Experimental Cinema

LUX comes back from vacation with a new DVD presented in collaboration with the Lisson Gallery. John Latham: Films 1960-1971 collects all the films made by the british multifaceted artist in the period, exploring his concepts of 'time-base' and 'structure in events'. The DVD will be officially launched at Whitechapel Gallery on 4th September, after a specially-commissioned performance by the sound artist David Toop coinciding with the end of the gallery's show 'John Latham: Anarchive'. The works included in this compilation are Unclassified Material (1960), Unedited Material from the Star (1960), Talk Mr Bard (1961), Speak (1962), Encyclopedia Britannica (1971) and Erth (1971). The DVD comes with many extra features, including audio commentaries, and film documentation of other Latham projects and performances, and a booklet with a specially commissioned essay on Latham’s films by Mark Webber. Latham's work was the subject of an exhibiton last year at online gallery tank.tv. PAL, multizone, 20 GBP.

Wavelengths, the avant-garde film & video section of the Toronto International Film Festival, reaches its tenth edition presenting six programmes with the latest experimental works from all over the world.

Curated by TIFF Cinematheque programmer Andréa Picard and running from September 10 to 13, among the section's highlights are the latest works by Peter Tscherkassky, Nathaniel Dorsky, Dominic Angeranme, Tomonari Nishikawa, Vincent Grenier and John Price. This year's edition also features some jewels from early twentieth-century film, including a short work by cinema pioneer Segundo de Chomón. Also worthy of interest is this year's section City to City, dedicated to Istanbul, that features experimental works by turkish filmmakers Eytan Ipeker, Yoel Meranda and Burçak Kaygun.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York will present a month-long retrospective of the work of Barbara Hammer, spanning from her first films from the late 60s to the premiere of her new film Generations, made in collaboration with Gina Carducci (Stone Welcome Mat). From September 15 to October 13, the museum will screen a total of 15 themed programmes covering both her experimental and documentary work. Barbara Hammer will be present at some of the screenings to discuss her films or read from her recently published autobiography, Hammer! Making Movies Out of Sex and Life (The Feminist Press, 2010). The event Modern Mondays: Hidden Hammer, An Evening with Barbara Hammer (October 4, 19h) will concentrate on her performance, photography, and installation work, and discuss some of the lesser known and hidden aspects of her practice.

"Winnipeg's festival of film and video art" WNDX reaches its fifth edition, as always, with the intent to offer the most innovative film and video works by artists from Canada and all over the world. From September 30 to October 3, the festival's highlights include partial retrospectives dedicated to Barbara Sternberg and George Kuchar (who will also be the protagonist of a conversation with Guy Maddin, the screening of Jennifer M. Kroot's It Came From Kuchar and a workshop); a multi-projector film and video installation by Malena Szlam; and their already classic One Take Super 8 Event.

The fifth edition of Abstracta, the international exhibition of abstract cinema, will take place next August 25-28 in the Isola Tiberina, Rome. During its evening screenings, the festival will present 54 short films in both competitive and non-competitive sections.
This year's jury will be presided by Spanish filmmaker Javier Aguirre and comprised by Vanna Fadini (President of Link Campus University), Gerardo Lo Russo (Director of Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma), Pierluigi Raffaelli (Cofounder Cineteca Lucana), Gennaro Migliore (Cultural National responsible of S.E.L.), Saul Saguatti (filmmaker) and Anton Fuxjaeger (TFM, Universitaet Wien).