A Cinematic Tribute to Chick Strand
Posted October 17th, 2009 in Announcements, Events and Screenings, News / Events
Curated by Dominic Angerame
Presented by Canyon Cinema and the San Francisco Cinematheque in association for the Ninth Street Media Arts Center
October 24, 2009
145 Ninth Street #260
San Francisco, CA
7:30 PM, Admission $10
A reception will be held after the screening
“Chick Strand was one of the more renowned pioneers in the Bay Area experimental filmmaking community. Canyon Cinema and the Cinematheque were founded in 1961 when Strand and Bruce Baillie began to show films in their backyard on a sheet tied between two trees. These weekly screenings were the seeds that began to sprout when Canyon Cinema became an official State Corporation. Out of Canyon Cinema came the Canyon Cinema News, and the Canyon Cinematheque. The Canyon Cinematheque branched off from Canyon Cinema around 1977 and became its own non profit exhibition center known as the Cinematheque. Both organizations, however, share a common thread in that the promotion of experimental cinema is the main focus.
“Chick Strand, through her example, always championed the rights of filmmakers. She constantly Insisted that filmmakers be paid for showing their work and that they be treated properly. The spirit of Canyon Cinema comes from her energies and she also believed that filmmakers should organize and operate their own exhibitions and distribution of films. Not only was she an inspiration to those of us involved in Canyon Cinema, she was also a dedicated teacher for more than 35 years”—Dominic Angerame, Filmmaker and Executive Director, Canyon Cinema
“Born Mildred in northern California and nicknamed Chick by her father, CHICK STRAND (1931-2009) studied anthropology at Berkeley in the 1960s, joined the free speech movement, and experimented with photographic collage. She joined the filmmaker Bruce Baillie and editor Ernest Callenbach to found Canyon Cinema, a screening collective that evolved into the San Francisco Cinematheque and the independent distributor Canyon Cinema. She enrolled on the ethnography program at UCLA, and after graduating in 1971 taught for 24 years at Occidental College. She made nineteen films, many shot in Mexico, while traveling with her life and creative partner, the pop-surealist artist Neon Park (Martin Muller, 1940-93). Her work is held in the collection of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and continues to be distributed by Canyon Cinema.”—Wikipedia
Among the films shown tonight will be a film made by Eric Strand, Chick’s son.
To be screened are: Angel Blue Sweet Wings, Fever Dream, Guacamole, Kristallnacht, Soft Fiction and Waterfall.
