Two Events at the Rotunda

There are a couple of interesting events at the Rotunda (40th/Walnut) in University City tonight and tomorrow.

Tonight, Thursday, April 16, 6:30pm, Polak Van Bekkum, a media art collaboration based in Amsterdam, will be screening and discussing their 250 Miles Crossing Philadelphia project, a data-mapping that pairs Google Earth imagery to GPS recordings of Philadelphians as they navigate the city. You can check out the trailer at Vimeo. Tickets available online.

Tomorrow, April 17, 8:00pm, is a program of Ciné-Roman works combining elements of still photography and the novel to create a cinema-like experience. Curated by J. Louise Makary, the program includes a wide range of works. Admission free.

Film of the Week: Rare Markopoulos screening

Next Wednesday, The International House will be screening Gregory Markopoulos's Illiac Passion. Those familiar with Markopolous will know how rare screenings of his work are. A key figure in the postwar American avant-garde, he removed his films form circulation during his lifetime. Since then, his partner Robert Beavers has been giving limited screenings.  So we're getting a chance of seeing 16mm prints that for a long time were not screened in the US.

On one hand, Markopolous's style is not the most immediately accessible. He has a fondness for rigorous formal montage, cutting as often as every second in regular repetitions. And while his films involve narratives of sorts, they are highly oblique and mythological. (Illiac Passion retells the story of Prometheus.) On the other hand, he had a lush hand with color, equal to Kenneth Anger's. 

The Illiac Passion

International House

Wednesday 9/17

7:00 pm

dir. Gregory Markopoulos, US, 1967, 16mm, 92 min.

Introduced by Robert Beavers and Mark Webber 

Co-presented with Cinema Studies at the University of Pennsylvania 

Michael Snow at PMA

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is having a film series of Michael Snow's work, starting tonight:

The Films of Michael Snow: Program A
Wavelength (1966–67); Standard Time (1967–68, with Joyce Wieland); and One Second in Montreal (1969)
By exploring individual cinematic techniques, such as camera zooms and pans, these films reveal Michael Snow’s interest in how films affect our perception of time and space.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Friday, February 21, 2014, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

The Films of Michael Snow: Program B
See You Later (Au Revoir) (1990); and To Lavoisier, Who Died in the Reign of Terror (1991)
Michael Snow appears in two films produced in 1990s, both of which are concerned with breaking down basic ideas we hold about cinema, such as the physical properties of celluloid and Hollywood’s narrative drive, to push film towards greater abstraction.

Friday, February 7, 2014, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

The Films of Michael Snow: Program C
Reverberlin (2006) 
Incorporating concert footage of the free improvisational ensemble CCMC (Paul Dutton, John Oswald, Michael Snow), Reverberlin weaves together images and sounds from performances that have taken place across the globe.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Films works screened on 16mm at the Van Pelt Auditorium. (free tickets required, presumably in addition to admission). This film program is guest-curated by filmmaker and writer J. Louise Makary.

Fringe Philadelphia events

PIFVA has updated their calendar and are listing the remaining media-oriented events in the Philly Fringe festival.

Region Centrale showing tonight

The International House is showing Michael Snow's La Région Centrale, perhaps a magnum opus of structural experimental film. Be forewarned about the running time!


La Région Centrale was made during five days of shooting on a deserted mountain top in North Quebec. During the shooting, the vertical and horizontal alignment as well as the tracking speed were all determined by the camera’s settings. Anchored to a tripod, the camera turned a complete 360 degrees, craned itself skyward, and circled in all directions. Because of the unconventional camera movement, the result was more than merely a film that documented the film location’s landscape. Surpassing that, this became a film expressing as its themes the cosmic relationships of space and time. Cataloged here were the raw images of a mountain existence, plunged (at that time) in its distance from civilization, embedded in cosmic cycles of light and darkness, warmth and cold.

Michael Snow, Quebec, 1971, 180 min, 16mm, color

International House

Monday, April 2

7:00 pm

Experimental: Austrian Avant-Garde and Canyon Cinema

There are two screenings of experimental work at the International House this week. The first, part of the "Archive Fever" series, features found-footage compilation films by Austrian avant-garde makers. The program is tomorrow (Wednesday) and starts at 7:00PM.

Tito-Material
dir. Elke Groen, Austria, 1998, 16mm, 5 mins, color

14. März 1938-Ein Nachmittag
dir. Christoph Weihrich, Austria, 2008, 16mm, 10 mins ,color

Notes on Film 05 CONFERENCE
dir. Norbert Pfaffenbichler, Austria, 2011, 35mm, 8 mins, color

Oceano Nox
dir. Georg Wasner, Austria, 2011, HDCAM, 15 mins, color

Coming Attractions
dir. Peter Tscherkassky, Austria, 2010, 35mm, 25 mins, color and b/w

Dichtung und Wahrheit (Poetry and Truth)
dir. Peter Kubelka, Austria, 1996-2003, 35mm, 13 mins, color

To the Happy Few
dir. Thomas Draschan, Austria, 2003, 16mm, 4 mins, color, sound

Metropolen des Leichtsinns (Metropolis of Recklessness)
dir. Thomas Draschan, Austria, 2000, 16mm, 12 mins, color, sound

This Saturday, Feb. 11, a Bruce Baillie retrospective screens at 5:00pm, while a Chick Strand retrospective starts at 8:00pm.

Program 1, at 5PM: Bruce Baillie’s Early Canyon Cinema Years
Early Canyon Cinema Years comprises seven of Baillie’s films of the early Canyon years. Made between 1961 and 1966, they include canyon “CinemaNews” films as well as some of Baillie’s most famous early experimental works.

On Sundays
dir. Bruce Baillie, US, 1960-1961, 16mm, 27 mins, b/w, sound

The Gymnasts
dir. Bruce Baillie, US, 1961, 16mm, 8 mins, b/w, sound

Mr Hayashi
dir. Bruce Baillie, USA 1961, 16mm, 3 mins. b/w, sound

Here I Am
dir. Bruce Baillie, US, 1962, 16mm, 11 mins, b/w, sound

Termination
dir. Bruce Baillie, US, 1966, 16mm, 5 mins, b/w, sound

Mass For The Dakota Sioux
dir. Bruce Baillie, USA, 1963-1964, 16mm, 20 mins, b/w, sound

Castro Street
dir. Bruce Baillie, US, 1966, 16mm, 10 mins, color, sound

Program 2, at 8PM: Chick Strand: Beginnings, Ends and In-Betweens
This overview of Chick Strand includes both experimental and documentary works. In the mid-1960s, Strand left Canyon Cinema to move to Los Angeles where she began her own filmmaking career. Her intimate, sensual camerawork combined with an exploration of women’s personal and domestic worlds, make her films, shot largely in California and in Mexico, absolutely unique.

Waterfall
dir. Chick Strand, US, 1967, 16mm, 3 mins, color, sound

Kristallnacht
dir. Chick Strand, US, 1979, 16mm, 7 mins, b/w, sound

Soft Fiction
dir. Chick Strand, US, 1979, 16mm, 54 mins. b/w, sound

Señora con Flores
dir. Chick Strand, US, 2011, 16mm, 15 mins. color, sound

Full descriptions of the Austrian program and Canyon Cinema programs available from the website.

Bruce Conner Retrospective

(from Report)

This weekend is a Bruce Conner retrospective at the International House, cosponsored by Bryn Mawr's Film Studies program and introduced by film scholar Bruce Jenkins. It's a terrific opportunity to see Conner's work, famous both for its early exploration of the possibilities of found-footage filmmaking and for its accessible, humorous avant-garde ethos.

Program I
Friday, September 23 at 7:30pm

COSMIC RAY
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1961, 16mm, 4 mins, b/w

A MOVIE
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1958, 16mm, 12 mins, b/w

THE WHITE ROSE
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1967, 16mm, 7 mins, b/w

MARILYN TIMES FIVE
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1968-73, 16mm, 13 mins, b/w

VIVIAN
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1964, 16mm, 4 mins, b/w

TEN SECOND FILM
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1965, 16mm, 10 sec, b/w

BREAKAWAY
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1966, 16mm, 5 mins, b/w

MEA CULPA
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1981, 16mm, 5 mins, b/w

TAKE THE 5:10 TO DREAMLAND
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1977, 16mm, 5 mins, color

VALSE TRISTE
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1979, 16mm, 5 mins, b/w

HIS EYE ON THE SPARROW
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 2006, video, 4 mins, b/w and color

EASTER MORNING
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 2008, 16mm, 10 mins, color


Program II
Saturday, September 24 at 7pm

MONGOLOID
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1978, 16mm, 3 mins, b/w

AMERICA IS WAITING
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1981, 16mm, 4 mins, b/w

REPORT
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1963-67, 16mm, 13 mins, b/w

CROSSROADS
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1976, 35mm, 36 mins, b/w

LOOKING FOR MUSHROOMS
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1996, 16mm, 14 mins, b/w

Full descriptions available at the I-House site.

Music-Themed Secret Cinema

There are two Secret Cinema events this week. First, tonight (Wednesday, Aug 3) is a Velvet Undergound themed screening, Sister Ray Slam, at the Institute of Contemporary Art (118 S. 36th St.). It features rare Andy Warhol short films, including his Screen Tests, accompanied by live bands performing "Sister Ray." 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm. Admission free.

Friday is a fund-raising screening of Paul Anka films at The William Way Center to benefit the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania. Food and drink start at 6:00 pm. At 7:30 pm: Screening of Look in Any Window (1961), plus bonus short Lonely Boy, introduced by Richard Barrios. Admission: minimum tax-deductible donation of $20 advance at the AIDS Law Project site, $25 at the door. All funds raised will go to the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, a non-profit, public interest law firm that provides free legal services to people with HIV/AIDS and others affected by the epidemic.

Fuller descriptions of the films and bands available at the Secret Cinema website.

Pop Cinema series

A terrific series tomorrow and Friday at the International House:

Pop Cinema: Art and Film in the UK and US, 1950s – 1970s

Thursday, April 28 at 7pm
UK Pop

O, Dreamland
dir. Lindsay Anderson, 1953, 16mm, 12 mins, b/w
Mama Don’t Allow
dir. Karel Reisz and Tony Richardson, 1956, 16mm, 22 mins, b/w
Pop Goes the Easel
dir. Ken Russell, 1962, video transfer from 16mm, 45 mins, b/w
When I Was Young
dir. Peter Whitehead, 1965, video, 4 mins, color
Trilogy: Cineblatz; White Lite; Marvo Movie
dir. Jeff Keen, 1967-68, 16mm, 9 mins, color
Richard Hamilton
dir. James Scott, 1969, 16mm, 24 mins, color

Friday, April 29 at 7pm
US Pop

Jamestown Baloos
dir. Robert Breer, 1957, 16mm, 6 mins, color
Broadway by Light
dir. William Klein, 1958, 35mm, 12 mins, color
Achoo Mr. Karoochev
dir. Stan VanDerBeek, 1960, 16mm, 2 mins, color
I Was A Teenage Rumpot
George and Mike Kuchar, 1960, 16mm, 12 mins, color
COSMIC RAY
dir. Bruce Conner, 1962, 16mm, 4 mins, color
Wrestling
dir. Marie Menken, 1964, 16mm, 8 mins, color
Kustom Kar Kommandos
dir. Kenneth Anger 1965, 16mm, 3 mins, color
Oh Dem Watermelons
dir. Robert Nelson, 1965, 16mm, 11 mins, color
— —— (aka Short Line Long Line)
dir. Thom Andersen and Malcolm Brodwick, 1966-67, 16mm, 11 mins, color
Superartist
dir. Juan Drago, 1967, 16mm, 21 mins, color
American Time Capsule
dir. Chuck Braverman, 1968, 16mm, 3 mins, color
Rockflow
dir. Bob Cowan, 1968, 16mm, 9 mins, color
Airborn
dir. Chas Wyndham, 1969, 16mm, 3 mins, color
Up Against the Wall Miss America!
dir. Newsreel Group, 1968, video transfer from 16mm, 6 mins, b/w

Saturday, April 30 at 2pm
Pop Art and Cinema panel discussion with:

Derek Boshier, Artist and Filmmaker
William Kaizen, Assistant Professor of Aesthetics and Critical Studies, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Kalliopi Minioudaki, Art Historian
Jacob Proctor, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the University of Michigan Museum of Art

Saturday, April 30 at 7pm

Link
dir. Derek Boshier, 1970, video transfer from 16mm, 14 mins, color
Daddy
dir. Peter Whitehead and Niki de Saint Phalle, 1973, video, 90 mins, color

The curators may be taking a little bit of license in tying all of these films to Pop Art (then again I've not seen the majority of these), but with a screening of such hard to see experimental and documentary work from the 60s and 70s, who's quibbling? Having recently screened Momma Don't Allow, I was struck by how palpable the sense of a new cinematic vocabulary and a new postwar consumer prosperity was.

Peter Rose film screening

Language, Time, and Fiction - Six works by Peter Rose

Peter Rose will show six works that propose sly philosophical questions about consciousness and language, time and space, and appearance and reality. The screening will conclude with the Philadelphia premiere of a new work that presents a luminous nocturnal portrait of a vanished culture.

University of Pennsylvania
Van Pelt Film Studies Center
Room 425 Van Pelt Library

Thursday, April 14, 2011
5:00pm

Works on video format.

Temple Cinematheque: Experimental Shorts

The next screening in the Temple Cinematheque series will be a program of experimental shorts from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. All of the titles will be screened in 16mm:

Styx

Director: Jan Krawitz

16mm, b/w, 10 minutes, 1976

Jan Krawitz has been making documentary films for 35 years. Her work has been exhibited and awarded at film festivals in the United States and abroad, among them: In Harm's Way, Mirror Mirror, Drive-In Blues, Little People, Cotton Candy and Elephant Stuff, Afterimage, and Styx. Her film Styx is in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York. She is a Professor in the Graduate Program in Documentary Film and Video at Stanford University. She has a B.A. from Cornell and a Master of Fine Arts in Film from Temple University.

"...it quickly establishes a tempo, a rhythm, and an almost symphonic kind of form that brings the everyday into a superbly balanced conjunction with the realm of the extraordinary suggested by the title..."
San Francisco Chronicle

Necrology

Director: Standish Lawder

16mm, b/w, 11 minutes, 1969

An underground classic, cited by Richard Linklater (SLACKER, A SCANNER DARKLY), as one of his favorite shorts, NECROLOGY is an anthropological film about life and death in New York City - a roll call of the recently deceased. Shot in Grand Central Station, director Standish Lawder, who is best known for his photography, captured 12 minutes of anonymous commuters in their daily routine. The finished film shows lines of people ascending and disappearing into a shadowy abyss with the haunting suggestion of people on their eventless way to hell. Lawder added a lengthy list of bogus credits to the end for a touch of morbid humour that leaves viewers to ponder their own fate.

"The film is one of the strongest and grimmest comments upon the contemporary society that cinema has produced." Jonas Mekas, The Village Voice


Life is a Bitch and Then You Die
Director: Nina Gilberti

16mm, b/w, 5 minutes, 1985

Re-editing film footage from Joris Ivens’ 1928 silent film, THE BRIDGE, Nina Gilberti added music and narration to create a completely new work that is different in mood and meaning from what Ivens’ intended. The individual shots have been re-assembled to work more closely with the narrative content. Flipping shots and screen direction, combined with rapid editing and a frenetic score, the filmmaker offers us a humorous glimpse into the narrator’s thoughts and feelings.

Last Movement of a New World Symphony

Director: Nikola Kulish

16mm, color, 11 minutes, 1974

Using the music from the last movement of Dvorak’s New World symphony as a foundation, Kulish directed this harried tale of a man on a seemingly desperate mission. With a montage that rises and subsides in conjunction with the protagonist’s energy and resolve, the film compels us to empathize with the hero until he confronts what ultimately awaits him.

The program screens this Friday, April 8, at 3 PM in Annenberg Hall (Room 3), 13th and Norris St.

Visiting Filmmaker: Kathryn Ramey

Fall (Kathryn Ramey, 2006)

As part of the Visiting Filmmaker Series sponsored by Temple's Film and Media Arts department, filmmaker Kathryn Ramey will be discussing her work, which uses experimental film techniques to address anthropological and socio-cultural research.

The event starts at 5:15 in Temple's Annenberg Hall (13th and Norris), room 3.

Leighton Pierce

Still from Number One (2007)

Next Tuesday, the Film and Media Studies at Swarthmore College will be hosting an evening with film and video artist Leighton Pierce.

Tuesday, October 26, 7pm

Lang Performing Arts Center Cinema, Swarthmore College (Directions)

One of the most acclaimed and prolific experimental moving image artists working in the U.S. today, Leighton Pierce uses film, video, photography, and sound to create experiences in transformative time, executing all aspects of his works himself –conceptualization, cinematography, editing, sound design and composition. Pierce will present an hour-long program of his work including the area premieres of Retrograde Premonition and Sharp Edge Blunt, followed by Q&A. Pierce’s early interest in music, especially jazz and electronic music, and the construction of emotional experiences in time continue to guide his work. His work has been exhibited worldwide, including at the Museum of Modern Art, the Centre Georges Pompidou, and the Whitney Biennial. He teaches in the prestigious film program of the University of Iowa, where he has influenced many important experimental artists.

Rea Tajiri Retrospective

Tomorrow evening (Jun 6) at the Prince Theater, Scribe Video Center will be hosting a screening of my colleague Rea Tajiri's work. Tajiri's work straddles documentary, experimental, and narrative - ranging from her personal documentary, History and Memory, about her family's experience in internment during World War II, to her fictional drama Strawbery Fields (excerpts will be shown). Also showing will be a new work, (Bridge) River is Remembering and Little Murders, a "darkly comic musical." Screening begins at 7pm - 10$ with discounts for students and Scribe Center members.