Conversations at the Edge at the Gene Siskel Film Center - Thursday 6pm
Presented entirely from Super 8, this is likely the only
opportunity many in Chicago will ever have to see some of the best works
from Argentina's prolific experimental film community. Organized by
filmmaker Pablo Marín, this showcase provides a glimpse into a group of
filmmakers whose work shows a dedication to capturing small gestures,
and a whimsy not always present in the avant-garde. One of the
highlights is Narcisa Hirsch's TESTAMENTO Y VIDA INTERIOR (1976, 11
min), almost a home-movie performance, featuring four other filmmakers
carrying a coffin through the streets of Buenos Aires. Amateur, but not
comical, these elegant figures in top hats carry out a jovial wake past
parks and stores, and we're not quite sure how they feel about the
symbolism of what they're doing. Where Hirsch's work (in this case, at
least) owes more to the lyrical vein of the Experimental tradition, both
Claudio Caldini's GAMELAN (1981, 12 min) and Gabriel Romano's UNTITLED
(1982, 5 min) are working with the materialism of film and camera.
Caldini's work begins as a frenetic swoosh of vertical lines in the
frame, occasionally curving towards the sides. As this swooshing slows
down, it becomes apparent that the camera is being swung at the end of a
rope, a fitting metaphor for movement in cinema. Romano's film,
discovered after his passing, illuminates the physicality of celluloid,
and is a gorgeous pastiche of color and texture as the image is altered
through melting and scratching. Not to be confused with a summary of
filmmaking from Argentina in the past 35 years, this is a worthy primer,
and it should be a treat to see it projected in its original format.
Also screening: PASSACAGLIA Y FUGA (Jorge Honik and Laura Abel, 1976, 18
min), ESPECTRO (Sergio Subero, 2010, 9 min), EL QUILPO SUEÑA CATARATAS
(Horacio Vallereggio, 2012, 8 min), and TRISTE (Horacio Vallereggio,
1976, Super 8, Sound, 4min). (1976-2013, approx. 75 min total,
Super-8mm) JH
