HIGHLIGHTS: The Silence of the Archive: Roundtable Discussion of A FILM UNFINISHED, Film Studies Center, Sat 30, 8:00, reservations required; LA JETÉE, Th at doc; THE KIDS GROW UP Sun at Chicago Filmmakers.
Thursday the "Architecture and Design Film Festival" kicks off at Siskel, looks to be about 37 docs, 25ish of them shorts [breakdown in May 6 - post], screening through Sun 8, at both the Siskel and the Wit
Week-long
CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS, River East 21
QUEEN OF THE SUN: WHAT ARE THE BEES TELLING US?, Music Box
POM WONDERFUL PRESENTS: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD, continues Landmark
BORN TO BE WILD, continues Navy Pier IMAX
AFRICAN CATS, continues multiple venues
Multiple screenings
AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY, Siskel, Fri, Sat, Wed, Th
HOW MUCH DOES YOUR BUILDING WEIGH, MR. FOSTER?, Siskel and the Wit, Th [and Mon]
Single screenings
Friday
German Provinces (4 shorts): BIELEFELD52N01 8E32, ALREADY AFTERNOON, TATOOED PRISONERS, DEMONTAGE, DANK-Haus, 7:30
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR EYES HAVE DONE TO ME, St. Nicolas Cathedral School, 7:30
CULTURES OF RESISTANCE, Siskel, 8:00, discussion follows
A SECOND KNOCK AT THE DOOR, Portage, 8:00
THE PIPE, Irish American Heritage Center, 8:30
Saturday
MY HEART IS AN IDIOT, Intuit, 7:00
The Silence of the Archive: Roundtable Discussion of A FILM UNFINISHED, Film Studies Center, 8:00
A PERFECT SOLDIER, Siskel, 8:15, director & producer/editor discussion follows
Sunday
THE KIDS GROW UP, Chicago Filmmakers, 1:00
INSIDE JOB, Oak Park Public Library, 1:00
LETTERS FROM THE OTHER SIDE, Chicago History Museum, 1:30
SHOUT: THE STORY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, Hideout, 5:00, discussion follows
PRISONER OF HER PAST, Anshe Amet Synagogue, 6:30
Mars, or War Huh Yeah What is it Good For Absolutely Nothing Say it Again [program: WINTER SOLDIER, FROZEN WAR, CROSSROADS, Thalia Hall, 7:30
ROCK MY RELIGION, Monument 2 Gallery, 8:00
WORD WARS, Cole's, 8:00
Monday
Space and Structure: Michael Snow and Joyce Wieland [WAVELENGTH, etc.], doc, 7:00
THE EXILE NATION PROJECT, Portage, 7:30
Tuesday
I AM MY FILMS: A PORTRAIT OF WERNER HERZOG, Goethe-Institut, 5/3, 6:00 w. short THE UNPRECEDENTED DEFENSE OF THE FORTRESS DEUTSCHKREUTZ
MUSICIAN, Transistor, 7:30
Wednesday
VEINS IN THE GULF, Front Row Cinema, 6:00, directors and talent present
JOHN & JANE, Chicago Cultural Center, 6:30
Chicago Film Archives Amateur Night, Siskel, 8:00, Center for Home Movies curator present
Thursday
NUREMBERG: ITS LESSON FOR TODAY, doc, 5:00
LUNCHFILM: FILM BEFORE FOOD [shorts program], Block 7:00, programmer Plante present
Nervous Magic Lantern: An Evening with Ken and Flo Jacobs [screenings and discussion], Film Studies Center, 7:00
CineYouth 2011, Front Row Cinema, 7:00 Th(-Sat)
LA JETÈE, doc, 9:00
Monday, April 25, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Full Frame: Archive Brief
Though I've been working-up a couple of pieces for my Full Frame wrap-up, I've had a bee buzzing in my bonnet from the recent Daniel Loria indieWIRE piece "At the Full Frame Festival, Archives are the Future". First, the piece seems to gloss over the program, missing many of the works using significant archival material, though this in itself isn't odd for a wrap-up, it does feel a bit inconclusive here with the thesis presented. Second, though I haven't done a study on the use of archival still and moving archival material, this is obviously nothing new to documentary work, I'd even doubt this years program stands out much from programs of recent years - aside from the Prelinger series - though it feels as though use of archival materials has been gaining popularity over the past 5-10 years. That noted, it seems it would have made sense to flesh out the Spotlight itself to bulk-up the claims about the emphasis on archives
Like Daniel, or likely any other person covering a festival, it is difficult to get a complete sense of the films without being an insider with full access. While the archival angle seems an obvious one to consider, especially given the Prelinger spotlight, what struck me as interesting within this emphasis is the use of the archive against itself/its owner. My sample here is merely three (though there may be others), and each film taps the archive to a wildly different degree, but the idea is that these films are using archives of the State as evidence of poor behavior of the State. In THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NICOLAE CEAUSESCU, the filmmakers use material that is (essentially) state propaganda to not only undermine itself by way of its obviously one-sided nature, but also suggest the state coming apart as there are a few brief moments in Ceausescu's later years that are used that portray him in a less virile and commanding light. A thoroughly compelling three hours of linear archival stitching (though it seems there might have been two reels our of order as NC celebrates his 60th before his 55th). A second film using the archive against its master, noted by Daniel, is SCENES OF A CRIME, which presents as being about the interview/interrogation process, though is more importantly about the front end of a broken - and racist - justice system. As noted, the film leans heavily on footage the police taped of the ten hour (two session) interrogation, perhaps just over half the film is comprised of this material. In each of these instances, the film arguably could not have been made without the archival material, and in each case the archive is biting the hand that has fed it. A third instance that struck me in more of a cautionary way, not quite fitting the bite-the-hand model, was BETTER THIS WORLD. Here, the filmmakers have culled street camera recordings that were expressly installed to monitor citizens - using Homeland Security monies - to "protect" the area around the 2008 Republican National
Convention in St, Paul. The importance of these three films uses of these specific archives turns on issues of citizenship, state accountability and transparency, and proves the necessity of access to these archives.
Two other outliers on the theme that I experienced over the festival were PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES and HOT COFFEE. PAGE ONE touches on the theme as it addresses its tenuous relationship with Wikileaks, most significantly the release of the aircraft video of civilians and reporters being gunned down. HOT COFFEE plays the theme from the corporate angle by way of the paper trail left by McDonalds in both training manuals as well as compiled records. Clearly, access to these archives is essential to keep the state and corporations accountable to citizens and the public at-large. On access, during several of the conversations tied to the Prelinger Spotlight, the issue of economic access as a gatekeeping mechanism to archives was addressed - an issue that seems will be heavily in play in the years to come.
Like Daniel, or likely any other person covering a festival, it is difficult to get a complete sense of the films without being an insider with full access. While the archival angle seems an obvious one to consider, especially given the Prelinger spotlight, what struck me as interesting within this emphasis is the use of the archive against itself/its owner. My sample here is merely three (though there may be others), and each film taps the archive to a wildly different degree, but the idea is that these films are using archives of the State as evidence of poor behavior of the State. In THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NICOLAE CEAUSESCU, the filmmakers use material that is (essentially) state propaganda to not only undermine itself by way of its obviously one-sided nature, but also suggest the state coming apart as there are a few brief moments in Ceausescu's later years that are used that portray him in a less virile and commanding light. A thoroughly compelling three hours of linear archival stitching (though it seems there might have been two reels our of order as NC celebrates his 60th before his 55th). A second film using the archive against its master, noted by Daniel, is SCENES OF A CRIME, which presents as being about the interview/interrogation process, though is more importantly about the front end of a broken - and racist - justice system. As noted, the film leans heavily on footage the police taped of the ten hour (two session) interrogation, perhaps just over half the film is comprised of this material. In each of these instances, the film arguably could not have been made without the archival material, and in each case the archive is biting the hand that has fed it. A third instance that struck me in more of a cautionary way, not quite fitting the bite-the-hand model, was BETTER THIS WORLD. Here, the filmmakers have culled street camera recordings that were expressly installed to monitor citizens - using Homeland Security monies - to "protect" the area around the 2008 Republican National
Convention in St, Paul. The importance of these three films uses of these specific archives turns on issues of citizenship, state accountability and transparency, and proves the necessity of access to these archives.
Two other outliers on the theme that I experienced over the festival were PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES and HOT COFFEE. PAGE ONE touches on the theme as it addresses its tenuous relationship with Wikileaks, most significantly the release of the aircraft video of civilians and reporters being gunned down. HOT COFFEE plays the theme from the corporate angle by way of the paper trail left by McDonalds in both training manuals as well as compiled records. Clearly, access to these archives is essential to keep the state and corporations accountable to citizens and the public at-large. On access, during several of the conversations tied to the Prelinger Spotlight, the issue of economic access as a gatekeeping mechanism to archives was addressed - an issue that seems will be heavily in play in the years to come.
Chicago Doc Screenings, Week of April 22-28
An attempt to note all docs screening in town for the week, we'll see if I stick with the project. Feel free to let me know of any mistakes and/or omissions. Probably not a bad idea to verify info before making your way there:
Week-long
POM WONDERFUL PRESENTS: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD, Landmark
I AM, RiverEast 21
BORN TO BE WILD, Navy Pier IMAX
AFRICAN CATS, multiple venues
I AM, RiverEast 21
BORN TO BE WILD, Navy Pier IMAX
AFRICAN CATS, multiple venues
Multiple screenings
138 POUNDS IN MY POCKETS, Siskel, Fri, Mon
INSIDE JOB, doc, Sat, Sun
INTO ETERNITY, Siskel, Sat, Tue, Wed
Single screenings
LUNCH LINE, Siskel, Fri 22, 6:00
On A Phantom Limb: New Films by Nancy Andrews, Chicago Filmmakers, Fri 22, 8:00
THE FORGOTTEN SPACE, Block, Sat 23, 3:00
MUCH ADO IN MOSTAR, Loyola/Sullivan Center, Sat 23, 4:30
URBAN ROOTS, Siskel, Sat 23, 5:00
KINOFIL, Loyola/Sullivan Center, Sat 23, 6:00
FRAGMENTS OF A LOST PALESTINE, Siskel, Sat 23, 6:15
Performance Post Appropriation: Exchange Screening Berlin & Chicago, Nightingale, Sat 23, 7:00
Performance Post Appropriation: Exchange Screening Berlin & Chicago, Nightingale, Sat 23, 7:00
SAZ: THE PALESTINIAN RAPPER FOR CHANGE, Siskel, Sat 23, 8:00
w/ GHETTO TOWN
LUKOMIR SIX MONTHS OFF, Loyola/Sullivan Center, Sun 24, 2:00
w/ THAT’S OUR CHILD;
EXCEPTIONAL GENTLEMAN’S LEAGUE;
RICOCHET
Films by Betzy Bromberg: Program 1, Experimental Film Society/Room 1307, Sun 24, 3:00
VANISHING OF THE BEES, Siskel, Sun 24, 3:00
VANISHING OF THE BEES, Siskel, Sun 24, 3:00
THE DREAM JOB, Loyola/Sullivan Center, Sun 24, 4:00
YEARS EATEN BY THE LIONS, Loyola/Sullivan Center, Sun 24, 5:00
LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEMHEM, Siskel, Sun 24, 5:15
Venus, aka Lover’s Rock [shorts program], Thalia Hall, Sun 24, 7:30
PLANEAT, Siskel, Mon 25, 6:00
Films by Betzy Bromberg: Program 2, Experimental Film Society/Room 1307, Tue 26, 4:00
Films by Betzy Bromberg: Program 2, Experimental Film Society/Room 1307, Tue 26, 4:00
ANOTHER STATE OF MIND, Delilah’s, Tue 26, 7:00
ON COAL RIVER, siskel, Wed 27, 6:00
SACCO & VANZETTI, Haymarket Pub, Wed 27, 6:00
Portrait of Paris: ON THE ROOFS OF PARIS, and ALL-NIGHTER IN PARIS, Alliance
Francaise, Wed 27, 6:30
LAST TRAIN HOME, Beverly Arts Center, Wed 27, 7:00
BAG IT, Siskel, Th 24, 6:00
LUNCH LINE, block, Th 24, 6:30
A FILM UNFINISHED, doc, Th 28, 7:00, followed by roundtable on 4/30
PRISONER OF HER PAST, Chicago Tribune/Tribune Tower/Campbell Hall, Th 28, 8:00
PRISONER OF HER PAST, Chicago Tribune/Tribune Tower/Campbell Hall, Th 28, 8:00
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