Bedridden and deathly, Nolan’s own psychic life becomes active against itself. Disturbing the calm of his sexlessness, the possibility of a quiet and pleasant convalescence is forced into retreat by the stubbornly recurrent vision of a scene of fecundity, appetite, and in effect Nolan’s own rape.
Filter Films
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“Like a Dream That Vanishes” continues my work in film both thematically and formally: the ephemerality of life echoed in the temporal nature of film, as the stuff of life echoed on the energy, life-force in rhythmic light pulses. (Your life is like a candle burning.) Imageless emulsion is inter-cut with brief shots of natural elements and mise-en-scene of the stages of human life: a little boy runs and falls; teens hang out together at night smoking; sun shines through tree branches; men pace, waiting; flashes of lightning; an elderly man speaks philosophically about miracles. The movement between form and formlessness, appearing and withdrawing, creation and dissolution (death) are felt. The film image, as the reality behind it, is not quite graspable. (BS) Music by Rainer Weins.
Like a Dream That Vanishes
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This hand-painted and elaborately step-printed work (involving Positives and Negatives of original painted source material in combination, as well as superimpositions filmed at 24fps and at 48 fps) is a very organic be-seeming darkly coloured work (blood and rust reds mixed with off-greens) as if microscopic images of connective and (other) cells and/or threads of internal muscles were caught in a “dance” (i.e. contrapuntal varieties-of-rhythm increasingly coordinated) ultimately suggestive of sex). The forms of the work also vaguely metaphor male and female exterior nudity coupling. The evolution of the work is almost purely rhythmic as increased tempos, in ever more complex interaction, evolve to coordinated climax and brief aftermath. (Stan Brakhage)
Coupling
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This hand-painted, elaborately step-printed film begins with what appears to be torn fragments of thick parchment erupting upward, out of which emerges a series of landscapes, gardens, exteriors of mansions, castles and the like, then (as yellow predominates ever vegetable greens, sherwood greens and deep floral reds, blood reds) interior corridors and room, as if lit by chandeliers and candelabras – all of which eventually bursts into flames, explosions, which somewhat “echo” visually the beginning of film. (SB)
Stately Mansions Did Decree
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“‘Self Song’ documents a body besieged by cancer. The amber glow of narrowly focused, miniscule, layers of flesh and skin suggests both victory and submission to death. The warm colors of the flesh grooves and textures of the skin seemingly suggest a body, which is very much alive. Yet, there is always an impending darkness. Blackness surrounds the image and occasionally, takes it over altogether. Furthermore, the complex grooves and patterns of the flesh struggle to maintain their focus, suggesting the obscuring and dissolving effects of cancer. “In ‘Death Song’ the response to death is certainly more positive. The film begins with a smooth palate of blue hues. The blue returns toward the end of the film as a rigid and structurally organized screen, which suggests the permanent aspect of death. But initially it serves to contrast a blinding sequence of overexposed yellow frames. Within these images are drowning microscopic organisms. Their structure and energy is laid bare for us. However, these images are constantly being ‘washed out’ by a ‘grubby’ whiteness, which seeks to dissolve the image entirely. In this respect, we might view the purity of whiteness as being ‘soiled’ and encompassing. The all-encompassing nature of death is modified or tainted by cancer-organs and living systems are in a frantic trauma, trying not to be ‘washed out.’ “By the end of the film, the image has shifted to the blue screen. The gentle layers of blues and greens suggest a comfortable and smooth, despite rigid, aspect of death. It is a space in which the dirty whiteness should not pierce. Yet, his vision is too idyllic in Brakhage’s mind, and thus he allows the blueness to bleed from the side of the frame, opening the ‘blinds’ to the cancerous light.” – Andre Munoz, 1997
Self Song / Death Song
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A documentary exploring the provocative images of the Jamaican-Canadian visual artist Michael Chambers. Reflecting the new multi-cultural youth culture emerging in large urban centers in Canada and internationally, Chambers photographs nude models in urban and natural settings to comment on the human condition, black identity and stereotypes, self-expression, perceptions of the human body, nudity, racism, sexual orientation and AIDS prevention. The photographer follows Chambers over a five-year period in Canada and Jamaica, and shows his images of nude models taken in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, London and Paris.
Photographer: An Artist’s Journey, The
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A moving and entertaining video documentary on the gay community in Toronto, as seen through the life stories and performances of female impersonators/drag queens from the 1940s to the present.
Forbidden Fruit: Unfinished Stories of Our Lives
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Latino drag queens fleeing persecution in South America struggle for survival in the gay community in Toronto. There is little legal protection for homosexuals in many Latin American countries. Several gays, transgendered persons, and drag queens featured in this documentary were subject to police brutality in their countries and have been granted refugee status in Canada on the basis of their sexual orientation.
Latin Queens: Unfinished Stories of Our Lives
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Vanity. Had a beard. Appearance (looks). Looking. Disappearance act. Hand-made fades and zooms but camera made shave. Camerazor. Handsome. Tired. Walking Woman. My worst film. (Michael Snow)
Short Shave
