Now Available: Three New Films by Lynne Sachs
Posted August 26th, 2024 in Announcements, New Acquisitions, New Digital Files, New Films, News / Events
Canyon Cinema is delighted to announce that three new films by Lynne Sachs are now available for rent, including: Contractions, which was recently featured on The New York Times’ Op-Docs page; She Carries the Holiday in Her Eyes, featuring Barbara Friedman and Laetitia Mikles; and The Jitters, commissioned by Indiana University’s Moving Image Archive for A Century of 16mm.
Contractions (2024, 12 minutes, color, sound, digital file)
In the wake of the overturning of Roe v Wade, Contractions takes us to Memphis, Tennessee where we contemplate the discontinuation of abortion services at a women’s health clinic. We listen to an obstetrician and a reproductive rights activist who movingly lay out these vital issues. We watch 14 women and their male allies who witness and perform with their backs to the camera. In a state where a woman can no longer make decisions about her own body, they can only “speak” with the full force of their collective presence.
She Carries the Holiday in Her Eyes (2023, 4 minutes, color, silent, digital file)
A picture of parallels and swirls, two women touch with eyes closed, use cameras in motion, discover a holiday of optics.
“I have seen an individual, whose manners, though wholly within the conventions of elegant society, were never learned there, but were original and commanding, and held out protection and prosperity; one who did not need the aid of a court-suit, but carried the holiday in his eye. — from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Manners”
The Jitters (2023, 3 minutes, b&w, sound, digital file)
I wanted to create a film with my Bolex 16mm camera that reflects who I am at this moment in my life. I bought my camera in 1987, used. It has lived with me for four decades, and it has witnessed pretty much every aspect of my existence. I decided to shoot my roll of black and white film one frame at a time. With 24 frames in a second, this gave me the chance to work more expansively with the Bolex, pushing its capabilities as far as they might go. The Jitters includes three very specific performative elements. My partner Mark Street and I wiggle around, watching and celebrating who we are independently and together. I also include my three pet frogs because I like the way that they wiggle in unison and on their own. These small reptiles have been part of our family’s life for 19 years, they needed to be memorialized on film. Lastly, I bring two bonsai trees into the tableaux, because they too should be applauded, for their persistence and longevity. Strangely enough, they wiggle too, that’s part of the magic of film.
