Genres: documentary

  • Cropping of the Spectacle, The

    “The Cropping of the Spectacle” began as a live cinema performance investigating the birth of the Television Spectacle in 1954 McCarthy’s America. Based loosely on the classic anarchist documentary “Point of Order” (Emile de Antonio/Dan Talbot, 1964); a film which at once deconstructed the hearings and re-invented documentary strategies – “The Cropping of the Spectacle” integrates archival movie and audio clips in chronicling the strange temporal evolution of our understandings of recent history. The original film and its many revisions ultimately reveal an odd continuation of a hegemonic framing process begun with the original Army-McCarthy hearings, which continues to the…

  • Ocean Beach / Point Lobos I, II, III

    A short sketch in tide, wind, and spray paint. Part of Ross Lipman’s experimental documentary compilation, “the perfect heart of flux,” also available through CFMDC.

  • Afternoon in Bottle Village

    A requiem for a cathedral of light, built entirely of glass bottles, pencils, and industrial detritus by legendary California outsider artist Grandma Prisbrey from 1956 to 1981. The Village has long since fallen into decay, and is accessible by hopping a small fence. The spirit of Grandma Prisbrey is conjured from the ruins with an improv on broken piano by Jodie Baltazar (aka Monotrona). Part of Ross Lipman’s experimental documentary compilation, “the perfect heart of flux,” also available through CFMDC.

  • Self-Portrait in Mausoleum

    Refractions and reflections shot in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery: the half-life of death’s advance. Stained glass invokes the sublime in its filtering of light energy, a pre-cinematic cipher announcing a crack between worlds. “All the stars in heaven” radiate before expiring; the passing moment of a moment’s passing is the most elusive and hence the most beautiful. Part of Ross Lipman’s experimental documentary compilation, “the perfect heart of flux,” also available for distribution through CFMDC.

  • Crash Points 3

    “Crash Points 3” is based on “Crash Points,” a performance created by Peter Dudar during his partnership with dancer/choreographer Lily Eng. As Missing Associates, they were part of the experimental dance scene in art galleries during the 1970s and 1980s. “Crash Points” was essentially a non-competitive track and field event in which the perimeter of a gallery was used as a running track. Hurdles coming down (“crash points”) triggered interactions between the performers. “Crash Points 3” uses footage from two earlier “Crash Points” films-digitized and extensively re-edited. With contemporary video techniques, Dudar both re-interprets and enhances the performance.

  • Daybreak

    Inverted Super 8 and video footage paints a hauntingly beautiful portrait of Saskatchewan’s northern forests. “Daybreak” is an attempt to strip different images down to their basic elements, to examine their photographic possibilities, and their connection to a larger “Canadian” identity. Original score by Jason Moberg. Selected screenings: Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival (Toronto, ON), 2011; Antimatter Film Festival (Victoria, BC), 2011

  • Phantoms

    “A study of the incongruous and iconic suspended monorail in Wuppertal Germany. Shot on super 8 and finished on 35mm film, ‘Phantoms’ expertly employs the exaggerated grainy texture of the emulsion to suggest a netherworld out of time, both science fiction and ancient history, while an accompanying text muses on the vanity and folly suggested by the mysterious structure.” – Kate MacKay, Images Festival Text by Ryan Kamstra. Financial assistance provided by the Ontario Arts Council.

  • Sex On Wheels (short)

    “Sex On Wheels” tells the secret history of San Francisco’s sex workers. Interweaving Super 8 footage of a living history bike tour/theater piece (think Colonial Williamsburg, with whores) with archival film and photographs, the film tells the story of a city’s forgotten residents: an ex-slave who became a wealthy procuress, a cross-dressing 1940s lesbian gigolo, a madam who became mayor, a gang of transgender teen hustlers who rioted for their rights, a radical feminist hooker/assassin, and a posse of anarchist strippers who took over a peep-show. 38-minute version also available, see “Sex on Wheels (demi-feature)”

  • Sex On Wheels (demi-feature)

    “Sex On Wheels” tells the secret history of San Francisco’s sex workers. Interweaving Super 8 footage of a living history bike tour/theater piece (think Colonial Williamsburg, with whores) with archival film and photographs, the film tells the story of a city’s forgotten residents: an ex-slave who became a wealthy procuress, a cross-dressing 1940s lesbian gigolo, a madam who became mayor, a gang of transgender teen hustlers who rioted for their rights, a radical feminist hooker/assassin, and a posse of anarchist strippers who took over a peep-show. 12-minute version also available, see “Sex on Wheels (short)”

  • Death of My Daughter

    “The idea for the project came from my mother, who, upon learning of my transition, announced to my family that I was dead to her, that her daughter was gone. In fact, that daughter of her creation had never existed. In a meta-sense, “Death of My Daughter” is about the role of gender, and gender roles, in contemporary U.S. society. This video represents the burial, or putting to rest, of the gender roles our parents/society have imposed upon us and illustrates our metamorphoses into the men we have become.” – Leon Mostovoy