response to reading0 from arthouse to microcinema

This was such an interesting article because I had never really put together the concept of microcinema before.  But this is definitely a movement I’ve engaged with in the past; I saw a pop-up screening of Breathless in a rec center, and my grandparents took me and my brother to see art films in little playhouses and libraries and stuff all the time growing up.  They actually live in Chatham, Massachusetts weirdly, and my brother and I spent our childhood summers living on Cape with them, and for such a small area, there are lots of cinephiles who engage with this kind of niche film culture (most of them elderly-ish, but I think the majority of people who live on Cape Cod are??).  At first it seems disheartening that the experience of going to a seedy little theater to see a foreign film is becoming more and more scare, but it’s heartening to know that people who love weird film are gonna gather up together and watch weird film in any place they can.

response to filmmaker presentations

Surprisingly, I had never heard of Marlon Riggs before this presentation, but I feel like I’ve seen some of his work before, especially what we watched from Tongues Untied.  Something about the “brother to brother” part seemed familiar but I can’t think of where I possibly could’ve seen it before.  I really enjoyed Maggie’s presentation because she was really thorough, and we got to watch a lot of Riggs’s work which, along with the fact that he has a very distinct voice and filmic fingerprint, made it easier to connect with him as an artist.  I am definitely interested in learning about other queer experimental filmmakers besides Kenneth Anger and Jack Smith, and I feel like it’s important to absorb that there are different kinds of queerness outside of the white gay male experience.

Yay for LGBTQ women! I loved what we got to see of Su Friedrich and I think her style is so interesting, and I am very intrigued by the process of combining documentary and experimental film.  I wish we could’ve seen more of her work, but I can tell that she has a very strong voice and that I would engage well with her as an artist who is also passionate about feminist and queer politics.  “The personal is political” is such a powerful statement, and a very pertinent one.  I can tell that Catherine worked hard to convey Su’s spirit and ideology, and I am definitely going to check out more of Su’s work.

I want to start off by saying that I am extremely jealous that Gabby got to interview her filmmaker! (I would’ve loved to be able to shoot Viking Eggeling a text about his picture scrolls tbh)  Jen Proctor seems like such an interesting and eccentric person, which is evidenced by not only her work, but from how she chose to tell her story as an artist.  I am very into found footage so I loved the plane crash film, and I want to see the bathroom film so badly oh my god.  The presentation on her was so cool because of the specific details that Gabby chose to use.  It’s heartening to know that accomplished experimental filmmakers also make silly Star Wars parodies in their backyards.  It added a layer of humanness that isn’t as accessible with other filmmakers.

self-portrait

I was so excited when I read the syllabus for this class and saw that there was a self-portrait assignment.  I’ve been wanting to make one for a long time but never thought I had an excuse to I guess.  Music and sound design is my life, so I definitely want to make an experimental soundscape, but I’m worried that it may not turn out exactly how I’m envisioning it.  I’m also a bit concerned about the no music rule, because there is a lot of music (traditional and contemporary) that I was thinking about using for this project all semester.  I’m hoping I can appropriate pieces of the music in such a way that makes it not seem like a music video or whatever, but I’m scared that the music clips not being recognizable defeats the purpose of having them.  I definitely don’t want to include any video or film in my project, except for maybe a still image, but I haven’t decided yet.  But if I feel like I’m not using the songs correctly and I have to change course on the project I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do.  I’m sure it will all work out but the more I think about it, the more intimidated I am by the whole idea of this.  I know what I like but thinking about the essence of ~me~ is kind of daunting.  I think I’m going to have a really difficult time separating what I enjoy objectively from who I am, which I guess is the whole point of this project.  

filmmaker presentation- Jan Svankmejer

When we first watched a film by Jan Svankmejer in class I couldn’t really see myself liking anything like that because it was honestly kind of off-putting? But Dylan did a really great job of showcasing his work and what was awesome and interesting about it, and his presentation had a certain flair that made him really engaging.  I loved the film Food the most.  I’ve always found myself drawn to “ugly” stop motion and drawn animation (i.e: Gumby, early Rugrats, anything kind of grotesque but endearing) so I’m glad I got to see more of Svankmejer’s work.  I was mostly mesmerized by the sheer amount of time it must’ve taken to painstakingly animate all of that food.

filmmaker presentation responses

STAN BRAKHAGE

Before this presentation, I’d only seen some of Brakhage’s more impersonal films like Mothlight and Text of Light so I was really interested to hear more about his as a person and to see Window Water Baby Moving.  It was awesome to learn about his personal life and the vast diversity of his body of work.  Stan obviously dug deep into the research and had a really clear timeline mapped out of Brakhage’s life, which made it easier to contextualize his works, especially the shift towards less personal work.  I was happy with the choice of clips Stan chose, and with his choice to show Brakhage in the actual process of painting on film.

GEORGE KUCHAR

I really enjoyed Christian’s presentation on George Kuchar, and I think she did a great job at capturing not only his filmmaking style, but his personal essence.  I love that she made the presentation personal and was able to connect with and appreciate Kuchar’s work.  She included a lot of anecdotes and bits and pieces of his life that made it easier to understand his artistic philosophy, and that made the presentation much more entertaining.  I also loved seeing some of his line drawings and interviews, and I feel like that definitely added more depth.