12: Mieriën Coppens, Guy Sherwin, Johan van der Keuken, Jürgen Böttcher, Jim Jennings, Charles Burnett, Bruce Baillie

1 April, 2018 - 18:00
Sphinx cinema

 

In the presence of Mieriën Coppens.

Tap

Guy Sherwin
,
UK
,
1974
,
16mm
,
b&w
,
3'

A slow-dripping tap disturbs the reflection of clouds seen through the window.

Carry On

Mieriën Coppens
,
BE
,
2017
,
HD
,
b&w
,
12'

Individuals wait, silence is heard, a microscopic attention through a tired mass. If the film is almost mute, it is because it focuses on silent figures, although their struggle is deafening.

Vier muren

Johan van der Keuken
,
NL
,
1965
,
16mm
,
b&w
,
22'

A cinematographic essay about the housing shortage in Amsterdam in the mid-sixties. The film makes a visual connection between physical and mental space. Van der Keuken: “With the camera, I can only show a house hunter’s outside, but what matters is his inside, how life inside him is decaying like a pile of rotten lettuce.”

 

Dutch with English subtitles

Rangierer

Jürgen Böttcher
,
DE
,
1984
,
DCP
,
b&w
,
22'

Experienced shunters working at the Dresden- Friedrichstadt goods yard. In all weathers, day and night, they couple and uncouple the wagons. The air is full of sound: hammering, steps crunching on the gravel, whistles and shunting noises. 

 

German with English subtitles

Train of Thought

Jim Jennings
,
US
,
1984
,
16mm
,
b&w
,
7'

Migrants in the silver rush. Elevated, riding the rails, caught by a sympathetic but prohibited camera, thrown together, bouncing from borough to borough, taking the curves.

Right, Left, Right, Left

Mieriën Coppens
,
BE
,
HD
,
b&w
,
6'

Fake left.
Run right.
Pass.
There are no messages here.
So we may breathe.
Run.
Dribble.
Jump.
We are carefully playing the game
The body has always wanted a life of its own
Most days, you’ll find me here.

Several Friends

Charles Burnett
,
US
,
1969
,
16mm
,
b&w
,
21'

Charles Burnett’s first 16mm student film, Several Friends, showcases his early facility with a documentary approach to fiction, his ability to draw out eccentric and endearing characterizations from an ensemble of nonprofessional actors, and his sensitivity to the expressive possibilities of everyday, working class props and locations. (Doug Cummings)

All My Life

Bruce Baillie
,
US
,
1966
,
16mm
,
colour
,
3'

“A modern favorite! The film is very brief: it uses the soundtrack of a scratched, old Ella Fitzgerald vinyl recording with the foregoing title, and lasts only as long as it takes to play the record. A mere written description of the work might appear banal: a picket fence paralleling an ancient wooden sewage pipe among cascading, wild red roses—and finally a few telephone wires against the sky. Yet the result is to take an aspect of reality, sift it through the creative Mind, and produce a singular, joyous event!” – B.B.