How to Enjoy Experimental Film

The incredibly prolific Lynne Sachs returns to the show to discuss her films, particularly those found under the collective title "I Am Not A War Photographer". These titles include: States of Unbelonging, Which Way is East, Investigation of a Flame, The Las Happy Day and Your Day is My Night. We also discuss her films Film About a Father Who... as well as film as an act of civil disobedience. Many of Lynne's films can be found on her personal Vimeo page, as well as The Criterion Channel and, in the case of Film About A Father Who... on a new Blu-ray Disc. 

One of the leading figures in the field of experimental documentary, Lynne Sachs joins H2EEF to discuss her extraordinary body of work. In subjects ranging from the personal to the global political, Lynne's films are consistently sensitive and completely compelling. In this episode, she discusses the field of experimental documentary in general as well as her ways into the field. 

Filmmakers discussed in this episode include:

Jonas Mekas

MM Serra

Chantal Akerman

Robert Altman 

Jean-Luc Godard

Sharon Greytak

Larry Gottheim returns to the show to discuss some of his mid and late period works as well as the questions some of these films raise. It includes a discussion of how Larry found himself travelling to Haiti and becoming deeply involved with Voodoo as well as the deep self questioning that led to his latest films Chants and Dances for Hand and Knot/Not, both of which can be downloaded from the New York Filmmakers' Co-Operative Vimeo page. Some of the discussions travel to quite dark thematic areas and Larry will be discussing the problems, both intellectual and moral, of assembling the material for some of his films. 

One of the giants of the American Avant-Garde, Larry Gottheim joins H2EEF to discuss his life and work from his near legendary early films like Blues, Fog Line and Barn Rushes to his mid-period work (more recent work will be discussed in part 2). 

The serenity and beauty of Larry's early films can be enjoyed in a DVD produced by the New York Filmmakers' Co-Operative and Re:Voir and more recent works are available via the NYFMC's on-demand Vimeo page. 

Filmmakers discussed in this episode include:

Stan Brakhage

Filmmaker Bill Morrison, whose work explores found and often decayed film footage, discusses his work and the nature of memory when contained in found footage. Broadly describable as documentary films, Bill's works have a hypnotic quality (his production company is even called Hypnotic Pictures!), which feature footage both from fiction and documentary films as well as home movies, scientific documentations and more. He recently collaborated with composer David Lang on the short film Let Me Come In for LA Opera as well as the feature film The Village Detective: A Song Cycle. His feature Decasia (in collaboration with composer Michael Gordon) was the first film of the 21st century to be entered into the Library Of Congress National Film Registry and his work consistently transcends the boundaries of the term "experimental", winning over audiences around the world. 

Painter who makes experimental films and experimental filmmaker who paints, Jeff Scher joins us to discuss his complete embrace of the term "experimental" across a rich and varied body of work including rotoscope animations and live action films. 

A student of Adolfas Mekas, Scher also teaches animation at NYU.

Jeff has collaborated with musicians as diverse as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Graham Nash as well as winning a Creative Arts Emmy for his work on the HBO special The Tattoo on Great Grandpa's Arm.

Many of Jeff's films are available on 2 DVDs from Re:Voir https://re-voir.com/shop/en/

And more are available on his personal Vimeo page: https://vimeo.com/user623597

Filmmakers discussed in this episode include:

Kenneth Anger

Bruce Baillie

Robert Breer

Max Fleischer

Marie Menken

Warren Sondbert

Francis Thompson

Andy Warhol

In a special extended episode of How to Enjoy Experimental Film, FOUR filmmakers gather to discuss one of their favourite filmmakers: Kurt Kren.

Nicky Hamlyn and Simon Payne have edited (with the late A.L. Rees) the first English-Language study of Kren's films, while Anna Thew, who has regularly programmed Kren's works for screenings, shares some stories of her own association with Kren and his films. Steven Woloshen, who lists Kren as one of his favourite filmmakers, starts the ball rolling with questions sent in specially for this episode all the way from Canada!

Filmmakers discussed in this episode include:

Arnold Schoenberg

Anna Thew returns to the show for a lively discussion of her film works, including Cling Film, which has been known to generate considerable controversy, particularly when shown in the UK. Much of the work, however is very personal and has universal appeal, whether humorous, or tragic. We'll also discuss broader themes connected to the films including the AIDS crisis and the role of arts in education.

Filmmakers discussed in this episode include

Luis Buñuel

Jean Cocteau

Takahiko Iimura

Kenneth Anger

Carolee Schneemann

Yann Beauvais

Painter turned filmmaker Anna Thew discusses her first steps in filmmaking, leading to her feature film Hilda was a Goodlooker, which dramatises her mother's reminiscences and Behind Closed Doors, which deals with the trauma of losing her mother suddenly. Anna's cinema is deeply personal and yet possesses universal appeal, which will be approachable to audiences everywhere. Highly literate and indeed cine-literate, these are works that amply reward repeated viewings to explore their links to other works.

Find a selection of Anna's films on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user4605273

Filmmakers discussed in this episode include:

Anne Rees Mogg

Rose Lowder

Peter Gidal

Malcolm LeGrice

David Hall

Chris Wellsby

Guy Sherwin

Marcel Duchamp

John Smith

Steve Farrer

Katerina Thomadaki

Maria Klonaris

Yann Beauvais

Cordelia Swan

John Maybury

Derek Jarman

Stan Brakhage

Kenneth Anger

Terence Davies

George Saxon

Writers discussed in this episode include:

Alexei Sayle

Walter Benjamin

Jean Genet

Contains brief strong language.

Join film artist John Smith as he explores some of the major works of his career from his breakthrough film The Girl Chewing Gum, through documentary works including Blight and Home Suite, to his most recent works in the video medium including the Hotel Diaries, The Kiss and Citadel. 

A number of John's recent films can be found on YouTube including Dad's Stick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx2hPQ2S08k&t=25s

Several more films and excerpts are available on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/johnsmithfilms/videos

And there is a DVD box set available from Lux Online, for which 50% of all sales go directly to the artist: https://luxmovingimage.square.site/product/john-smith-3-dvd-boxset/70?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=10

John collaborated with composer Jocelyn Pook for the film Blight. Find out more about her work here: https://www.jocelynpook.com

Filmmakers discussed in this episode include: