GUY MADDIN - The Heart of the World

Extraordinary!

The Heart of the World is a short film written and directed by Guy Maddin, produced for the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival. Enjoy.

American: The Bill Hicks Story - Highly Recommended Film of Interest - Trailer

Link:  American: The Bill Hicks Story
- an extraordinary documentary of Bill's life, professionally and personally (really one in the same). The filmmakers utilize and interweave multiple filmmaking techniques including animation, still image manipulation, and other experimental modes as well as plenty of traditional interview footage and, of course, live stage footage of Bill. It received endless interest and acclaim on its film festival run, was picked up for a limited release, and is now being distributed on dvd. It can currently be viewed on Netflix Instant Play. I will be posting more about the film and the particularly interesting screening that I had the privilege of attending here in Austin with the filmmakers (Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas)  in attendance as well as an extra treat for the audience. Highly recommended.

Filmmaker Quotes and Video: Stan Brakhage

Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective, and unprejudiced by compositional logic, an eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which must know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception.

~ Stan Brakhage, from Metaphors on Vision

One of my favorite Brakhage pieces.

Stan Brakhage - Eye Myth (1972) and more...

"If Maya Deren invented the American avant-garde cinema, Stan Brakhage realized its potential... Brakhage single-handedly transformed the schism separating the avant-garde from classical filmmaking into a chasm. And the ultimate consequences have yet to be resolved; his films appear nearly as radical today as the day he made them." At the end of the video, options to play more Brakhage films will reveal as thumbnails at the bottom of the screen. I recommend Black Ice (1994) as a more contemporary sample of his work. To find out more about Stan Brakhage and his films, visit the link to the post title.

Rachel's Song - an exercise of rhythm in image

anything goes in love, magic, and mystical mayhem under a 90 degree sun

product of a 24 hr/One-Take film fest (In-Camera edit only) and a $200

micro-camera from target.

Stan Brakhage - giving and taking

A response to a reading from A Moving Picture Giving and Taking Book, by Stan Brakhage:

Brakhage, in his filmmaking and writing, never fails to reveal an endearing nature that somehow rests between primal, child-like perceptions and sophisticated comprehension of formal artistic technique. The technical guidance that he provides in his writings from A Moving Picture Giving and Taking Book offers invaluable direction for the creation, or giving, of motion film imagery through various techniques of light source and filmstock manipulation. Though his technical references may seem basic in some regards, particularly to an informed student or maker of film, his insight and neverending wanderment remains inspiring and endlessly useful. It seems, in many regards, that Brakhage has managed to deconstruct the concept of motion imagery and then rediscover (or reinvent) it with unabated curiosity. He shows infinite generosity in his desire to share personal discoveries, technical and conceptual, while also expressing a constant desire and respect for new discoveries that may extend beyond his humble realizations. Though I was completely inthralled by the nature and language with which he communicates, often reverting to the poetry and stream of consciousness so evident in his work, he still manages to share explicit techniques that offer groundwork from which to begin. I was particularly humored by his humble (which he is by no means obligated to considering his mastery of craft and art) invitation to quit reading the material and get to work, repeated at regular intervals throughout the essay. The ultimate advice herein is the encouragement of personal discovery. However, he also articulates the importance, though somewhat begrudgingly, of technique and the mastery and full comprehension of... While adamently encouraging a selfless exchange of technical information amongst filmmakers (i'm sure partly selfish due to his own unquenchable desire for artistic exploration), he is careful to state, "...many creations are still-born out of technical inadequacy." Miles Davis once stated that a musician should first learn as much technique and theory as possible, and then forget it all. At this point, a true musician is born. Brakhage seems to have a similar approach of integrating knowledge and technical ability with his child-like sense of discovery. In all, Brakhage most impresses with his infinite curiosity and attempt to purely express his minds eye - a subjective feat all too obscure in motion filmmaking.