How to Enjoy Experimental Film

For our first ever "EXTRA" episode, we are joined once again by R. Bruce Elder, once described by Jonas Mekas as "the most important North American avant-garde filmmaker to emerge during the 1980s".

Bruce has supplied an additional essay discussing the Gerrard St. Village / Isaacs artists scene at the time that Michael Snow was a young man, offering some insights into artists and styles that may have contributed to Snow's own work.

A special extended episode in tribute to filmmaker Michael Snow (1928-2023), focusing on four major works: Rameau's Nephew by Diderot Thanx to Denis Young by Wilma Schoen, So Is This, La Region Centrale and the iconic Wavelength.

Featuring interviews and analyses from:

R. Bruce Elder

Nicky Hamlyn

Chris Meigh-Andrews

Jim Shedden

Steven Woloshen

as well as archive interviews with Michael Snow himself and Jonas Mekas.

Mekas appears courtesy of Jim Shedden, as part of his film "Michael Snow Up Close".

The most recent featured interview with Michael Snow was conducted by R. Bruce Elder for the Brakhage Center at CU Boulder.

Archive interviews with Michael Snow were carried out by Jim Shedden for the TV show "Independent Visions" and his film "Michael Snow Up Close".

View Jim's film here: https://vimeo.com/24502091

View Jim's series here: https://vimeo.com/41290742

Find films of Michael Snow on DVD here: https://re-voir.com/shop/en/

And some filmmaker-approved uploads of Snow's films here: https://ubu.com/film/snow.html

An in depth conversation with artist, preservationist, educator and writer Stephen Broomer about his new home video label Black Zero. With the first three titles now available, Stephen discusses all three titles in detail as well as their restoration processes for home media releases and a broader discussion about viewing experimental cinema in your own home. There is a lot of variety in the releases so far, from the psychedelic influenced social commentary conceived as "cinema therapy" in Palace of Pleasure by John Hofsess, the diaristic, structural explorations of Keith Lock's Everything, Everywhere, Again, Alive to the madcap caper of Arthur Lipsett's Strange Codes (an unusual film by the artist that does not use found footage), there is perhaps already something for everyone here.

The films released and discussed so far are:

Palace of Pleasure by John Hofsess

Everything, Everywhere, Again, Alive by Keith Lock

Strange Codes by Arthur Lipsett

View video essays about one of these titles and other classics of genre and experimental film at:

https://vimeo.com/artandtrash?embedded=false&source=owner_name&owner=48630378

Purchase the new Blu Rays from Stephen's Black Zero at:

blackzero.ca

Marie Losier returns for part 2 of our discussion, this time with more of a focus on her feature length works: Cassandro the Exotico!, Felix in Wonderland and the Teddy Award winning The Ballad of Genesis P and Lady Jaye, though some of the shorter film and video works are discussed as well. We discuss the highs and lows encountered when working so closely with those who star in these films as well as the process of making real-life subjects into the stars of the films. In addition, the impact of music on Marie and her films is a focus here, including her process now of making her first official musical comedy!

You can access many of the films discussed in this episode from re-voir.com including on their VOD page and on their app. Others can be found on Marie's vimeo page https://vimeo.com/marielosier, with more information available from marielosier.com.

Artists discussed in this episode include

Genesis P-Orridge

Lady Jaye Beyer P-Orridge

Felix Kubin

Tony Conrad

George & Mike Kuchar

Guy Maddin

John Waters

Jack Smith

Described by Guy Maddin as "The most effervescent and psychologically accurate portrait artist working in film today", Marie Losier. Marie joins H2EEF for the first of two episodes discussing her extensive and growing body of work. Regularly associated with the field of film portraits, Marie’s work also includes improvised performances involving a camera, collage like editing, careful choreography and references to commercial film, particularly musical comedies. Working in collaboration often with other artists, Marie’s films feature performances by and portraits of such luminaries as the Kuchar Brothers, Guy Maddin, Felix Kubin, Alan Vega, Richard Foreman and many more. 

In this episode, Marie discusses mainly her shorter film works, both portrait and performance based films. You can access many of the films discussed in this episode from re-voir.com including on their VOD page and on their app. Others can be found on Marie's vimeo page https://vimeo.com/marielosier, with more information available from marielosier.com.

Artists discussed in this episode include:

Filmmaker Ingo Petzke joins H2EEF from Germany to discuss his body of film work. Made mostly between the 70s and 80s, these films arguably straddle two dominant schools of filmmaking in Germany at this time. There is a clear focus on material as an art material, as well as a focus on film as personal vision, often showing an interest in Scandinavian, Nordic landscapes. He also discusses other works including his close friends Dore O., Werner Nekes and Bastian Clevé. 

Ingo stopped making films in the 80s, but remains a busy film programmer, writer and teacher with an internationally renowned career. 

Many of Ingo’s films are available online from Re: Voir and also on DVD from his own distribution company Redavocado Film (www.redavocadofilm.com).

Film and video artist John Woodman joins H2EEF to discuss his observation and often landscape based works. Described by Malcolm LeGrice as having produced “a sensitive body of creative work”, John’s works are often durational, regularly using one single take to observe and reflect upon particularly natural phenomena and how spaces change over time. It is shot through with a real joy in observing the world around us, noting how easily our perceptions can shift. Many of John’s films are distributed in the US by Canyon Cinema. A DVD of John’s work is available from Lux in the UK and some other works are available for viewing on his website johnwoodman.net.

Norwegian filmmaker Inger Lise Hansen joins H2EEF for a discussion about her work in film. Whether in the extraordinary time lapse of her early films Static, Hus and Adrift or the innovative use of inverted camera in her Trilogy (available in a DVD and book from Lux) or the introduction of digital video alongside celluloid film in her latest film Tåke, Inger Lise’s work proposes alternative perspectives on the world, in which the viewer is encouraged to participate.

Artists discussed in the episode include:

Find out more at https://www.ingerlisehansen.com

Filmmaker Peter Rose makes a welcome return to the show, this time discussing his transition from celluloid film to video, then to installation work and his latest explorations in 3-D (or should we say 6-D!) works for individual viewing using headsets for your mobile phone. Whether in individual or communal viewing experiences, Rose probes the limits of vision itself by toying with the dimensions of cinema to hint at dimensions beyond our normal perceptions. 

Artists discussed in this episode include

American film and video artist Peter Rose joins the show for the first of a two-part discussion about his life and work. In this episode we discuss Peter's earliest work in 8 and 16mm film, which proposed and explored expanded realms of perception, such as in the psychedelic influenced Incantation, but he then began to explore the formal possibilities of film to access dimensions far beyond those of traditional filmgoing. Through use of multiple camera angles and split screens, these films toy with the idea of time and movement in engaging new ways. 

Filmmakers and artists discussed in this episode include:

Slavko Vorkapich

To learn more about Peter Rose's films, visit his website https://www.peterrosepicture.com

You can see his film and video works at https://vimeo.com/user1592855

and on DVD at https://re-voir.com/shop/en/peter-rose-dvd-revoir/66-peter-rose-analogies.html