calendario eventi  :: 

X

1/5/2007

Filmmakers at MacDowell

The Museum of Modern Art - MoMA, New York

The Studio System Reconsidered

The Department of Film is delighted to participate in the centennial celebration of The MacDowell Colony, the oldest artists’ residency program in the United States, by helping to create a touring film and media series. These twenty-six film and video works were selected from a general call for submissions of work created by MacDowell film artists since 1971, when those working in moving images were first invited to become Fellows at the Colony. The selection criteria are, foremost, excellence and originality. But the Fellows were also asked to submit works that reflect–however tangentially–their experience at one of MacDowell’s studio habitats. Hence, these works illuminate the extraordinary range of artists that the Colony has attracted and supported over the years as well as the stunning breadth and variety of work with roots at MacDowell. The series represents MacDowell media artists, twenty-eight altogether, as widely as possible with respect to genre, form, and format, and presents the world premiere of a newly commissioned film, Seasons of MacDowell. The MoMA presentation and subsequent tour are part of a yearlong, nationwide celebration of the dynamic interchange between artists of all disciplines creating work in MacDowell’s studios in the woods of Peterborough, New Hampshire. All works from the U.S. unless otherwise indicated.

Organized for the Museum by Jytte Jensen, Curator, Department of Film. Programs selected with Elaine Charnov, Director, Public Programs/Education and Artistic Director, Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival, American Museum of Natural History; and producer, writer, and filmmaker Tania Cypriano. Prints courtesy of New Yorker Films and Miramax.

rule

Related screenings:
Seasons of MacDowell. 2007. USA. Directed by Michael Almereyda, George Griffin, David Petersen, and Elisabeth Subrin. Directed by Michael Almereyda (A Damn Fool Scheme), George Griffin (MacDowell: A User’s Manual), David Petersen (2 Months to Be Quiet), Elisabeth Subrin (The Caretakers, with Cara Seymour). Michael Sullivan, Executive Producer. One of the most exciting prospects in celebrating the centennial of The MacDowell Colony was the opportunity to create something original, representative, and lasting that could contain and express the artistic impulses of a MacDowell Fellowship. In commissioning the four short films that make up Seasons of MacDowell, MacDowell Chairman Robert MacNeil sought out Fellows making diverse and original films with equal commitment to excellence. Each film addresses a particular season and was shot, at least in part, on site. World premiere. Approx. 60 min.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 7:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1 (Introduced by Robert MacNeil and the filmmakers)
Friday, May 11, 2007, 8:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 6:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2

Transitions
High Plains Winter. 2006. USA. Directed by Cindy Stillwell. The tight grip of winter on the high plains of Montana is broken up by images of the sport of "ski joring." These human attempts to cope with and conquer nature’s might are captured in stunning black and white. 10 min.
Air Intoxication. 2004. USA. Directed by Fern Seiden. An ethereal animated collage evokes common experiences with water, with a focus on communal beaches. Fluid sound design and abstract voiceover create a truly aquatic atmosphere. 9 min.
Dear Carry. 1997. USA. Directed by Joel Katz. After discovering a cache of footage shot around the world in the 1940s and '50s by multitalented bohemian and activist Carry Wagner, Katz assembled this engaging film about travel, film, and the process and significance of documentation. 45 min.
Phantom Canyon. 2006. USA. Directed by Stacey Steers. Incorporating cutout models from Eadweard Muybridge's nineteenth-century Human and Animal Locomotion, Steers uses over four thousand painstakingly handmade collages to create a dark, lush tale of a woman's journey through her memories. 10 min. Program 74 min.
Thursday, May 3, 2007, 6:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Saturday, May 12, 2007, 2:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2

Rivet Girl. 2006. USA. Directed by Chris Schiavo. This live-action, black-and-white film, which incorporates drawing, photography, animation, and an original soundtrack, portrays the coming-of-age story of a young, Chaplinesque female figure wandering about in a super-real world. 8 min.
Hamlet. 2000. USA. Directed by Michael Almereyda. Ethan Hawke plays the title character in this stripped-down, fresh adaptation of Shakespeare's play. Almereyda finds a wonderful new perspective as his characters—including MacDowell Chairman Robert MacNeil—interact with the backdrop of contemporary New York. 112 min.
Thursday, May 3, 2007, 8:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Saturday, May 5, 2007, 6:30 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Sunday, May 13, 2007, 5:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2

Rituals
Sprinkling the Cactus. 2004. USA. Directed by Kakyoung Lee. Stark charcoal animation breathes a somber life into Lee's subjects, victims of the impersonality of city life. 7 min.
Confessions of a Sociopath. 2002. USA. Directed by Joe Gibbons. A self-examination of serpentine neuroses, this semi-fictionalized autobiography draws on over twenty-five years of home movies and experiments in identity, resulting in a simultaneously hilarious and painful portrait of the need to characterize oneself. 40 min.
Rites of Spring. 2000. USA. Directed by Fern Seiden. The printing of photographs in MacDowell's darkroom is the starting point for this experimental animation that brings to life the ancient annual bonfire celebration welcoming spring in Sweden. 26 min.
Every Piece I Didn’t Finish. 2001–06. Directed by Neil Goldberg. An excerpt from a longer piece, this work exhibits Goldberg's dry wit and knack for candid introspection as he comments on a series of clips shot while in residence at the MacDowell Colony. A rare glimpse into the humor and challenges of the artist's "process." 7 min. Program 80 min.
Friday, May 4, 2007, 6:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Sunday, May 13, 2007, 3:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2

Remains to Be Seen. 1987. USA. Directed by Jane Aaron. Filmed at MacDowell over the course of two residencies, Aaron's film exhibits the power of animation to reveal life hidden in the mundane. Utilizing a form of rotoscoping, disembodied animated squares flutter and slide across still shots of everyday environments, giving them a playful vitality. 7 min.
Letters Not About Love. 1998. USA. Directed by Jacki Ochs. Two contemporary poets, American Lyn Hejinian and Russian Arkadii Dragomoshchenko, correspond with each other about various ordinary words, such as "home," "violence," and "window." The result is a testament to the power of cross-cultural communication and to the bond between two artists, worlds apart, who couldn’t be closer. 58 min.
Friday, May 4, 2007, 8:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Monday, May 14, 2007, 6:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2

Maria Full of Grace. 2004. USA/Colombia. Directed by Joshua Marston. A sweeping tale of a seventeen-year-old who, desperate to leave her job at a rose plantation in Colombia, reluctantly agrees to work for a drug trafficker transporting heroin to the U.S. Marston's beautifully assured feature debut handles its taboo topic with honesty and dignity, creating an indelible portrait of a young girl determined to make a better life for herself. English, Spanish; English subtitles. 101 min.
Saturday, May 5, 2007, 2:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Thursday, May 10, 2007, 6:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2

Loretta. 2003. USA. Directed by Jeanne Liotta. A violent, kinetic, and gorgeously abstract photogram made without a camera, using only a flashlight. 4 min.
Self Portrait Post-Mortem. 2002. USA. Directed by Louise Bourque. Hauntingly beautiful, both morbid and bristling with color and life, magnificently deteriorated frames of yellow- and orange-colored film are superimposed over the image of a woman. 3 min.
Head. 1975. USA. Directed by George Griffin. This whimsical and introspective "anti-cartoon" explores the connection of age and life perspective to animation. 10 min.
They Were the Future. 2005. USA. Directed by Benita Raphan. Three short experimental documentaries about three geniuses—Dr. Edwin H. Land, Professor John F. Nash, Jr., and Buckminster Fuller—eschew the standard talking heads and archival footage for an approach characterized by audiovisual collage and digital manipulation, providing a deeper, more visceral insight into the men's lives. 31 min.
Playing the Part. 1995. USA. Directed by Mitch McCabe. A combination of home and college footage and photographs creates a funny, angst-ridden personal essay about McCabe's struggle to come out to her parents. Wise, creative, and accomplished, the film was awarded the Academy Award for Best Student Documentary. 40 min. Program 88 min.
Saturday, May 5, 2007, 4:30 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Thursday, May 10, 2007, 8:30 p.m., Theater 2, T2

Yoohoo, Mrs. Goldberg. USA. Directed by Aviva Kempner. Excerpt. Following The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1998), this work-in-progress delves into the life of another lesser-known Jewish hero, Gertrude Berg. A tireless innovator of early radio and television, Berg graced the stage, screen, and airwaves for five decades, often as her winsome onstage alter ego, Molly Goldberg. Approx. 20 min.
Rain in a Dry Land. 2006. USA. Directed by Anne Makepeace. An emotionally and politically gripping documentary about two Somalian refugee families who find new homes in America. Makepeace follows their discovery of and rocky transition to an American way of life. They struggle to find balance between the travails of school and work and the immense love and joy provided by their families. 82 min.
Sunday, May 6, 2007, 2:30 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Saturday, May 12, 2007, 6:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Monday, May 14, 2007, 8:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2

Decasia: The State of Decay. 2002. USA. Directed by Bill Morrison. Deterioration creates life in Morrison's breathtaking ode to the naturally multifaceted manner in which celluloid decays. Morrison’s violent, hallucinatory, beautiful poem—a segment of which was edited at MacDowell—features an appropriately dissonant original score by Michael Gordon. 67 min.
Sunday, May 6, 2007, 5:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 8:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2

Harriet Listens. 2004. USA. Directed by Michael Wilson. Wilson finds that rare moment of intimacy and self-discovery as he films poet Harriet Zinne listening to herself read from her poem "The Void." The two artists, who met at MacDowell, share a disarmingly honest connection as they explore their craft. 2 min.
Joe and Maxi. 1979. USA. Directed by Maxi Cohen. An emotionally raw documentary about Cohen's relationship with her father as she tries to get to know him better after the death of her mother. 81 min.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007, 6:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Saturday, May 12, 2007, 4:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2

Picture Perfect. 2006. USA. Directed by Meredith Holch. Combining animation with documentary audio, this "documation" is a particularly effective tribute to the deterioration and transformation of farm life in rural Virginia. 7 min.
Arise! Walk Dog Eat Donut. 1999. USA. Directed by Ken Kobland. A structuralist film about routine and the fleeting and amorphous nature of memory. Kobland loops a Russian ballad from the 1940s over a series of tracking shots taken from elevated trains. As he examines his own personal landscapes, he invites the viewer to do the same. 30 min.
B/SIDE. 1996. USA. Directed by Abigail Child. This powerful audiovisual collage, featuring both documentary and narrative elements and edited at MacDowell, meditates on New York’s downtown homeless population. 38 min. Program 75 min.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007, 8:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Friday, May 11, 2007, 6:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2

The Museum of Modern Art - MoMa
11 West 53 Street - New York

stampa

permanent link