A poetic story of a proletarian couple’s relationship during the years of economic crisis and unemployment – of all the films directed by E. F. Burian, the film Chceme žít (We Want to Live, 1949) is probably his worst. The intention to create a powerful work of cinema that would combine modern means of expression with the ideological canons of socialist realism failed completely. Ježek and Tarnovski discovered these „shambles“ and tried to rebuild a structure out of the hopelessness and futility of life. Ježek has photochemically “transcribed” selected passages with the greatest possible degree of humility towards the work of the great avant-gardist, Tarnovski similarly makes the soundtrack visible. The improvised encounter of sound and image in dialogic mode can lead to various misunderstandings resulting in ambiguous compromise.
Japanese two female singer-songwriters, Kazumi Nikaido (also known as Nika Soup) and Saya Source (of Tenniscoats, Maher Shalal Hash Baz). Nika is known for her chameleon-like ability to transform her voice, while Saya has a melancholic and straightforward singing style. Both have distinct voices that can be identified immediately, but when they sing in unison, they create melodies that are truly sublime. They have released charming album IPIYA (2005) features playful pop songs reminiscent of nursery rhymes, repetitive mantra-like tracks. The two went back and forth from their homes in Hiroshima and Tokyo to create beautifully diverse songs for this record. This is the documentary of "how" and "why" and also "where" they had made the very original music. Many interviews, rehearsals, free sessions, live performances are included. There is a childlike innocence to this documentary, and offers a peak into the unique world of how they make music.
Soy
Jo; or The Act of Riding a Bike is Zefier's third film.
Outtakes, commentary from Zefier's third film: Jo; or The Act of Riding a Bike.
Set against nostalgic analog noise, this is an ultra-processed film which pays homage to lost media and the dead art of videotaped home movies. Taking place primarily in the United States, two strippers look into getting hired at a club in Colorado, a young musician reunites with her family in Missouri, and a German woman flies from Berlin to the U.S. to help her friend finish a film in Texas.
This work is a representation of the deterioration of the first love of Nakano Eiji. He uses a psychedelic effect to represent the deterioration.
Shenzhen River (the border btw Hong Kong and Shenzhen), and the Second Line of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (the border between Socialism China and Capitalism China) were compared to the Berlin Wall. The Second Line were constructed June 1982, demolished June 2015. The First Line (Shenzhen River) still flows, running deeper and deeper after 1997. Artist Miaoyuan LONG and Zen LU (the ON/OFF media Group) documented major checkpoints along these two boundaries. It’s a piece to illustrate the Big Escape (Touch Base Policy) from mainland China to Hong Kong during 1950-70’s and the geopolitical history of Shenzhen. The 48min audio-visual live performance version was Official selection of Draft Systems 2017 WRO Media Art Biennale, Poland.
Part ethnographic film and part experimental film, கோயில் (The Temple) is a hybrid piece of cinematography that questions the act of observing.
A story of The Map and The Territory. Shot in BC, California, and Nevada. Original music by Tashi Townley, Jack Brintnell, Luc Wiebe, and George Lee.
a poem. trees. fragments of fritz. love—and nothing besides!
Ione
The inner world of the great painter Max Ernst is the subject of this film. One of the principal founders of Surrealism, Max Ernst explores the nature of materials and the emotional significance of shapes to combine with his collages and netherworld canvases. The director and Ernst together use the film creatively as a medium to explain the artist's own development.
Dance for All
CONTACT is a short documentary film directed by Jonathan Walley that chronicles the transformation of an entire skatepark into a playable musical instrument—where the skate, BMX, art, and music scenes collide. HCS has been many things: a skatepark, gallery, library, museum, and stage; but, for one weekend, Derek Nelson fabricator, activist, BMX pro, and artist, transformed his skatepark into an immersive sonic installation—part instrument, part playground—for the community of Binghamton, NY to become co‑creators in a conflagration of sound. SMALL TOWN, BIG SOUND. CONTACT reminds us of the joy in creativity, community, and the DIY spirit. Contact is about pushing boundaries, experimenting with art, and reclaiming space in an increasingly cruel, unkind, and oppressive world. It’s a poetic exploration of the creative process told by a filmmaker who calls HCS home.
From June 2021 to June 2022, Justin "Jastun" Bland records whatever that is in front of him. He presents an abstract montage of collected videos varying from onscreen recordings to filming special, intimate & mundane in-real-life moments. This short captures our daily routines in life and how we choose to spontaneously record them.
Moon Crab is a meditation on the horseshoe crab, one of Earth's oldest living species now struggling with extreme population decline. Blending reflections on nature's cycles with experimental visuals, the film employs an array of techniques, including eco-processed film developed with seaweed, to immerse the viewer in the crab's subaquatic world. Narrated with intimate depth by physiologist Dr. Abner Lall, the filmmaker’s neighbor, this documentary captures a timeless story of resilience and fragility, urging us to reconsider our connection to the natural world.
Drawing from archives, through the collective force of invention and resistance, and evoking the creative power of Black people, the film summons sonic and visual memories to construct an insurgent remix.
A depiction of a girl’s uneasy state of mind as it wavers between life and death.
The uninterrupted light trail of one year and ten months, condensed down to 20 minutes, filmed on a self-made camera. Daily rhythms accelerate, slowly at first, then more intensely. A structuralist film about transience.