“The world is everything that is the showcase.” Living in a globalized world – a case study. (Loosely based on Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus logico-philosophicus, sentence no. 1.)
Filter Films
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How long does the twinkling of an eye last? What all happens in a moment? Slap in a snap – a document of directing and a video on the half-life of still photos.
Blue Box Blues (Staging a Photo Shoot)
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“It’s not about how a drag queen moves, it’s what she sets in motion.” – Ovo Maltine, 1966-2005 Christoph Josten was Ovo Maltine. She died on February 8, 2005 at Berlin’s Auguste Viktoria hospital, eleven week after suddenly being diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. She had lived with the HIV virus for 13 year. “Ovo (the egg)” – read one obituary – “lay down in Berlin’s nest of queens and brooded on a number of political projects: a hotline for gay victims of assault, Act Up, AIDS benefit events, the legalisation of marijuana, the recognition of prostitution as a profession, transgender visibility…”
DAS OVO (Ovo – das Video) | THE OVO (Ovo – the Video)
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An idiosyncratic look at staging in news photography, using materials from the archives of a Toronto daily. Moral codes, delinquency and autonomy are pulled into an altered coherence, as vintage photos are examined next to their type-written paper trail. Financial assistance provided by the Ontario Arts Council. Selected screenings & awards: Best Experimental Short Film, Lusanne Underground Film Festival, 2007; Toronto International Film Festival, 2006; Jury’s Choice Award, Black Maria Film & Video Festival, 2007; San Francisco International Film Festival, 2007; Ann Arbor Film Festival, 2007; Big Muddy Film Festival, 2007
Memo to Pic Desk
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Leif Harmsen’s remake of Godrey Reggio’s classic independent film “Koyaanisqatsi” was shot on Super 8 film entirely on location in Toronto by invitation to the Splice This! 2005 Super 8 Film Festival. Bob Wiseman wrote and performed the evocative instrumental soundtrack. “Toraanisqatsi” is an environmental thriller set in the Toronto of the 21st century, a city taken over by cars, fast food, electronic billboards, jetliners, industry and pollution. It is seen through the terrified eyes of a living breathing human. All transportation for this film was done by bicycle or foot.
Toraanisqatsi
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“‘Scheme’ is composed of photographs, text and drawings from my son’s creative play and school work. Many of the images are photographs he shot with a child’s Crayola 110 camera, which I feel capture some of the essence of movement and the transcience of childhood. The video is framed by ideas of how we are socialized to make patterns and connections to the world through the use of language. It explores this patterning through the relationship between the photographic image and a dialogue between my son & I.” – Tracy German
Scheme
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“In a Present Distance…” explores the complex terrain of motherhood, through an experimental narrative about a woman who travels to Quebec City to do research for a film she is making. While on the train, fragments of her life emerge and speak subtly to the journey of life: of grieving and loss, of happiness and sadness, as well as the joyful and reverent gestures of living. At the heart of this film is her child, shown at various times and spaces in his development as he explores the world around him. It is through him and his growth and discovery that we are led through a palimpsest of love and a woman’s transformation, to a non-linear awareness of time through the claiming of the past, present and future.
In a Present Distance…
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A woman rants about god, bad haircuts, fame and money, while surreal images of her suburban life unfold beside her. Based on a poem by Janette Platana.
Everything
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This short film is about the consequences of my personal choices and the lessons that I’m doomed to repeat. I have chosen, as subject, to animate the Tibetan letter “AH” in the traditional U-Chan form to demonstrate – in the way of a simple visual metaphor – some of the differences between Karma and my freedom to choose. This film is constructed as a visual “process loop” and may be screened once or repeatedly. Sacred chants by Tibetan Buddhist monks. Colour by Technicolor, Montreal.
Phont Cycle
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Torn from the pages of a South American travelogue, “Pura Sangre” explores society’s obsession with sociological and biological bloodlines. Spanish-language version also available.
Pura Sangre
