EUROPEAN MEDIA ART FESTIVAL OSNABRUECK 2011 - Emaf

Chodorov combines clips and even films in their entirety with conversations with such luminaries as Hans
Richter, Robert Breer, Michael Snow, Peter Kubelka and Stan Brakhage in his final recorded interview and the
godfather of the New American Cinema, Jonas Mekas. Pip does not hesitate to show extended clips of the actual
films by the artists, immersing the viewer in their unique visual worlds and perspectives. Drawing from the
Dada and Surrealist movements, many of these artists formulated new film grammars to express themselves.
Others used the photo-realistic power of the camera to transform objects and people into personal symbols
and ideas.
Avant-garde cinema has always occupied an uncomfortable position in our culture. Traditionally, galleries have
shunned it since its reproducibility makes it difficult to commodify (though Pip to his credit has started a new
organization ›The Film Gallery‹ that may cause the art world to rethink its position). Further, unlike popcorn cinema
with its institutional modes of representation, experimental film frustrates uninitiated audiences with its
challenging forms. In response to these desolate conditions, Jonas Mekas and others created their own grassroots
network for making and showing their films in the 1960s. Many of these organizations such as the Filmmakers’
Co-op and Anthology Film Archives are still active today.
Chodorov’s film is an affectionate tribute to these influential yet struggling artists who created this often misunderstood
area of filmmaking.
Pip Chodorov, *1965 in New York. Filmmaker and music composer since 1971. He studied Cognitive Science at
the University of Rochester, NY and Film Semiotics at the University of Paris. While working in film distribution -
Orion Classics, NYC; UGC, Light Cone and CJC, Paris - he founded the company Re:Voir in 1994 for the edition of
historical and contemporary experimental movies, and the Film Gallery in 2005 - the only gallery devoted to experimental
film artists. And he is co-founder of L’Abominable, a cooperative do-it-yourself film lab in Paris. His
own films range from animation to film diary.
�F 2010, 35 mm, 82:00
�Director Pip Chodorov
�Script Pip Chodorov, Lucy Allwood
�Camera Nicolas Rideau, Ville Piippo, Pip Chodorov
�Sound Romain de Gueltzl, Gautier Isern, Allison Jackson
�Editing Nicolas Sarkissian, Jackie Raynal
�Music Black Lake, Slink Moss, Pip Chodorov
�Cast Stan Brakhage, Jonas Mekas, Ken Jacobs, Michael Snow,
Hans Richter, Len Lye, Robert Breer, Peter Kubelka, Stephan Chodorov,
Maurice Lemaître, Stan Vanderbeek a. o.
�Producers Ron Dyens, Aurélia Prévieu
�Distribution Sacrebleu Productions
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