I’ve been making 16mm durational urban landscape voiceover films, slowly but surely, since the late ‘90s. My short film Blue Diary premiered at the Berlinale in 1998. My two features, The Joy of Life (2005) and The Royal Road (2015) both premiered in the prestigious New Frontiers section at the Sundance Film Festival and have been as wildly successful as experimental films can be. Which is to say, they remain fairly obscure. My small but enthusiastic fan-base frequently asks me for recommendations of films that are similar to my own in terms of incorporating durational landscapes and voiceover and a meditative pace. While it is certainly one of the smallest subgenres in the realm of filmmaking, here are a handful of excellent landscape cinema examples by the practitioners I know best. I confess that my expertise here is limited and hope that the learned Mubi community will chime in with additions in the comments field below.
- 10/11/2016
- 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
This week’s Must Browse is the new Tumblr blog by the Anthology Film Archives, which you must bookmark, add to your feed reader, etc.! The site has, of course, notes about upcoming screenings, plus lots of great film stills posters, notes, anecdotes and more. (Wish they had a sidebar calendar of their screenings on the blog, tho’. Something to think about…)Donna k. jumps into the “death of cinema” fray and finds life! Albeit in a film about death: V/H/S.In all articles about comics made into films, all journalists must include this one dug up by the Temple of Schlock: Sex in the Comics!One+One Filmmakers Journal’s latest film primer is on Ralph Bakshi’s Heavy Traffic. Also, a couple of big updates re: the Journal.366 Weird Movies has a capsule o’ weirdness devoted to Hollis Frampton’s Zorns Lemma.As he promised, Jon Jost...
- 11/11/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This Week’s Absolute Must Read is an absolute for sad reasons: David Hudson compiles the best tribute to famed film curator Amos Vogel, who passed away last week. Actually, “curator” probably isn’t the best word to summarize all that Vogel did in his life in promoting indie, avant-garde, experimental and underground film, but no word has been invented to how important his contributions to film curation, programming and scholarship have been.After actress Elizabeth Banks dissed the ’90s underground film Surrender Dorothy in which she starred, the movie’s director, Kevin Dinovis, politely chided her for not only insulting him, but the entire indie film scene. We here at Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film don’t have to be so polite. To quote the late, great Divine, we find Banks guilty of assholism. If you want to see Surrender Dorothy, which won Best Narrative Feature at the 1998 Chicago Underground Film Festival,...
- 4/29/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
As has been noted many times before, by me and others, the Wavelengths series of the Toronto International Film Festival is like a festival unto itself. So far removed from the red carpet nonsense, the deal-making, and the me-firstism of web journalists hoping to hit the Web with their initial impressions of some new Bryce Dallas Howard vehicle, Wavelengths affords breathing room to cinema and video at its most formally adventurous and, yes, uncommercial. We come here to look and listen, not to look “at” or listen “to,” and if that sounds hopelessly pretentious, come on down to the Jackman Hall and see for yourself. It’s actually quite cleansing, often funny, and a guaranteed good time, at least in part. (Short films are like the weather in my hometown of Houston, Texas. Don’t like it? Wait a moment. It’ll change.)
Sadly, Wavelengths 2011 will be the final year for series curator Andréa Picard.
Sadly, Wavelengths 2011 will be the final year for series curator Andréa Picard.
- 9/8/2011
- MUBI
Production equipment savvy? Living in Calgary or looking to move there? The Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers wants to hire a Production Coordinator to help manage their equipment. Visit their site for details.Speaking of Canada, Rhizome has a cool video from a ’70s Canadian arts show where artist Evelyn Roth discusses crocheting sculptures out of videotape. Plus, Rhizome finally has their archives back online.Then, Experimental Cinema has news of a DVD of Canadian filmmaker Joyce Wieland’s films being released.Are female horror directors on the rise in the U.K.? Eleanor McKeown investigates for Electric Sheep.Then, for Peaches Christ’s website, Michael Varrati sticks up for the much maligned slasher genre. Hear, hear! They’re just damn fun, is all!Listen to the mellifluous voice of Mike Plante discussing his new Cinemad distribution effort.Landscape Suicide has some very lovely stills from Hollis Frampton’s underground classic Zorns Lemma,...
- 3/13/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- 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
Jan. 7
7:00 p.m.
The Nightingale
1084 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, Il 60642
Hosted by: White Light Cinema
Zorns Lemma (1970) is one of Hollis Frampton’s most famous, critical and important works and a landmark of underground filmmaking. It’s a humorous, playful manipulation of language — both literal and filmic.
The screening will be introduced by film scholar Michael Zryd, who will provide critical context for the film via webcam. Zryd is a film studies professor of the Faculty of Fine Arts at York University in Toronto and has written numerous articles on avant-garde film in general and on Frampton in particular.
Zorns Lemma opens with a dry reading of the Bay State Primer, but the main focus of the film is a series of single images, each one containing a letter of the alphabet in order. Once the end of the alphabet is reached, it is repeated again, but this time...
7:00 p.m.
The Nightingale
1084 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, Il 60642
Hosted by: White Light Cinema
Zorns Lemma (1970) is one of Hollis Frampton’s most famous, critical and important works and a landmark of underground filmmaking. It’s a humorous, playful manipulation of language — both literal and filmic.
The screening will be introduced by film scholar Michael Zryd, who will provide critical context for the film via webcam. Zryd is a film studies professor of the Faculty of Fine Arts at York University in Toronto and has written numerous articles on avant-garde film in general and on Frampton in particular.
Zorns Lemma opens with a dry reading of the Bay State Primer, but the main focus of the film is a series of single images, each one containing a letter of the alphabet in order. Once the end of the alphabet is reached, it is repeated again, but this time...
- 1/16/2010
- by screenings
- Underground Film Journal
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.