Experimental Cinema

French distributor Light Cone organizes its fourth Scratch Expanded, coinciding with its annual Preview Show (screenings of recent works deposited in its catalogue). This year's edition, that will take place next September 15-18, pays special attention to filmmakers Warren Sonbert and Rose Lowder (protagonist of two screenings as filmmaker and programmer).

For the fantastic closing evening on Saturday, Light Cone has prepared a series of screenings and performances, including three programmes of recent films from their collection, three 16mm performances by Peter Miller, two Paul Clipson’s Super 8 films with a live-concert by Dominique Pichon and two 16mm performances by Bruce McClure.

Croatia's 25FPS Experimental Film & Video Festival keeps growing each year and is becoming one of the most interesting festivals in Europe. This year's edition will take place from 21 to 26 September in the city of Zagreb, and features a competitive section with 48 short films (selected out of 1500 submissions) screened in eight themed programmes. The section Focus on Croatia will present a selection of recent film and video works from the Balkan country. Legendary Austrian filmmaker Peter Kubelka will introduce two programmes of his films (Metaphoric cinema and Metric cinema) and give lectures on his cinema. The festival jury, formed by Florian Wüst (Germany), Leila Topic (Croatia) and Joost Rekveld (Netherlands) is also the protagonist with one programme curated by each member. This year's edition continues offering a special space dedicated to expanded cinema, with four performances by Bruce McClure, Phill Niblock and Ivan Marušic Klif, Hrvoje Nikšic, Hrvoje Radnic & Ivan Cadež.

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.