New Works From The Film-Makers' Cooperative
at
ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
32 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10003
The aim of "New Works from the Film-Makers' Cooperative" is two-fold: to provide a forum for programmers, curators, scholars and film-makers to view and discuss new films and videotapes as they become available, outside of strict curatorial frameworks. Also, as women and people of color increasingly become involved in independent film and video-making, changing the definition of oppositional cinema, these programs will provide a context for their works to be discussed as art.
This season features works by new and established artists such as Colin Barton, Stan Brakhage, Rudy Burckhardt, Donna Cameron, Cathy Cook, Arnold Eagle, Betty Gordon, Jamie Harrar, Henry Hills, Jim Hubbard, Ken Jacobs, Marjorie Keller, Caroline Koebel, Karen Kramer, Rose Lowder, Bill Morrison, M.M. Serra, Jerry Tartaglia and many others.
The Film-Makers' Cooperative was founded in 1962 by a small number of independent film-makers who identified their work as 'underground' or 'avant-garde' film, or as "New American Cinema.' The film-makers who joined in the 30 years that followed, identified with this original position, in one way or another. To the extent that the works in the collection have a common stance, it is their opposition to the limits--cultural, political, aesthetic -- that the commercial film and TV industry places on the moving picture medium. Today, the FMC maintains a collection of over 3,500 works from 20 countries, the oldest and largest non-profit distribution service in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
This series is made possible in part by grants from The John D. and Catherine T. Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts.
NEW WORKS FROM THE FILM-MAKERS' COOPERATIVE
at
ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
32 Second Avenue
Spring 1993, Program I
DONNA CAMERON
FAUVE (1991)
16mm, color, sound, 9:36 min.
"Fauve is a paper process film. I have employed a unique paper process, which I invented, to represent light waves as they leave a light source--one sees the red, or longest waves first, the blue, or shortest waves last, and one's left in the U.V. light of prehistory, or peripheral vision--i.e., bioluminescence. Peter Wetzlr's original score heightens the textural, tactile experience of my film." -- D.C.
JAMIE HARRAR
LIGHT RHYTHMS (1991)
Super-8mm, color, silent, 10-1/2 min.
"Light Rhythms is comprised of 3 short films on a single reel. (1) Covered Bridge is a kinetic study on the textures created by the interplay between the sunlight and the wood of an old covered bridge. (2) Elf --A creature of the woods comes out to either breathe or hide, while (3) At A Falling--is an immediate reaction to a change in season." -- J.H.
HENRY HILLS
BALI MECANIQUE (1992)
16mm, color, sound, 17 mins.
"Bali Mecanique is a two-part self-reflective study of the dance and rhythms of life in Bali, combining experimental film techniques with documentary-style footage. The first sections presents a complete Legong dance intercut with footage of Odalans (temple celebrations) and sacred architecture, building into an increasingly frenetic collage as the dance reaches its crescendo. In contrast, the second section weaves together footage of lush rich terraces and the "erotic bumblebee" of the Oleg Tambulilingan dance to give a humorous literalization of the "other" vision of Bali, the westerners paradise on Earth, set to the original record of "Bali Hai" from South Pacific which the filmmaker grew up on and recently found in a stack of discs on the floor of a closet in his parent's house. The film ends with the famous Kris dance of Batubulan as it is performed today. Starring the dancers from the Tirta Sari, Gunung Sari, and Samara Jati gamelan orchestras of Peliatan.
MARJORIE KELLER
HEREIN (1992)
16mm, color, sound, 35 mins.
"If you put it on tape you can't erase it. Herein charts the movement from political activism to filmmaking through the metaphor of a dwelling. An FBI file obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, Emma Goldman's autobiography, the making of films on the Lower East Side of New York, street prostitution and drug addiction, all inflect the sense of place, space and history." -- M.K.
CAROLINE KOEBEL
CALM, CALM, CALM (1990)
16mm, color, sound, 8 min.
"A woman chews steak and gazes onto a scene of kids-in-boats circling around to the repeated sound of a chorus asking "Father" for permission (or knowledge or approval or power). Takes a critical yet humorous stab at patriarchy through its use of found materials--the "rat on the sidewalk". -- C.K.
NEW WORKS FROM THE FILM-MAKERS' COOPERATIVE
at
ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
32 Second Avenue
Spring 1993, Program II
JONAS MEKAS
SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF ANDY WARHOL (1990)
16mm, color, sound, 38 min.
In Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol, Jonas Mekas chronicles not only the great pop artist, but also the social and cultural excitement that swirled around him, throbbing to a hypnotic Velvet Underground beat. -- 28th New York Film Festival
MICHAEL SNOW
TO LAVOISIER, WHO DIED IN THE REIGN OF TERROR (1991)
16mm, color, sound, 53 min.
Image Collaboration: Carl Brown.
The work of pioneering French Chemist Antoine Lavoisier and this film are situated between modern chemistry and alchemy..the scenes in the film are all "staged" but shot on different stock and chemcially modified. This film is a dynamic interaction of "abstract" and "realist" form, a drama of abstraction and "theatrical" realism. -- M.S.
NEW WORKS FROM THE FILM-MAKERS' COOPERATIVE
at
ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
32 Second Avenue
Summer 1993, Program II
KAREN KRAMER
CONEY ISLAND MERMAID (1990)
16mm, color, sound, 16 min.
A sea ritual. Every year in Brooklyn , NY a group of women and men dress as mermaids and sea figures to "inaugurate" the start of summer and the use of the ocean for "mortals" to swim in. -- KK
THE LAST OF THE NEW YORK CIGAR ROLLERS (1990)
16mm, color, sound, 13 min.
For many years the art and craft of hand-rolled cigars was an important industry in New York City. Today, with only 3 shops left, the tradition is nearly extinct. These last 3 cigar rollers demonstrate and explain the process of this tradition and trade, along with the history that formed this. -- KK
MOKO JUMBIE (1990)
16mm, color, sound, 15 min.
The name means "dancing spirit" and these 12" high still walkers appear at street festivals in New York, at carnival celebrations throughout the Carribean and during religious ceremonies in West Africa. This lively film shows the art, craft, dance, and history of the moko jumble. Filmed in Nigeria, the Virgin Islands and the streets of New York. -- KK
RICE AND PEAS (1990)
16mm, color, sound, 13 min.
A woman's ritual. A Caribbean ritual. A Trinidadian woman living in New York gives the audience her recipe for cooking the traditional West Indian dish of rice and peas, as she discusses her reasons for opening a restaurant in New York City. -- KK