Program 2: Private Lives
Introduction by Scott MacDonald
Screening on Film
Screening on Film
-
Geography of the Body
Directed by Willard Maas.
US, 1943, 16mm, black & white, 8 min.
Poet Maas’s exploration of the human body as unknown territory.
-
Private Life of a Cat
Directed by Alexander Hammid and Maya Deren.
US, 1945, 16mm, black & white, silent, 22 min.
Print source: Swank
Rejected by the New York State Censors as “obscene”—believe it or not.
-
Psyche
Directed by Gregory Markopoulos.
US, 1947, 16mm, color, 25 min.
An experimental narrative based on Pierre Louys’ unfinished novella: “Three interrelated characteristics define Markopoulos’ style: color, rhythm, and atemporal construction. Color, rather than story, has been the emotional vehicle of his films.” – P. Adams Sitney, Visionary Film
-
The Room
Directed by Carmen D’Avino.
US, 1959, 16mm, color, 5 min.
Print source: Academy Film Archive
This now underappreciated animator was a popular favorite with Cinema 16 audiences.
Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.
-
Thanatopsis
Directed by Ed Emshwiller.
US, 1962, 16mm, black & white, 5 min.
Print source: Canyon Cinema
A meditation on mortality.
-
Window Water Baby Moving
Directed by Stan Brakhage.
US, 1959, 16mm, black & white, 12 min.
Brakhage’s then-shocking paean to human creativity; Cinema 16 was its first distributor.
-
Begone Dull Care
Directed by Norman McLaren.
US, 1949, digital video, color, 9 min.
Copy source: National Film Board of Canada
Canadian Norman McLaren draws and paints directly on the filmstrip, riffing with Oscar Peterson.
