...
- 10/6/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Why don’t we take humor seriously? There have been exceptions to the pattern. Bruce Conner’s films were funny, but he “made up” for it by having an instantly recognizable style. The avant-garde comic whose work has probably been afforded the most serious attention over the years is Owen Land, but this is owing to the nature of his jokes. They are academic, abstruse and deeply hermetic, lending them an air of the “funny-strange” that offsets any perceived frivolity in his moments of “funny-ha-ha” (jokes about salted plums, giant pandas or outright parodies of Hollis Frampton). As I often point out, P. Adams Sitney’s classic tome Visionary Film, now in its third edition, addresses pranksters George and Mike Kuchar in a single sentence, which strikes me as damning evidence for the prosecution.>> - Michael Sicinski...
- 9/22/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
Why don’t we take humor seriously? There have been exceptions to the pattern. Bruce Conner’s films were funny, but he “made up” for it by having an instantly recognizable style. The avant-garde comic whose work has probably been afforded the most serious attention over the years is Owen Land, but this is owing to the nature of his jokes. They are academic, abstruse and deeply hermetic, lending them an air of the “funny-strange” that offsets any perceived frivolity in his moments of “funny-ha-ha” (jokes about salted plums, giant pandas or outright parodies of Hollis Frampton). As I often point out, P. Adams Sitney’s classic tome Visionary Film, now in its third edition, addresses pranksters George and Mike Kuchar in a single sentence, which strikes me as damning evidence for the prosecution.>> - Michael Sicinski...
- 9/22/2014
- Keyframe
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
by MoreHorror.com
The world premier of the Post-Apocalyptic Noir feature Way Down In Chinatown will be at the Hollywood Fringe Festival on June 15th. Check out the full details below.
From the Press Release:
Described by the director as the "best damn thing out of old Hollywood town since Von Stronheim’S Greed". The 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival in conjunction with We Make Movies’ Wmm Fest is proud to present a preview screening of feature film Way Down In Chinatown. Written and directed by Emk (alias for director Eric Michael Kochmer, a protégé of experimental filmmaker/artist George Landow aka Owen Land) - and co-produced by Maria Olsen of MOnsterworks66, who can also be seen playing Bob - WDiC chronicles over-sexed theater couple, playwright Victor and director Jessica Mitchum who while creating a performance piece about the apocalypse begin experiencing the world slowly falling apart. They are slowly seduced by...
The world premier of the Post-Apocalyptic Noir feature Way Down In Chinatown will be at the Hollywood Fringe Festival on June 15th. Check out the full details below.
From the Press Release:
Described by the director as the "best damn thing out of old Hollywood town since Von Stronheim’S Greed". The 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival in conjunction with We Make Movies’ Wmm Fest is proud to present a preview screening of feature film Way Down In Chinatown. Written and directed by Emk (alias for director Eric Michael Kochmer, a protégé of experimental filmmaker/artist George Landow aka Owen Land) - and co-produced by Maria Olsen of MOnsterworks66, who can also be seen playing Bob - WDiC chronicles over-sexed theater couple, playwright Victor and director Jessica Mitchum who while creating a performance piece about the apocalypse begin experiencing the world slowly falling apart. They are slowly seduced by...
- 6/5/2013
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Watch On Spec (David Phelps, 2012, 23') online:
http://vimeo.com/55713368
Notes
Notas (traducidas)
On Spec is being distributed by Lumière and is available to watch online December 19, 2012 - January 2, 2012
______
All audio recorded 12/13/12 at approximately 1am
_____
***
***
Credits (approx 60-90 seconds)
Credits are written out by hand on a blank notepad. “Specters of the Age (Myths/Comedies): On Spec,” “August 17, 2011,” “Credit,” (with names) “Thank you,” (with names). Quote: “Owe a bank a thousand dollars, the bank owns you. Owe a bank one hundred million dollars, you own the bank.” — American proverb
—Outline for On Spec, 8/16/11
"...But, as my first (film) film, it’s a start, even if trying to extract some trace of something redeemingly real from this speculative world seems as dubious a venture, in 2012, as not trying at all. "
—Notes to On Spec, August 20, 2012
***
***
"Went to Ma today to color-correct [film], and good thing too: guy would have naturalized it all,...
http://vimeo.com/55713368
Notes
Notas (traducidas)
On Spec is being distributed by Lumière and is available to watch online December 19, 2012 - January 2, 2012
______
All audio recorded 12/13/12 at approximately 1am
_____
***
***
Credits (approx 60-90 seconds)
Credits are written out by hand on a blank notepad. “Specters of the Age (Myths/Comedies): On Spec,” “August 17, 2011,” “Credit,” (with names) “Thank you,” (with names). Quote: “Owe a bank a thousand dollars, the bank owns you. Owe a bank one hundred million dollars, you own the bank.” — American proverb
—Outline for On Spec, 8/16/11
"...But, as my first (film) film, it’s a start, even if trying to extract some trace of something redeemingly real from this speculative world seems as dubious a venture, in 2012, as not trying at all. "
—Notes to On Spec, August 20, 2012
***
***
"Went to Ma today to color-correct [film], and good thing too: guy would have naturalized it all,...
- 12/20/2012
- by gina telaroli
- MUBI
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
Looking back at 2011 on what films moved and impressed us it becomes more and more clear—to me at least—that watching old films is a crucial part of making new films meaningful. Thus, our end of year poll, now an annual tradition, which calls upon our writers to pick both a new and an old film: they were challenged to choose a new film they saw in 2011—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they also saw in 2011 to create a unique double feature. Many contributors chose their favorites of 2011, some picked out-of-the-way gems, others made some pretty strange connections—and some frankly just want to create a kerfuffle. All the contributors were asked to write a paragraph explaining their 2011 fantasy double feature. What's more, each writer was given the option to list more pairings, with or without explanation, as further imaginative...
- 1/5/2012
- MUBI
"The second-to-last interview that Pier Paolo Pasolini gave before he was murdered in 1975 (a case that still remains mysterious) and that was long believed lost has turned up," reports the New Yorker's Richard Brody. "Eric Loret and Robert Maggiori tell the story in Libération — Pasolini was introducing his work in Sweden, a round-table discussion was recorded for broadcast, then held, then lost, until his Swedish translator, Carl Henrik Svenstedt, recently found his personal recording of the talk. The Italian weekly L'Espresso has published a partial transcript of the discussion, along with the audio recording." And he's got excerpts. For example: "I consider consumerism to be a Fascism worse than the classical one, because clerical Fascism didn't really transform Italians, didn't enter into them. It was a totalitarian state but not a totalizing one."
In other news. "This month Offscreen groups together (four of the five) essays that attempt to illuminate...
In other news. "This month Offscreen groups together (four of the five) essays that attempt to illuminate...
- 12/30/2011
- MUBI
Fake Fruit Factory from Guergana Tzatchkov on Vimeo.
"Every year, Librarian of Congress James H Billington personally selects which films will be added to the National Film Registry, working from a list of suggestions from the library’s National Film Preservation Board and the general public," reports Ann Hornaday for the Washington Post. This year's list of 25 films slated for preservation:
Allures (Jordan Belson, 1961) Bambi (Walt Disney, 1942) The Big Heat (Fritz Lang, 1953) A Computer Animated Hand (Pixar, 1972) Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (Robert Drew, 1963) The Cry of the Children (George Nichols, 1912) A Cure for Pokeritis (Laurence Trimble, 1912) El Mariachi (Robert Rodriguez, 1992) Faces (John Cassavetes, 1968) Fake Fruit Factory (Chick Strand, 1986) Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994) Growing Up Female (Jim Klein and Julia Reichert, 1971) Hester Street (Joan Micklin Silver, 1975) I, an Actress (George Kuchar, 1977) The Iron Horse (John Ford, 1924) The Kid (Charlie Chaplin, 1921) The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder, 1945) The Negro Soldier (Stuart Heisler,...
"Every year, Librarian of Congress James H Billington personally selects which films will be added to the National Film Registry, working from a list of suggestions from the library’s National Film Preservation Board and the general public," reports Ann Hornaday for the Washington Post. This year's list of 25 films slated for preservation:
Allures (Jordan Belson, 1961) Bambi (Walt Disney, 1942) The Big Heat (Fritz Lang, 1953) A Computer Animated Hand (Pixar, 1972) Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (Robert Drew, 1963) The Cry of the Children (George Nichols, 1912) A Cure for Pokeritis (Laurence Trimble, 1912) El Mariachi (Robert Rodriguez, 1992) Faces (John Cassavetes, 1968) Fake Fruit Factory (Chick Strand, 1986) Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994) Growing Up Female (Jim Klein and Julia Reichert, 1971) Hester Street (Joan Micklin Silver, 1975) I, an Actress (George Kuchar, 1977) The Iron Horse (John Ford, 1924) The Kid (Charlie Chaplin, 1921) The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder, 1945) The Negro Soldier (Stuart Heisler,...
- 12/30/2011
- MUBI
A terrific year for avant-garde film and video--much more so than had been forecast for 2011- -was matched by mid-year woe and commemorative celebration as a string of successive losses reminded us that many of the great, pioneering voices of the sixties and seventies (largely considered the “second wave” of cinematic avant-gardists, some limning the “New American Cinema”) were dying off, or nearing the end of their lives. 2011 brought with it the passing of Lithuanian-born anarchic filmmaker Adolfas Mekas, legendary animator Robert Breer, enigmatic prankster Owen Land (a.k.a. George Landow), visual music animator Jordan Belson, the inimitable underground camp supernova, trash enthusiast and twin extraordinaire George Kuchar, as well as Chilean-French master Raoul Ruiz and British bad boy Ken Russell, both avant-garde in their own amazing, hallucinatory (and very different!) ways. And yet, to proclaim a ceremonial changing of the guard would be...
- 12/29/2011
- Indiewire
The "Hammer Horror" on the cover of the new 49th issue of Cinema Scope refers to Kill List, "which strikes me as the key horror movie of the new century so far," writes Adam Nayman, introducing his interview with director Ben Wheatley. Before moving on to the rest of the issue, let me note that Marcus Hearn has a relatively new book out about the original Hammer, The Hammer Vault: Treasures From the Archive of Hammer Films and Kimberly Lindbergs talks with him about it for Movie Morlocks. It's one of her favorite film-related books of the year and, at the Playlist, Drew Taylor gives it an "A."
But back to Cinema Scope. Olivier Père talks with William Friedkin about Killer Joe and, in something of a coup, Jp Sniadecki scores an interview with Ai Weiwei: "He is not officially allowed to give interviews, nor to produce any films,...
But back to Cinema Scope. Olivier Père talks with William Friedkin about Killer Joe and, in something of a coup, Jp Sniadecki scores an interview with Ai Weiwei: "He is not officially allowed to give interviews, nor to produce any films,...
- 12/23/2011
- MUBI
The National Film Preservation Foundation has recently announced that they will be producing a second DVD set of avant-garde short films that will be released in 2013. The box set will be entitled Treasures 6: Next Wave Avant-Garde and will explore “how avant-garde film took root and spread after the 1950s as the next generation embraced diversity and forged connections with conceptual and performance art.”
Treasures 6 is the follow-up project to the amazing Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947-1986 that the Nfpf released in 2009. This new collection will include 5 1/2 hours of about two-dozen films on a 2-disc set. Although no specific film titles that will be included on Treasures 6 have been announced yet, the Nfpf says that none of these films have ever been released on DVD before and that many of them have not even been available as good quality prints for many years.
The films chosen will come from...
Treasures 6 is the follow-up project to the amazing Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947-1986 that the Nfpf released in 2009. This new collection will include 5 1/2 hours of about two-dozen films on a 2-disc set. Although no specific film titles that will be included on Treasures 6 have been announced yet, the Nfpf says that none of these films have ever been released on DVD before and that many of them have not even been available as good quality prints for many years.
The films chosen will come from...
- 12/8/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
P. Adams Sitney writes a very moving obituary for his friend George Landow, aka Owen Land, for Artforum. Landow was a very mysterious person and if anyone got close to actually knowing him, it would be Sitney, who befriended the filmmaker when they were just teenagers. Landow’s history is a sad one, but Sitney sheds some light on it all, particularly on how Landow’s lifelong poor physical condition influenced his behavior.Experimental filmmaker Paul Clipson — a favorite around these parts — presents several of composer Bernard Herrmann’s most famous music cues with analysis.Congrats to the SnuffBox Films blog for still publishing after four years. Don’t see too many make it that long. So, how is publisher/filmmaker Rups celebrating? By putting together a new music video!Donna k. recounts her experience with filmmaker Werner Herzog in an elevator.Myriapod Journal has been posting updates on what they’re working on.
- 11/6/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
"He died destitute." In the new Artforum, P Adams Sitney remembers George Landow, explaining towards the end of the piece how and why the late filmmaker changed his name to Owen Land. But for now: "Our friendship predated our memory: We had been born in the same apartment building in New Haven, just 32 days apart, both the only children of parents in their late 30s. Together as teenagers we had pored over the films of Brakhage, Maya Deren, and Gregory Markopoulos; read Joyce, Beckett, and Ionesco aloud to each other. But there were many times when he retreated into his illness and refused to see me or any of his friends…. He was even widely believed to have died shortly before his suspended work in progress Undesirables (Condensed Version) (1999), a satire on the pretensions of avant-garde filmmakers." He didn't actually die, though, of course, until June 8 of this year. He...
- 11/1/2011
- MUBI
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 East Village's Anthology Film Archives, which was just acknowledged by the Village Voice for its programming, has announced its schedule for the next two months. Highlights include retrospectives of Joyce Weiland, John Samson, Owen Land and Robert Breer, as well as the theatrical premiere of Anthology founder Jonas Mekas' new feature, "Sleepness Nights Stories," which features Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Ken Jacobs and Marina Abramovic. Full schedule below: Anthology ...
- 10/25/2011
- Indiewire
For fans of experimental film, 2011 has been a year of heavy losses. Yet even as we mourn the deaths of pioneer filmmakers including Jordan Belson, George Kuchar, George Landow (aka Owen Land), and Adolphas Mekas, the 2011 Wavelengths programs at the Toronto International Film Festival indicated that experimental film is alive and well… and living in Canada.
Aberration of Light: Dark Chamber Disclosure is a site-specific live projection performance that was a highlight of this year’s festival. In the projection booth, Brooklyn-based artists Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder distilled a found 35mm commercial film print into rich, gorgeous beams of light that danced on the screen, the auditorium walls, and the faces of the rapt, dreamy spectators who filled the theatere at the Ontario Gallery of Art. (The movie that was the basis for the work was never identified to the audience, and the artists have never watched it in its entirety.
Aberration of Light: Dark Chamber Disclosure is a site-specific live projection performance that was a highlight of this year’s festival. In the projection booth, Brooklyn-based artists Sandra Gibson and Luis Recoder distilled a found 35mm commercial film print into rich, gorgeous beams of light that danced on the screen, the auditorium walls, and the faces of the rapt, dreamy spectators who filled the theatere at the Ontario Gallery of Art. (The movie that was the basis for the work was never identified to the audience, and the artists have never watched it in its entirety.
- 9/18/2011
- by Livia Bloom
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Underground Us film-maker who later parodied his early experimental work
A question that one should never ask an experimental film-maker is: "What is your film about?" George Landow, who has died unexpectedly aged 67, would probably have responded: "It's about eight minutes." Along with many other "structural" American film directors in the 1960s and 1970s, Landow – who changed his name to the semi-anagram Owen Land in 1977 – rejected linear narrative, giving primacy to the shape and essence of film. "I didn't want to make films that were narrative. I found the whole traditional narrative approach was really non-visual," he commented.
This is demonstrated in the self-explanatory title of Landow's Film in Which There Appear Edge Lettering, Sprocket Holes, Dirt Particles, Etc (1966). What he called "the dirtiest film ever made" consists of four identical images of a blinking woman, off-centre, made to appear as a loop without a beginning and end, giving prominence...
A question that one should never ask an experimental film-maker is: "What is your film about?" George Landow, who has died unexpectedly aged 67, would probably have responded: "It's about eight minutes." Along with many other "structural" American film directors in the 1960s and 1970s, Landow – who changed his name to the semi-anagram Owen Land in 1977 – rejected linear narrative, giving primacy to the shape and essence of film. "I didn't want to make films that were narrative. I found the whole traditional narrative approach was really non-visual," he commented.
This is demonstrated in the self-explanatory title of Landow's Film in Which There Appear Edge Lettering, Sprocket Holes, Dirt Particles, Etc (1966). What he called "the dirtiest film ever made" consists of four identical images of a blinking woman, off-centre, made to appear as a loop without a beginning and end, giving prominence...
- 8/28/2011
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
This week’s Must Read: The Brooklyn Rail offers up a eulogy for Adolfas Mekas by gathering comments from the likes of P. Adams Sitney, Peggy Ahwesh, Ken Jacobs and other colleagues/contemporaries. Mekas passed away in May.The Guardian got a rare interview with Jean-Luc Godard who has declared that we are all auteurs now. Good.If you hadn’t heard, structural film pioneer Owen Land passed away last month, but news of his passing only came late last week. I think Lux has the best, most detailed obit for him. Although, the Office Baroque Gallery has a very passionate one — and I think initial word of Land’s death came from them.More Land: Making Light of It posts a scan of an interview with him conducted by P. Adams Sitney from Film Culture. (I actually happen to own two issues of Film Culture, one of which includes this great interview.
- 7/17/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Experimental Cinema is reporting the sad news that structural film pioneer Owen Land died last month on June 8. The cause of death isn’t being reported, but he was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment.
Born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1944, Land was born as George Landow. Land described his initial approach to filmmaking as applying a “painterly way of thinking” to film production in an interview with P. Adams Sitney in a 1969 issue of the magazine Film Culture. However, that style soon also incorporated Land’s spiritual and philosophical interests.
His most popular early works are 1963′s Fleming Faloon, in which Land attempted to create the illusion of depth on the movie screen’s flat surface; 1967′s Bardo Follies, a meditative film in which Land created the illusion of a burning movie screen; 1968′s The Film That Rises to the Surface of Clarified Butter, in which an animator...
Born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1944, Land was born as George Landow. Land described his initial approach to filmmaking as applying a “painterly way of thinking” to film production in an interview with P. Adams Sitney in a 1969 issue of the magazine Film Culture. However, that style soon also incorporated Land’s spiritual and philosophical interests.
His most popular early works are 1963′s Fleming Faloon, in which Land attempted to create the illusion of depth on the movie screen’s flat surface; 1967′s Bardo Follies, a meditative film in which Land created the illusion of a burning movie screen; 1968′s The Film That Rises to the Surface of Clarified Butter, in which an animator...
- 7/14/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Feb. 18
8:00 p.m.
Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N. Clark St.
Chicago, Il 60640
Hosted by: Chicago Filmmakers
Into Eternity is a documentary directed by Michael Madsen (not the American actor) about the construction of an extensive underground containment system for radioactive waste in Finland.
However, instead of a straight-up scientific tour of the location or an examination of the political ramifications of constructing such a place, Madsen has crafted a poetic meditation on the nature of time as this underground bunker must store this deadly material for over 100,000 years.
The location that is being excavated is called Onkalo, or “hiding place,” and is situated near the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant. It is being constructed in accordance of the Finnish Nuclear Energy Act, which mandates that all of Finland’s nuclear waste must be disposed of in country. Currently, the project is still in the process of excavating and examining the bedrock 520 metres beneath the Earth.
8:00 p.m.
Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N. Clark St.
Chicago, Il 60640
Hosted by: Chicago Filmmakers
Into Eternity is a documentary directed by Michael Madsen (not the American actor) about the construction of an extensive underground containment system for radioactive waste in Finland.
However, instead of a straight-up scientific tour of the location or an examination of the political ramifications of constructing such a place, Madsen has crafted a poetic meditation on the nature of time as this underground bunker must store this deadly material for over 100,000 years.
The location that is being excavated is called Onkalo, or “hiding place,” and is situated near the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant. It is being constructed in accordance of the Finnish Nuclear Energy Act, which mandates that all of Finland’s nuclear waste must be disposed of in country. Currently, the project is still in the process of excavating and examining the bedrock 520 metres beneath the Earth.
- 2/16/2011
- by screenings
- Underground Film Journal
Aug. 27
8:00 p.m.
Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N. Clark
Chicago, Il
Hosted by: Chicago Filmmakers
As summer starts to wind down, take a riotous trip back to the fun-filled ’80s with a collection of goofy short films, spoofs, music videos and documentaries from the Reagan era. The good times will roll with music from the Residents, Ron and Nancy promoting drug use, an Academy Award-nominated short film and work from SNL alumni.
The full lineup of films that will be screened — in glorious 16mm! — is below, but some of the highlights are: Solly’s Diner, 4 a.m., an Academy Award-nominated short film starring and directed by cult character actor Larry Hankin, most well known as the “other” Kramer on Seinfeld. Java Junkie is a short film directed by former SNL writer/actor/director Tom Schiller and stars ’80s comedy movie icon Terri Garr.
There’s also four One-Minute Movies featuring oddball indie rock band The Residents.
8:00 p.m.
Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N. Clark
Chicago, Il
Hosted by: Chicago Filmmakers
As summer starts to wind down, take a riotous trip back to the fun-filled ’80s with a collection of goofy short films, spoofs, music videos and documentaries from the Reagan era. The good times will roll with music from the Residents, Ron and Nancy promoting drug use, an Academy Award-nominated short film and work from SNL alumni.
The full lineup of films that will be screened — in glorious 16mm! — is below, but some of the highlights are: Solly’s Diner, 4 a.m., an Academy Award-nominated short film starring and directed by cult character actor Larry Hankin, most well known as the “other” Kramer on Seinfeld. Java Junkie is a short film directed by former SNL writer/actor/director Tom Schiller and stars ’80s comedy movie icon Terri Garr.
There’s also four One-Minute Movies featuring oddball indie rock band The Residents.
- 8/23/2010
- by screenings
- Underground Film Journal
First the history, then the list:
In 1969, Jerome Hill, P. Adams Sitney, Peter Kubelka, Stan Brakhage, and Jonas Mekas decided to open the world’s first museum devoted to film. Of course, a typical museum hangs its collections of artwork on the wall for visitors to walk up to and study. However, a film museum needs special considerations on how — and what, of course — to present its collection to the public.
Thus, for this film museum, first a film selection committee was formed that included James Broughton, Ken Kelman, Peter Kubelka, Jonas Mekas and P. Adams Sitney, plus, for a time, Stan Brakhage. This committee met over the course of several months to decide exactly what films would be collected and how they would be shown. The final selection of films would come to be called the The Essential Cinema Repertory.
The Essential Cinema Collection that the committee came up with consisted of about 330 films.
In 1969, Jerome Hill, P. Adams Sitney, Peter Kubelka, Stan Brakhage, and Jonas Mekas decided to open the world’s first museum devoted to film. Of course, a typical museum hangs its collections of artwork on the wall for visitors to walk up to and study. However, a film museum needs special considerations on how — and what, of course — to present its collection to the public.
Thus, for this film museum, first a film selection committee was formed that included James Broughton, Ken Kelman, Peter Kubelka, Jonas Mekas and P. Adams Sitney, plus, for a time, Stan Brakhage. This committee met over the course of several months to decide exactly what films would be collected and how they would be shown. The final selection of films would come to be called the The Essential Cinema Repertory.
The Essential Cinema Collection that the committee came up with consisted of about 330 films.
- 5/3/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
So, I’m currently working on a big research project, the results of which won’t be seen unless you happen to be poring through Bad Lit’s sister site the Underground Film Guide — and the way that site is woefully under-updated, why would you?
The Ufg, as I like to call it, is a database project of underground filmmakers and films. Recently I decided to halt adding new entries and to make the old filmmaker entries I previously uploaded more comprehensive. One way I’m doing that is going through books on underground film and, if a filmmaker is written up in each book, I’ll add that book’s info to the filmmaker’s profile. If you’re interested and want an idea of what I’m talking about, go look at John Waters’ entry and scroll down to the book section.
One book that is a tremendous...
The Ufg, as I like to call it, is a database project of underground filmmakers and films. Recently I decided to halt adding new entries and to make the old filmmaker entries I previously uploaded more comprehensive. One way I’m doing that is going through books on underground film and, if a filmmaker is written up in each book, I’ll add that book’s info to the filmmaker’s profile. If you’re interested and want an idea of what I’m talking about, go look at John Waters’ entry and scroll down to the book section.
One book that is a tremendous...
- 4/17/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
“So, how’s that avant-garde film you’re working on going?” Hopefully, that question will be met with a fun, answer like “Oh great, it’s a really interesting project.” However, director Ben Lazarus has documented the resentful feelings of the disgruntled crew who worked on Owen Land’s Dialogues, which was filmed in Los Angeles. In the Land of Owen, which features footage not in the original film, is a documentary of the aftermath of a film production gone haywire. Word of warning: This video is Nsfw as it contains lots of nudity.
Owen Land was born as George Landow and, under that name, made several underground films from the mid-’60s to the late ’70s. According to underground film historian Fred Camper, Landow’s early work pre-dated the Structuralist film movement, but then he moved into making comedic films, many of which mocked institutional and educational filmmaking.
Then,...
Owen Land was born as George Landow and, under that name, made several underground films from the mid-’60s to the late ’70s. According to underground film historian Fred Camper, Landow’s early work pre-dated the Structuralist film movement, but then he moved into making comedic films, many of which mocked institutional and educational filmmaking.
Then,...
- 1/9/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Migrating Forms, the festival formed out of the ashes of the now-defunct New York Underground Film Festival, has announced the lineup for their first installment, to take place at New York's Anthology Film Archives next month. In addition to new works by Sharon Lockhart and Owen Land, Forms will present two films we've covered previously, Alejandro Adams' Canary (right; we interviewed Adams when the film debuted last month at Cinequest) and Jessica Oreck's Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo (see our <a href="../../../2009/0 ...
- 3/25/2009
- by Karina Longworth
- Spout
ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands -- The Rotterdam International Film Festival is set to screen 700 titles during its 34th edition. Titles from U.S. filmmakers including Alexander Payne ("Sideways"), Todd Solondz ("Palindromes"), Jon Jost ("Homecoming") and Shane Carruth ("Primer") and a retrospective on the early works of experimental director Owen Land are on the slate unveiled Friday by organizers. But a spat between Dutch distributor Contact Film and the event will mean a slew of highly anticipated films from such directors as Tony Gatlif ("Exils"), Raymond Depardon ("10e chambre -- Instants d'audience"), Jia Zhang Ke ("The World"), Pablo Stoll ("Whiskey") and Apichatpong Weerasethakul ("Tropical Malady") will not be included in the Rotterdam program, organizers said. The difference of opinion surrounds the Rotterdam organizers' policy not to pay Dutch distributors for their titles. Movies usually get three screenings during the festival, and for years the festival and the private and subsidized distributors have not exchanged fees.
- 12/17/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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