Documentary Voices
June 6, 2004 - June 8, 2004
June 8
Some of the most intriguing films being made today are those that engage with the world—whether the world of ideas or of social and political realities. Documentary films ignite discussion, open our minds, expand our worlds, and do so in aesthetically innovative forms—from interview, essay, and collage films to works that use elements of fiction. While a few make it to local theaters, the majority do not. We are eager to share with you this neglected tradition of cinema. With Documentary Voices, a new project, we will bring international documentary filmmakers to the Bay Area as resident artists at PFA. Over the next two years, we will explore the rich diversity of documentary filmmaking worldwide through the words and cinema of some of its most exciting practitioners.
Thom Andersen, a filmmaker, historian, critic, and polemicist, is the first artist in this series. During his residency, June 3 through June 8, he will introduce three programs of his work, including his acclaimed new documentary, Los Angeles Plays Itself (the basis for a major June film series), as well as his earlier Red Hollywood and Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer. Andersen's politically incisive, intellectual essay films are masterfully woven counter-histories, distinctive for their invaluable examination of neglected aspects of cinema history. As a centerpiece of his residency, on June 6, Andersen will lecture on his vision of documentary film.
Upcoming guests in the Documentary Voices series include Indian filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and Russian artist Marina Goldovskaya.
Kathy Geritz
Sunday, June 6, 2004
3:30 p.m. Deleuze and Documentary Film
Lecture by Thom Andersen. "Andersen simply notices things about…movies the rest of us don't" (Toronto Film Festival). In this lecture, Andersen, artist in residence at PFA, will discuss film theorist Gilles Deleuze and his influence on Andersen's own documentaries.
Sunday, June 6, 2004
5:30 p.m. Red Hollywood
Thom Andersen in Person. Andersen and Noël Burch's provocative documentary looks with fresh eyes at the art and social impact of Hollywood's blacklisted filmmakers and screenwriters.
Tuesday, June 8, 2004
7:30 p.m. Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer
Thom Andersen in Person. The definitive exploration of Muybridge's life and work. "One of the best works of film history ever committed to film."—Chicago Reader. With shorts Melting, Olivia's Place, and — ———.
Documentary Voices is made possible with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts.
