Saint Petersburg, Russia

Support and Distribution
Films by Light Cone

Program:

Curatorial text:

87 min

As this is the first edition of the festival, it felt symbolic to dedicate the retrospective specifically to the early works of experimental filmmakers. However, before settling on the theme of debut films, I considered several other program concepts that ultimately proved impossible to realize for various reasons. At first glance, assembling a retrospective of debut works may seem like a relatively simple task; however, I can confidently say that it has been the most labor-intensive selection process throughout my curatorial practice. There are as many debut films in the world as there are filmmakers; and the most frustrating limitation was the well-known impossibility of renting digital copies of certain works. The thematic framework is extremely broad, allowing films from entirely different historical periods, countries, contexts, and with distinct approaches to content to exist alongside one another. Therefore, the program was constructed according to a rhythmic and tonal development, moving “towards” and “away from” key reference points — films that I was certain I wanted to include in the selection.
One such point is Apollo (2003) by Tomonari Nishikawa. Nishikawa can undoubtedly be considered a contemporary classic who, unfortunately, passed away last year. “It demonstrates my interest in the materiality of film, the medium itself, and the cinematic apparatus as such” — these are Nishikawa’s words describing his film.

To approach the intense rhythm and “structural” nature of the first extreme section of the program, the viewer will encounter Untitled (1980)by Michael Mazière and Pièce touchée (1989) by Martin Arnold. Both films are based on a pure investigation of editing and rhythm. In Arnold’s case, this approach becomes something truly radical; it is not without reason that some viewers jokingly refer to his works as predecessors of the YouTube Poop (YTP) genre.

After Nishikawa’s film, the program moves in a more poetic direction. A Child Goes Burying Dead Insects (2009) by Rei Hayama still belongs to a materialist approach to filmmaking, while at the same time carrying a deeply sentimental tone. The work was created at the moment when Fujifilm announced the discontinuation of its Single-8 film processing services. At that time, many filmmakers were fighting to preserve this film format, and Hayama’s film became part of this movement.
In Landscape (1998) by Shiho Kano, what remains of “structuralism” are only the distortions created through hand processing; the focus shifts toward capturing the fragile balance between light and shadow, and the fragility of the image itself.

Thus, the viewer arrives at the program’s second key reference point, which also serves as its conclusion — Words of Mercury (2010) by Jerome Hiler. It is the most controversial film in the program, as the “debut” status of the work can be questioned. This is due to the specific approach to the creation and presentation of films developed by Hiler and Dorsky. Words of Mercury is Hiler’s first film to receive a broad public presentation. All of his previous works, in turn, were shown privately among a small circle of acquaintances, with the exception of Gladly Given (1997), the original print of which was publicly screened only once at a film festival in New York.
“Usually, I shoot first and ask questions later” — this is how Jerome describes his method, openly acknowledging the subsequent influence of Brakhage, Markopoulos, and, of course, his lifetime companion Nathaniel Dorsky on his artistic practice. It is also impossible to overlook Hiler’s engagement with medieval and Renaissance music, as well as stained-glass art, a field in which he is a specialist.

Curator: Mark Petrovitsky