New on 16mm: Solar Sight III (Lawrence Jordan, 2013)

In Solar Sight III I have continued the dream-like form of disparate animated scenes, each with its own “romantic-with-an-edge” slightly surreal flavour. Scenes are sometimes run-on, sometimes separated by brief periods of darkness to relax, as in breathing, the viewing eye. There are no fancy superimpositions now, nor excessive visual trickery–only a comparatively straight forward presentation of the improbable images, which have formed themselves in my improbable mind. – L.J.

For more information about Jordan and to rent this film…

SF Cinematheque and SFMOMA presents this tandem screening of works by renowned filmmakers and life partners Nathaniel Dorsky and Jerome Hiler. Acknowledged as a contemporary master of color and montage, Dorsky’s works breathe with the flows of the luminous world’s mysterious life and suggest a spiritual reality just at the threshold of perception. His August and After (2012)—a silent contemplation of the last days of friends George Kuchar and Carla Liss—describes the tender grace of the world in resonance with grief. Equally evocative if lesser known, the films of Jerome Hiler are very seldom screened in public but have privately been important influences on Dorsky and a generation of filmmakers. Himself an accomplished stained-glass artist, Hiler’s Words of Mercury (2011) abounds with elaborate in-camera super-impositions and an uncanny sensitivity to the moment-by-moment vicissitudes of light. This evening’s screening also includes the world premiere of Dorsky’s Song (2013) and a sneak preview work-in-progress screening of Hiler’s Misplacements. (Steve Polta)

Admission + Ticketing
$10 general; $7 SFMOMA and Cinematheque members, students, and seniors.
http://www.sfmoma.org/exhib_events/events/2300

A reminder that next Wed. May 1st 4pm-6pm, we’ll be having a get-together for our filmmakers in lieu of the annual meeting. Come say hello, have a refreshing beverage, peruse our newly expanded selection of DVDs for sale, check out our office, and meet Antonella, Denah, Maia, Nathaniel and Mark in-person! 1777 Yosemite Ave #210 (just off 3rd Street). Ample street parking available. We look forward to welcoming you.

Dance Journal & Ladies of the Dance (1983-1990 | 87 minutes | COLOR | SOUND)
“Dance Journal” is an award winning film on the Performing Dance Company’s tour of England and Scotland. “Ladies of the Dance” is a history of the women who created the Modern Dance Department at the University of Utah. Each film is 30 minutes and contains detailed production notes.

For more information and to buy this title:
http://canyoncinema.com/catalog/film/?i=4477

Testimony Plus Documentary Shorts
This DVD features the nationally award winning documentary film Testimony. The disc also contains 4 other award winning restored short films by Brian Patrick: Honeymoon, Egyptology, Is a Pot, and Fools Mate. All films contain production notes.

For more information and to buy this title:
http://canyoncinema.com/catalog/film/?i=4478

Burying the Past – Legacy of the Mountain Meadows Massacre (2004 | 84 minutes | COLOR/B&W | SOUND)

“In 1857, 120 immigrants from Arkansas were murdered under a white flag by Utah’s Mormon settlers — one of the most horrifying events in the history of the American West known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Through the recounting of a young girl who survived and the accidental discovery of the victims’ remains, this true story exposes a perpetual coverup as descendants from both sides struggle to heal wounds of bitterness.”

For more information and the buy this film:
http://canyoncinema.com/catalog/film/?i=4479

The Hide Out, with On Their Honor

This is a double-disk DVD set of two digitally restored films about the American Penal System: The Hide Out and On Their Honor.

For more information and to purchase this film:
http://canyoncinema.com/catalog/film/?i=4480

CAST SHADOWS: Special Benefit for Artists’ Television Access

Feb 9, 8pm
992 Valencia Street, San Francisco
$15 Gen | $25 Supporter | $50 Sponsor
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/318301

Featuring Canyon Cinema filmmaker Paul Clipson and other incredible film and music performances:

“Support ATA at this special benefit show featuring a roster of evocative intermedia artists working in sound/film performance. All proceeds from the show support Artists’ Television Access, the San Francisco-based, artist-run, non-profit organization that cultivates and promotes culturally-aware, underground media and experimental art.”

Featuring three film-music ensembles:
Barn Owl and Paul Clipson
Marielle Jakobsons and John Davis
John Davis, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Paul Clipson

More information about the event on the ATA website here.

For more information on Paul Clipson and to rent his films…

Canyon Cinema, Inc. is pleased to announce that the current Board of Directors has nominated and elected filmmaker Christopher Harris to replace former Board member Denah Johnston who is currently our Director of Operations. Due to the federal nonprofit application process, Canyon cannot have an employee serve on the Board of Directors.

“I am truly honored to join Canyon Cinema’s Board of Directors and could not be more pleased to have this opportunity to serve such an important cultural institution in this time of transition for our treasured art form. Canyon Cinema’s mission to promote and preserve the heritage of film art in its original format is indispensible to the evolution of future generations of artist filmmakers, videomakers, scholars and students. I am delighted to play even a small role in Canyon Cinema’s continued vitality and growth throughout the coming years and look forward to making a difference toward that end.” – Christopher Harris

Christopher Harris’ award-winning experimental films have explored post-industrial urban landscapes, black outlaws, the cosmic consequences of the sun’s collapse, a child’s nightlight and a theme park performance of Christ’s Passion. His work has screened at festivals, museums and cinematheques throughout North America and Europe including the International Film Festival Rotterdam (2005, 2008, 2010), the VIENNALE-Vienna International Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Leeds International Film Festival, the San Francisco Cinematheque and Rencontres Internationales Paris among others. His most recent film 28.IV.81 (Descending Figures) was named one of “The Best of 2011 in Avant-Garde Film” by IndieWIRE and his films are the subject of the Cinema Scope magazine article “Between Two Eyes: Four Emergent Avant-Garde Film/Videomakers for the New Decade.” He is currently an Associate Professor of Cinema Studies at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

You can find out more information about Christopher Harris on his personal website:
http://www.rosegrafilms.com/

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at: board@canyoncinema.com
-
Maïa Cybelle Carpenter,
President, Board of Directors

New DVDs from Takahiko Iimura now for sale

The following DVDs are now available for purchase from Canyon Cinema:

Sky and Ground
Sky and ground which was cut off momentarily / A camera wanders seeking its own shadow / The images which explore the limit / of solitude in New York / A mythological verbal space in which / snakes and birds are intermingled / A unique world where these images / and words meet. (T.I)

Early Film Poems
I made these six short films during a decade of 1962 through 1971, the first 10 years of my filmmaking though the order in the DVD goes backward from 1971 to 1962. Besides this collection I have already published another package of the films made in the 1960 “60s Experiments” consisted of four films made during 1962-64. The films of this new collection have not shown much during past decades and myself re-discovered lately these ones as a sort of “film poem.” “Film poem” is a term used in the 1960 for experimental film burrowing from literature field. It means non-narrative and short form mostly. Also it often meant lyrical as well though not necessarily so. In this collection it starts from lyrical “The Pacific Ocean”(1971) and ends up not lyrical, “DADA62″ which is descriptive and often metaphorical at the same time. Between them there are varied sense of poem.(T.I)

On Duration in Film
“I asked John Cage about his piece 3 Minutes 44 seconds(1952),discussing the conceptual title of the piece. Time itself becomes thetitle of the piece. John said that it’s not just the time but also a space, and I responded by discussing the Japanese concept of ma, which is a concept that construes time and space as inextricably linked.I also made a piece called 2 Minutes 46 Seconds 16 Frames (100 feet), made in 1972, which was inspired by his piece.In the beginning, I chronologically wrote down the numbers one to twenty-four on each frame for 100 feet of film.Then I chronologically wrote down the numbers one to sixty, but thistime every second (every 24 frames),and did this twice. It was an attempt to show that time is also distance, especially with film.” -Takahiko IImura, from the interview by Julian Ross, 2010

Writing With Light: White Calligraphy
In White Calligraphy, Re-Read, Takahiko Iimura returns to his early work. White Calligraphy which he originally made in 1967 by scratching characters from ‘Kojiki’, an early Japanese text, into the frames of 16mm black leader. In this re-reading of the illegible work the film is slowed down and briefly arrested at?random using digital processing while suddenly legible words are voiced by the artist in an accompanying soundtrack. Part translation (not only between Japanese and English but between media languages) part abstract interplay of picture sound and word.

For more information about Iimura and to rent or purchase his films…

April (Nathaniel Dorsky, 2012)

26 minutes | COLOR | SILENT

Following a period of trauma and grief, the world around me once again declared itself in the form of one of the loveliest springs I can ever remember in San Francisco. April is intended as a companion piece for August and After, and is partly funded by a gift from Carla Liss.

For more information about Dorsky and to rent this film…

August and After (Nathaniel Dorsky, 2012)

18.5 minutes | COLOR | SILENT

After a lifetime, two mutual friends, filmmaker George Kuchar and actress Carla Liss, passed away during the same period of time.

From the Toronto International Film Festival website:
“The film shows them vibrantly, resiliently alive shortly before their passing and then sets off in search of soothing beauty, yielding searing 16mm images awash in colours both belonging to and transcending our natural world. Well into the twilight years of 16mm filmmaking, Dorsky continues to present textures and hues that are indispensible to the art of cinema. We will be poorer without them.”

For more information about Dorsky and to rent this film…