Shrooms.This year’s edition of TIFF Wavelengths opened with an unannounced extra. It was a 1967 film called Standard Time, an eight-minute series of circular pans around an apartment. The camera speeds up and slows down; it pans right, then left, then right again. Later, the film describes a truncated arc, showing one small section of the flat. Then, the camera pans up and down. Living beings can be glimpsed along the way, most notably a cat perched in a window, artist Joyce Wieland, and a surprise visitor at the end. But they are given the same relative attention as the objects in the space: a TV, a stereo, a cooktop, a blender, and a hutch full of china. Which is to say that all things in the field of the camera’s vision are abstracted, turned into pure painterly velocity.Of course, Standard Time is by Michael Snow, a...
- 9/12/2023
- MUBI
Above: All My LifeFollowing the online presentations of the Ann Arbor, Oberhausen, and Images festivals, the San Francisco Cinematheque’s Crossroads festival is the latest experimental film showcase to go virtual in 2020. While the major international festivals take their own tentative steps into the brave new world of digital this month, these modest, more specialized events have already made commendable inroads into the realm of live-streaming and on-demand viewing. What’s at stake in each of these ventures is quite different, and worth outlining: whereas festivals like the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival work to combat piracy and appease the demands of sales companies with vested interest in who sees what movies when by limiting press accreditation and geo-blocking films by region, smaller festivals that focus on artists’ cinema have more ideological issues to consider. In this field, concerns over context and materiality take precedence...
- 9/23/2020
- MUBI
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSLuther Price's Sodom (1989)Experimental filmmaker Luther Price, best known for his reappropriation of found footage into vivid, often graphic and controversial painted images, has died. A number of available films, as well as a Q&a with Price, can be found here.Kirill Serebrennikov is set to direct a limited series based on the life of Andrei Tarkovsky. Due to the impact of the ongoing health crisis, the dates for next year's Oscars and BAFTA ceremonies have been pushed to April of 2021. Recommended VIEWINGThe official trailer for House of Hummingbird, Kim Bora's portrait of youth in 1990's Korea. Read our interview with Kim here.For GQ, martial artist Scott Adkins thoroughly breaks down fight scenes from movies like Ip Man, The Bourne Supremacy, and Rush Hour.A new short by David Lynch, The Story of a Small Bug,...
- 6/17/2020
- MUBI
Her Silent SeamingPerhaps more than most other forms of cinema, experimental film and video is an auteur’s medium through and through. Since the production model for avant-garde work is almost exclusively artisanal, with a single individual (or possibly a duo or an artists’ collective) making the work from a studio context similar to that or a sculptor or photographer, it only makes sense to consider these works are expressions of an artist’s point of view. As such, those of us who regularly engage with experimental work will inevitably use the artist as the primary mode of categorization—who to keep track of, who seems promising, etc.But there’s a bit more to it. One of the greatest joys of avant-garde filmgoing, as any fan will tell you, is seeing an expertly curated program of films, be they new short works, recontextualized classics, or some combination thereof. A...
- 1/22/2016
- by Michael Sicinski
- MUBI
Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
The Film Society at Lincoln Center
A new 35mm print of Claire Denis‘ debut, Chocolat, screens throughout the week.
Film Forum
For a Vittorio de Sica retrospective, see The Bicycle Thief on Friday, Miracle in Milan on Saturday and Sunday, and Mister Max & Marriage Italian Style on Sunday.
A new restoration of Otto Preminger‘s...
The Film Society at Lincoln Center
A new 35mm print of Claire Denis‘ debut, Chocolat, screens throughout the week.
Film Forum
For a Vittorio de Sica retrospective, see The Bicycle Thief on Friday, Miracle in Milan on Saturday and Sunday, and Mister Max & Marriage Italian Style on Sunday.
A new restoration of Otto Preminger‘s...
- 9/18/2015
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Youth On The MARCHThere are 48 individual films screening in the Wavelengths section of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The relative importance of this section, amidst the vast array of offerings in this relatively huge festival, depends on your taste in movies, of course, to say nothing of your specific objectives. If you’re coming to Toronto to try to score a hot tip in this year’s Oscar race, well . . . I feel sorry for you on a number of levels. But Wavelengths is unlikely to be your jam. Originally conceived exclusively as a showcase for experimental and non-narrative films (hence the section’s title, a direct tribute to avant-garde master and Toronto native son Michael Snow), Wavelengths now encompasses the edgier, less commercial side of art cinema. This is the first of two preview essays, and my aim is to cover everything in the section. These are the...
- 9/12/2015
- by Michael Sicinski
- MUBI
In the latest quick roundup on goings on here and there, we have a bit more on Afrofuturism at BAMcinématek. Plus: an evening with Luther Price, a chat with Julie Dash about La Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema, a series at London's Tate Modern, an overview of Kinoteka, London's 13th Polish Film Festival, featuring work by Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Jerzy Stuhr, Wojciech Has, Krzysztof Zanussi and many others, plus an Alain Resnais retrospective in Barcelona. » - David Hudson...
- 4/12/2015
- Keyframe
In the latest quick roundup on goings on here and there, we have a bit more on Afrofuturism at BAMcinématek. Plus: an evening with Luther Price, a chat with Julie Dash about La Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema, a series at London's Tate Modern, an overview of Kinoteka, London's 13th Polish Film Festival, featuring work by Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Jerzy Stuhr, Wojciech Has, Krzysztof Zanussi and many others, plus an Alain Resnais retrospective in Barcelona. » - David Hudson...
- 4/12/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
How would you program this year's newest, most interesting films into double features with movies of the past you saw in 2014?
Looking back over the year at what films moved and impressed us, it is clear that watching old films is a crucial part of making new films meaningful. Thus, the annual tradition of our end of year poll, 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 2014—in theatres or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they also saw in 2014 to create a unique double feature.
All the contributors were given the option to write some text explaining their 2014 fantasy double feature. What's more, each writer was given the option to list more pairings, with or without explanation, as further imaginative film programming we'd be lucky to catch...
Looking back over the year at what films moved and impressed us, it is clear that watching old films is a crucial part of making new films meaningful. Thus, the annual tradition of our end of year poll, 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 2014—in theatres or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they also saw in 2014 to create a unique double feature.
All the contributors were given the option to write some text explaining their 2014 fantasy double feature. What's more, each writer was given the option to list more pairings, with or without explanation, as further imaginative film programming we'd be lucky to catch...
- 1/5/2015
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Above: Notes of an Early Fall Part 1
The Ann Arbor Film Festival makes for an ideal entry point for festival novices wanting to dive into the cinema referred to as avant-garde, experimental, or simply, artist’s. The Michigan Theater hosts all of the screenings for the fest (minus a straggler here and there), making it easy to catch as many films as your heart desires. After 52 years, the festival has created a community for itself in the city. On one end, you have the pros who’ve been there since the beginning and openly opine for the good old days when the smell of activism filled the theater. On the other, you have “the youth”; the University of Michigan providing an inexhaustible supply of the curious and the studious. And, of course, you have the typical film fans and socializers balancing out the mix. This sense of community is cemented...
The Ann Arbor Film Festival makes for an ideal entry point for festival novices wanting to dive into the cinema referred to as avant-garde, experimental, or simply, artist’s. The Michigan Theater hosts all of the screenings for the fest (minus a straggler here and there), making it easy to catch as many films as your heart desires. After 52 years, the festival has created a community for itself in the city. On one end, you have the pros who’ve been there since the beginning and openly opine for the good old days when the smell of activism filled the theater. On the other, you have “the youth”; the University of Michigan providing an inexhaustible supply of the curious and the studious. And, of course, you have the typical film fans and socializers balancing out the mix. This sense of community is cemented...
- 5/30/2014
- by Alex Hansen
- MUBI
This year’s student-run Milwaukee Underground Film Festival will screen on May 1-4 at various locations on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus and off-campus at the Microlights Cinema. Once again, the festival will feature eclectic and amazing avant-garde and experimental short films in video, 16mm and 8mm formats.
The fest opens on May 1 with a screening of films made by this year’s three-member jury — David Witzling, Diane Kitchen and Scott Stark — followed by a special presentation of works from NYC’s Lgbt screening series, “Dirty Looks,” including Michael Robinson‘s hilarious The Dark, Krystle, Luther Price‘s recently restored Home and Michael Lucid‘s online video sensation Dirty Girls.
Other films to look out for are a pair of award-winning pieces: The May 2 at 2:00 p.m. shorts block will conclude with Jennifer Reeder‘s absolutely amazing A Million Miles Away, which took home the Best Short Film at the Chicago Underground Film Festival.
The fest opens on May 1 with a screening of films made by this year’s three-member jury — David Witzling, Diane Kitchen and Scott Stark — followed by a special presentation of works from NYC’s Lgbt screening series, “Dirty Looks,” including Michael Robinson‘s hilarious The Dark, Krystle, Luther Price‘s recently restored Home and Michael Lucid‘s online video sensation Dirty Girls.
Other films to look out for are a pair of award-winning pieces: The May 2 at 2:00 p.m. shorts block will conclude with Jennifer Reeder‘s absolutely amazing A Million Miles Away, which took home the Best Short Film at the Chicago Underground Film Festival.
- 5/1/2014
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 52nd annual Ann Arbor Film Festival will be a jam-packed experimental feature and short film screening event running for six days and nights, this time on March 25-30.
Opening Night will feature a reception and an after-party, and stuffed between those will be a block of nine short films, including new ones by Bryan Boyce, Michael Robinson, Jennifer Reeder and Martha Colburn, as well as a never-before-released work by the legendary Bruce Baillie called Little Girl in which Baillie captured scenes of natural beauty.
Special Events scattered throughout the festival include a retrospective of indie filmmaker Penelope Spheeris that will feature her rock ‘n’ roll-based work, including the original The Decline of Western Civilization, plus The Decline of Western Civilization Part III, her influential punk film Suburbia (screening twice) and a collection of short films.
There will also be several films and presentations by filmmaking scholar Thom Andersen, such...
Opening Night will feature a reception and an after-party, and stuffed between those will be a block of nine short films, including new ones by Bryan Boyce, Michael Robinson, Jennifer Reeder and Martha Colburn, as well as a never-before-released work by the legendary Bruce Baillie called Little Girl in which Baillie captured scenes of natural beauty.
Special Events scattered throughout the festival include a retrospective of indie filmmaker Penelope Spheeris that will feature her rock ‘n’ roll-based work, including the original The Decline of Western Civilization, plus The Decline of Western Civilization Part III, her influential punk film Suburbia (screening twice) and a collection of short films.
There will also be several films and presentations by filmmaking scholar Thom Andersen, such...
- 3/18/2014
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Looking back over the year at what films moved and impressed us, it is clear that watching old films is a crucial part of making new films meaningful. Thus, the annual tradition of our end of year poll, 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 2013—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they also saw in 2013 to create a unique double feature.
All the contributors were given the option to write some text explaining their 2013 fantasy double feature. What's more, each writer was given the option to list more pairings, with or without explanation, as further imaginative film programming we'd be lucky to catch in that perfect world we know doesn't exist but can keep dreaming of every time we go to the movies.
How...
All the contributors were given the option to write some text explaining their 2013 fantasy double feature. What's more, each writer was given the option to list more pairings, with or without explanation, as further imaginative film programming we'd be lucky to catch in that perfect world we know doesn't exist but can keep dreaming of every time we go to the movies.
How...
- 1/13/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Below you will find our total coverage of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, including a round up on experimental short films, reviews, and the festival-spanning dialog between our two main critics at Tiff. More interviews will be added to the index as they are published.
Correspondences
between Fernando F. Croce and Daniel Kasman
#1
Daniel Kasman's introduction
#2
Fernando F. Croce on Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, François Ozon’s Young & Beautiful, Frank Pavich's Jodorowsky's Dune
#3
Daniel Kasman on Catherine Breillat's Abuse of Weakness, Jafar Panahi's Closed Curtain, Frederick Wiseman's At Berkeley
#4
Fernando F. Croce on Kelly Reichardt's Night Moves, Eli Roth's The Green Inferno, Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears, Sylvain Chomet's Atilla Marcel
#5
Daniel Kasman on David Rimmer's Variations on a Cellophane Wrapper, Luther Price's Pop Takes, Kenneth Anger's Airships, Stephen Broomer's Pepper's Ghost,...
Correspondences
between Fernando F. Croce and Daniel Kasman
#1
Daniel Kasman's introduction
#2
Fernando F. Croce on Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, François Ozon’s Young & Beautiful, Frank Pavich's Jodorowsky's Dune
#3
Daniel Kasman on Catherine Breillat's Abuse of Weakness, Jafar Panahi's Closed Curtain, Frederick Wiseman's At Berkeley
#4
Fernando F. Croce on Kelly Reichardt's Night Moves, Eli Roth's The Green Inferno, Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears, Sylvain Chomet's Atilla Marcel
#5
Daniel Kasman on David Rimmer's Variations on a Cellophane Wrapper, Luther Price's Pop Takes, Kenneth Anger's Airships, Stephen Broomer's Pepper's Ghost,...
- 9/30/2013
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Above: a publicity image from Albert Serra's Story of My Death.
My friend,
I don't know if you heard, Fern, but apparently there are only two feature films at Tiff this year projected on 35mm—Raya Martin and Mark Peranson's La última película (which, incidentally, in its story claims to have bought up all the remaining film stock in the world to use on the picture) and, unexpectedly, Joseph H. Lewis's Gun Crazy (last year the similarly restrained Tiff Cinematheque retrospective program also only featured one movie shown on film). I keep seeing, before the movies start, prerolls for Christie digital projection systems; even a blasé audience member couldn't help but notice these booming, grandiose bumpers proclaiming the projectors' cutting edge technology. I wonder if things would be any different if over the last 100 years all movies shown on film were preceded with a trailer proclaiming the...
My friend,
I don't know if you heard, Fern, but apparently there are only two feature films at Tiff this year projected on 35mm—Raya Martin and Mark Peranson's La última película (which, incidentally, in its story claims to have bought up all the remaining film stock in the world to use on the picture) and, unexpectedly, Joseph H. Lewis's Gun Crazy (last year the similarly restrained Tiff Cinematheque retrospective program also only featured one movie shown on film). I keep seeing, before the movies start, prerolls for Christie digital projection systems; even a blasé audience member couldn't help but notice these booming, grandiose bumpers proclaiming the projectors' cutting edge technology. I wonder if things would be any different if over the last 100 years all movies shown on film were preceded with a trailer proclaiming the...
- 9/12/2013
- by Daniel Kasman
- MUBI
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 38th Toronto International Film Festival has released an incredible guest list of celebrated talent from around the globe. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Catherine Breillat, Nicole Garcia, Pawel Pawlikowski, Bertrand Tavernier, Steve McQueen, Godfrey Reggio, Denis Villeneuve, Bill Condon, Jean-Marc Vallée, John Wells, Ralph Fiennes, Richard Ayoade, Atom Egoyan, Matthew Weiner, John Carney, Jason Reitman, Jason Bateman, Yorgos Servetas, Liza Johnson, Megan Griffiths, Fernando Eimbcke, Alexey Uchitel, Johnny Ma, Biyi Bandele, Rashid Masharawi, Paul Haggis, Ron Howard, Eli Roth, Álex de la Iglesia, Bruce McDonald, Jennifer Baichwal, John Ridley, and Justin Chadwick.
The Festival also welcomes thousands of producers and other industry professionals bringing films to us.
The following filmmakers and artists are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:
Ahmad Abdalla, Hany Abu-Assad, Yuval Adler, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Alexandre Aja, Bruce Alcock, Gianni Amelio, Thanos Anastopoulos, Madeline Anderson, Nimród Antal, Louise Archambault,...
The Festival also welcomes thousands of producers and other industry professionals bringing films to us.
The following filmmakers and artists are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:
Ahmad Abdalla, Hany Abu-Assad, Yuval Adler, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Alexandre Aja, Bruce Alcock, Gianni Amelio, Thanos Anastopoulos, Madeline Anderson, Nimród Antal, Louise Archambault,...
- 8/21/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Programmer Andrea Picard can do no wrong. From the compiled short and medium film offerings (see listing below for huge sampling of renowned world auteurs) to the latest from Tsai Ming-liang, Ben Wheatley (Karlovy Vary winner A Field In England), Albert Serra (Locarno debuted Story Of My Death), Wang Bing and that Rotterdam offering that we never thought we’d have the chance to see from Cristi Puiu, the ’13 edition of the Wavelenths programme is for those who need a little spunk in their cinema.
Of the titles that additionally caught our attention we have the Locarno preemed A Spell To Ward Off The Darkness by Ben Rivers and Ben Russell, the world premiere of (see pic above) La ultíma película – by Raya Martin and Cinemascope/Locarno programmer Mark Peranson (making his feature debut), Into Great Silence docu-helmer Philip Gröning’s The Police Officer’s Wife and a title that...
Of the titles that additionally caught our attention we have the Locarno preemed A Spell To Ward Off The Darkness by Ben Rivers and Ben Russell, the world premiere of (see pic above) La ultíma película – by Raya Martin and Cinemascope/Locarno programmer Mark Peranson (making his feature debut), Into Great Silence docu-helmer Philip Gröning’s The Police Officer’s Wife and a title that...
- 8/13/2013
- by admin
- IONCINEMA.com
Rithy Panh’s Un Certain Regard winner takes its place alongside Ben Wheatley’s A Field In England and new films from Canada’s Stephen Broomer and Chris Kennedy in the Wavelengths section.
The selection of short, medium-length and feature work includes Caroline Strubbe’s I’m The Same, I’m An Other; Raya Martin and Mark Peranson’s La Ultima Pelicula; and Albert Serra’s Story Of My Death.
The Toronto International Film Festival is set to run from Sept 5-15.
Wp = World premiere
IP = International premiere
Np = North American premiere
Cp = Canadian premiere
Tp = Toronto premiere
Short Film PROGRAMMESWavelengths 1: Variations On…Variations On A Cellophane Wrapper David Rimmer (Restoration courtesy of Academy Film Archive) (Canada)Pop Takes Luther Price (Us)Airship Kenneth Anger (Us)El Adios Largos Andrew Lampert (Mexico-us)The Realist Scott Stark (Us)Wavelengths 2: Now & ThenInstants Hannes Schüpbach (Switzerland)Pepper’s Ghost Stephen Broomer (Canada)Man In Motion, 2012 (Homme En Mouvement...
The selection of short, medium-length and feature work includes Caroline Strubbe’s I’m The Same, I’m An Other; Raya Martin and Mark Peranson’s La Ultima Pelicula; and Albert Serra’s Story Of My Death.
The Toronto International Film Festival is set to run from Sept 5-15.
Wp = World premiere
IP = International premiere
Np = North American premiere
Cp = Canadian premiere
Tp = Toronto premiere
Short Film PROGRAMMESWavelengths 1: Variations On…Variations On A Cellophane Wrapper David Rimmer (Restoration courtesy of Academy Film Archive) (Canada)Pop Takes Luther Price (Us)Airship Kenneth Anger (Us)El Adios Largos Andrew Lampert (Mexico-us)The Realist Scott Stark (Us)Wavelengths 2: Now & ThenInstants Hannes Schüpbach (Switzerland)Pepper’s Ghost Stephen Broomer (Canada)Man In Motion, 2012 (Homme En Mouvement...
- 8/13/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
News.
According to Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi has wrapped his second feature under house-arrest. Eric Kohn reports via Indiewire. Steven Spielberg's long-anticipated Lincoln debuted on Monday at a secret screening at the New York Film Festival. Fandor has collected some of the first reactions. Lynne Ramsay has secured financing with Scott Pictures for her follow-up to last year's We Need to Talk About Kevin. The film is Mobius and The Hollywood Reporter describes it as a "psychological action thriller set in deep space [in which] a captain consumed by revenge takes his crew on a death mission fueled by his own ego and will to control an enigmatic alien." So yes, it's Moby Dick in space. The Guardian has the full story. Indiewire reports that Olivier Assayas is already mounting his follow-up to this year's Something in the Air. Reuniting with Juliette Binoche, the film is tentatively titled Since Maria.
Finds.
According to Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi has wrapped his second feature under house-arrest. Eric Kohn reports via Indiewire. Steven Spielberg's long-anticipated Lincoln debuted on Monday at a secret screening at the New York Film Festival. Fandor has collected some of the first reactions. Lynne Ramsay has secured financing with Scott Pictures for her follow-up to last year's We Need to Talk About Kevin. The film is Mobius and The Hollywood Reporter describes it as a "psychological action thriller set in deep space [in which] a captain consumed by revenge takes his crew on a death mission fueled by his own ego and will to control an enigmatic alien." So yes, it's Moby Dick in space. The Guardian has the full story. Indiewire reports that Olivier Assayas is already mounting his follow-up to this year's Something in the Air. Reuniting with Juliette Binoche, the film is tentatively titled Since Maria.
Finds.
- 10/10/2012
- by Notebook
- MUBI
This week’s Must Read is a rarity: Underground icon Damon Packard being interviewed in a major newspaper, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, on the occasion of his genius new film Foxfur screening at Craig Baldwin’s Other Cinema last night.And, you know it, it’s also not every day an underground film is profiled in the New York Times, so super congrats to director Adam Rehmeier and particularly Rodleen Getsic for this Nyt piece about the controversial nature of their The Bunny Game.Here’s a new “Must Bookmark” blog: A movie journal site by Melanie Wilmink, formerly of the $100 Film Festival, where she now hopes to open up discussion generated by indie films — and she’s doing a fantastic job so far!Also to bookmark: Eric Krasner has a blog regarding his in-progress documentary on legendary Yiddish comedian Mickey Katz.The Huffington Post reports on the totally...
- 9/16/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
September is here again, and it's time to delve into the cinematic bounty of the Wavelengths section of the Toronto International Film Festival, that rambunctious and idiosyncratic corner of the Reitman Machine largely cordoned off from commercial concerns and set aside for lovely and sometimes difficult film art. Despite the ever-changing profile of Tiff, stalwart programmer Andréa Picard has [cue needle-scratching-record sound] What? Yes, last year at this time, the avant-garde community thought we were seeing Ms. Picard leaving this position behind. Fortunately for us all, Tiff won her back.
And this is where things get interesting. Starting with this 2012 edition of the festival, the Wavelengths section is a much more broadly based, festival-wide category. In essence, it now subsumes the old Visions designation, which was Tiff’s home for formally challenging, feature-length arthouse fare. This merger, which may seem like a bit of a shotgun wedding to some, does in fact make sense.
And this is where things get interesting. Starting with this 2012 edition of the festival, the Wavelengths section is a much more broadly based, festival-wide category. In essence, it now subsumes the old Visions designation, which was Tiff’s home for formally challenging, feature-length arthouse fare. This merger, which may seem like a bit of a shotgun wedding to some, does in fact make sense.
- 9/11/2012
- MUBI
Above: Ernie Gehr's Auto-Collider Xv.
The vast bulk of Tiff's 2012 has been announced and listed here, below. We'll be updating the lineup with the previous films announced, as well as updating links to specific films for more information on them in the coming days. Of particular note is that the Wavelengths and Visions programs have been combined to create what is undoubtedly the most interesting section of the festival. Stay tuned, too, for our own on the ground coverage of Tiff.
Galas
A Royal Affair (Nikolai Arcel, Demark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany)
Argo (Ben Affleck, USA)
The Company You Keep (Robert Redford, USA)
Dangerous Liaisons (Hur Jin-ho, China)
Emperor (Peter Webber, Japan/USA)
English Vinglish (Gauri Shinde, India)
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Shola Lynch)
Great Expectations (Mike Newell, UK)
Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell, UK)
Inescapable (Ruba Nadda, Canada)
Jayne Mansfield's Car (Billy Bob Thorton, USA/Russia)
Looper (Rian Johnson,...
The vast bulk of Tiff's 2012 has been announced and listed here, below. We'll be updating the lineup with the previous films announced, as well as updating links to specific films for more information on them in the coming days. Of particular note is that the Wavelengths and Visions programs have been combined to create what is undoubtedly the most interesting section of the festival. Stay tuned, too, for our own on the ground coverage of Tiff.
Galas
A Royal Affair (Nikolai Arcel, Demark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany)
Argo (Ben Affleck, USA)
The Company You Keep (Robert Redford, USA)
Dangerous Liaisons (Hur Jin-ho, China)
Emperor (Peter Webber, Japan/USA)
English Vinglish (Gauri Shinde, India)
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Shola Lynch)
Great Expectations (Mike Newell, UK)
Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell, UK)
Inescapable (Ruba Nadda, Canada)
Jayne Mansfield's Car (Billy Bob Thorton, USA/Russia)
Looper (Rian Johnson,...
- 8/22/2012
- MUBI
By merging the former Visions into the Wavelengths section, Cameron Bailey has essentially made a new incontournable programme. Headed by Andréa Picard, the section which at a time was populated by medium to short run times now includes some of the bigger names in innovative feature film filmmaking who have no qualms about bending the medium. This year the sections includes long, medium and short length works from the likes of Ben Rivers, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Carlos Reygadas (pic of his controversial Post Tenebras Lux above), Wang Bing, Mati Diop (actress from Claire Denis and Antonio Campos films) and our very own writer Blake Williams who makes it two for two at Tiff with Many a Swan – he previously had Coorow-Latham Road programmed last year. Here’s the complete A to Z listing and well-worth reading descriptions.
Pairings
The Capsule Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece, 37’ A bevy of gorgeous Gothic...
Pairings
The Capsule Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece, 37’ A bevy of gorgeous Gothic...
- 8/14/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
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
San Antonio Film Festival
The deadline for the 18th annual San Antonio Film Festival is fast approaching, but there’s still a few more days to get your films in. The actual fest will run on Jun. 18-24.
The fest is always a great, eclectic mix of international indie film that also heavily screens and promotes local talent. There does usually seem to be an emphasis on films with a political or social justice bent, but that doesn’t mean Saff will shy away from tossing in a straight-up thriller or comedy to mix things up.
For example, last year’s films ranged from the music doc Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone by Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson to the police thriller Disrupt/Dismantle by Jack Lucarelli to the Indian surrogate mother business Made in India by Rebecca Haimowitz and Vaishali Sinha to the comedy Lord Byron by Zack Godshall.
The deadline for the 18th annual San Antonio Film Festival is fast approaching, but there’s still a few more days to get your films in. The actual fest will run on Jun. 18-24.
The fest is always a great, eclectic mix of international indie film that also heavily screens and promotes local talent. There does usually seem to be an emphasis on films with a political or social justice bent, but that doesn’t mean Saff will shy away from tossing in a straight-up thriller or comedy to mix things up.
For example, last year’s films ranged from the music doc Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone by Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson to the police thriller Disrupt/Dismantle by Jack Lucarelli to the Indian surrogate mother business Made in India by Rebecca Haimowitz and Vaishali Sinha to the comedy Lord Byron by Zack Godshall.
- 3/3/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Quite the rave from Roberta Smith in the New York Times:
One of the best Whitney Biennials in recent memory may or may not contain a lot more outstanding art than its predecessors, but that's not the point. The 2012 incarnation is a new and exhilarating species of exhibition, an emerging curatorial life form, at least for New York.
Possessed of a remarkable clarity of vision, a striking spatial intelligence and a generous stylistic inclusiveness, it places on an equal footing art objects and time-based art — not just video and performance art but music, dance, theater, film — and does so on a scale and with a degree of aplomb we have not seen before in this town. In a way that is at once superbly ordered and open-ended, densely structured and, upon first encounter, deceptively unassuming, the exhibition manages both to reinvent the signature show of the Whitney Museum of American...
One of the best Whitney Biennials in recent memory may or may not contain a lot more outstanding art than its predecessors, but that's not the point. The 2012 incarnation is a new and exhilarating species of exhibition, an emerging curatorial life form, at least for New York.
Possessed of a remarkable clarity of vision, a striking spatial intelligence and a generous stylistic inclusiveness, it places on an equal footing art objects and time-based art — not just video and performance art but music, dance, theater, film — and does so on a scale and with a degree of aplomb we have not seen before in this town. In a way that is at once superbly ordered and open-ended, densely structured and, upon first encounter, deceptively unassuming, the exhibition manages both to reinvent the signature show of the Whitney Museum of American...
- 3/3/2012
- MUBI
For anybody who’s been checking in periodically: All links are up to date.
Two of Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film’s favorite people — John Waters and Ed Halter — contribute their 2011 Best of film lists to Artforum. Waters picks mostly films that, I believe, would show up on many people’s best of lists, such as The Tree of Life, Uncle Boonmee and the TV movie/miniseries Mildred Pierce. Meanwhile, Halter has a list of experimental film reg’lars, such as Luther Price, Kevin Jerome Everson, Jerome Hiler and more.The fourth annual Minneapolis Underground Film Festival is wrapping up today and the Minnesota Daily conducted a nice interview with its founder, Greg Yolen, to mark the occasion.At Crikey, Luke Buckmaster weighs in on the Human Centipede II banning in Australia. Remember, whenever a government bans a movie, an angel cries.Jessica Oreck continues to list her favorite documentaries.
Two of Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film’s favorite people — John Waters and Ed Halter — contribute their 2011 Best of film lists to Artforum. Waters picks mostly films that, I believe, would show up on many people’s best of lists, such as The Tree of Life, Uncle Boonmee and the TV movie/miniseries Mildred Pierce. Meanwhile, Halter has a list of experimental film reg’lars, such as Luther Price, Kevin Jerome Everson, Jerome Hiler and more.The fourth annual Minneapolis Underground Film Festival is wrapping up today and the Minnesota Daily conducted a nice interview with its founder, Greg Yolen, to mark the occasion.At Crikey, Luke Buckmaster weighs in on the Human Centipede II banning in Australia. Remember, whenever a government bans a movie, an angel cries.Jessica Oreck continues to list her favorite documentaries.
- 12/4/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
There oughta be a law. Just as it should be illegal for sprawling malls and the Walgreen's on the corner to barf up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, so, too, should critics organizations and other awards-giving bodies be banned from opening the season until Artforum posts John Waters's annual "Best Films of 2011" list on December 1. Tradition, people.
Today's the day, and since it's also World Aids Day, I'm choosing his #9 as a sample quote: "We Were Here (David Weissman) Half my friends died of AIDS, so this simple and painfully told doc on the disastrous epidemic's effect on San Francisco is personal. If you don't sob watching, maybe you should be dead too."
Joining Waters on the same page this year is Ed Halter, founder and director of Light Industry and — whoa — a co-curator of the film and video program for the 2012 Whitney Biennial, opening March 1. His #1: "Inkblot films...
Today's the day, and since it's also World Aids Day, I'm choosing his #9 as a sample quote: "We Were Here (David Weissman) Half my friends died of AIDS, so this simple and painfully told doc on the disastrous epidemic's effect on San Francisco is personal. If you don't sob watching, maybe you should be dead too."
Joining Waters on the same page this year is Ed Halter, founder and director of Light Industry and — whoa — a co-curator of the film and video program for the 2012 Whitney Biennial, opening March 1. His #1: "Inkblot films...
- 12/1/2011
- MUBI
Sep. 17
7:00 p.m.
The Nightingale
1084 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, Il 60642
Hosted by: White Light Cinema
Underground filmmaker Luther Price will be in attendance at this special retrospective of his work. The lineup of films that will be screened has not been finalized yet, but it will include both Chicago and World Premieres, as well as some rarely screened classics.
Price originally exclusively worked in the Super 8 format, but has since moved on to 16mm. His films are comprised mostly of found footage that is spliced together in rapid fire fashion. Price also works directly with the celluloid, such as distressing it by burying it in the ground or by hand-painting frames.
Please check the White Light Cinema website closer to the screening date for a finalized list of films. If possible, we’ll also try to post the actual lineup here on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film.
7:00 p.m.
The Nightingale
1084 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, Il 60642
Hosted by: White Light Cinema
Underground filmmaker Luther Price will be in attendance at this special retrospective of his work. The lineup of films that will be screened has not been finalized yet, but it will include both Chicago and World Premieres, as well as some rarely screened classics.
Price originally exclusively worked in the Super 8 format, but has since moved on to 16mm. His films are comprised mostly of found footage that is spliced together in rapid fire fashion. Price also works directly with the celluloid, such as distressing it by burying it in the ground or by hand-painting frames.
Please check the White Light Cinema website closer to the screening date for a finalized list of films. If possible, we’ll also try to post the actual lineup here on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film.
- 9/7/2011
- by screenings
- Underground Film Journal
The 23rd annual Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival presents four nights of international avant-garde and experimental media from all over the world. The fest runs June 23-26 with the Opening Night festivities taking place at the Gene Siskel Film Center and the rest of the screenings held at the venerable Chicago Filmmakers, which has been behind the event for the past 11 years.
The Opening Night presentation begins with the new short film from the Brothers Quay, Maska, which was produced in Poland and based on a short story by Polish author Stanislaw Lem (Solaris). Also included in the opening screening are films by Thom Anderson, Mati Diop, Christopher Becks, Milena Gierke and more.
The Closing Night film is the much anticipated new feature by former Chicagoan James Fotopoulos. He will be screening Alice in Wonderland, an adaptation of an 1886 musical based on the classic children’s book. The film features hundreds of drawings,...
The Opening Night presentation begins with the new short film from the Brothers Quay, Maska, which was produced in Poland and based on a short story by Polish author Stanislaw Lem (Solaris). Also included in the opening screening are films by Thom Anderson, Mati Diop, Christopher Becks, Milena Gierke and more.
The Closing Night film is the much anticipated new feature by former Chicagoan James Fotopoulos. He will be screening Alice in Wonderland, an adaptation of an 1886 musical based on the classic children’s book. The film features hundreds of drawings,...
- 6/10/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Clowns don’t scare me the way they do some people. But … this clown? The snorting, drooling one in the above embedded short film by Luther Price? He absolutely terrifies me. It’s a very simple, sadly disturbing piece of work.
I fell in love with this thing instantly because of its sheer oddness. It’s cold, it’s desolate. It appears less of an acting job and more like a cry for help. Although, I’m aware that’s the statement the artist is trying to put out there. But, I really fell in love with this little beauty because if you film something in Super-8, leave the occasional, obvious splice mark in and upload it online — well, that’s what’s going to happen. I can’t help myself.
I love that tactile sensation you get from seeing the splice marks and magnified projector dust from film. For me,...
I fell in love with this thing instantly because of its sheer oddness. It’s cold, it’s desolate. It appears less of an acting job and more like a cry for help. Although, I’m aware that’s the statement the artist is trying to put out there. But, I really fell in love with this little beauty because if you film something in Super-8, leave the occasional, obvious splice mark in and upload it online — well, that’s what’s going to happen. I can’t help myself.
I love that tactile sensation you get from seeing the splice marks and magnified projector dust from film. For me,...
- 10/6/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
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