Cinematheque screenings are open to members and their guests. Membership is available at the door.
Trial Membership (1 month/4 screenings/1 guest) $18/$15 / 3 Month Membership: $36/$32 / Annual Membership: $85/$75
Saturday screenings commence at 1pm.
Monday screenings commence at 7pm.
Sat. 29/7 & Mon. 31/7 Films Of Jan Svankmajer
Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer UK/14mins/1984 Dir: Brothers Quay. The brothers pay homage to their mentor in this unusual biopic.
Darkness, Light, Darkness Czech/7mins/1989 Dir: Svankmajer.
Alice Czech/89mins/1988 Dir: Svankmajer. An hallucinatory version of Carroll's famous story mixing live action and stunning animation.
“A top notch art-movie for discerning audiences.” imdb.com
“One has the unsettling sense of watching an old and well-remembered dream in a new and disturbing state of hallucination.” Phillip Strick, Monthly Film Bulletin
Sat 5/8 & Mon 7/8 Wax, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees
USA/85mins/1991 Dir: David Blair. The bizarre story of Jacob Maker, weapons-guidance designer and beekeeper. 'WAX' combines archival footage, video and computer animation and was heralded as a foremost example of a new type of independent 'electronic cinema'.
“This is a very strange movie.” imdb.com
“As far as I'm concerned, the movie is absolutely inspired… I was consumed by the imagery and enlightened by the vision of the film and the mastery with which it was executed. At the end, there were only about six or seven of us applauding, and the rest were looking at us, puzzled.” Caleb J. Howard
“Some viewers may be overcome by the total weirdness.” T. Billings
Screens with New Directions in Science Fiction: A Seminar with Harlan Ellison
Sat 12/8 & Mon 14/8 Films of Harry Smith
Harry Smith was an artist, filmmaker, anthropologist, musicologist and collector whose life and work made him an important figure in the American avant-garde.
Early Abstractions USA/23mins/1951 An extraordinary panorama of abstract animation.
Heaven and Earth Magic USA/67mins/1961 Smith worked on this experimental film throughout most of the fifties. It was originally at least six hours long. Simple cut-out pictures of objects and figures perform together in a plot directed by Smith's interpretation of the surrealist principle of 'psychic automatism'.
“An awful logic seemingly governs all the events.” David Curtis
“I was blown away. The animation is mind boggling and the use of sound is unforgettable.” imdb.com
Late Superimpositions USA/27mins/1960 An extraordinary display of unedited and randomly associated images taken from everyday life and superimposed in the camera. With a randomly associated soundtrack of German opera and cabaret songs.
Sat 19/8 & Mon 21/8 Classics from the National Film Board of Canada
Like most Government sponsored film organisations, the NFBC began as a propaganda unit for WW2. Under the direction of John Grierson, formerly of the UK’s GPO Film Unit, it soon evolved into a hot-bed of film talent specialising in animation and documentaries.
23 Skidoo 9min/1964 Dir: Julian Biggs. Montreal is observed without a living soul.
Mindscape 8mins/1976 Dir: Jacques Drouin. Mus: Jean Denis Larochelle. An artist steps into the landscape he has painted. A mind-boggling masterpiece of pinboard animation.
Toys 8mins/1966 Dir: Grant Munro. Children’s war toys come to life in a shop window at Christmas.
Nahanni 15mins/1962 Dir: Donald Wilder. A tribute to the perseverance and folly of an old Canadian gold prospector.. 21-87 9mins/1964 this impressionistic montage of images and everyday sounds shows the individual reduced to the anonymity of a number. The inspiration for George Lucas’ THX-1138.
Ryan 14mins/2004 Dir: Chris Landreth. An animated tribute to Ryan Larkin, a former award-winning animator of the sixties who now begs for change on the streets of Montreal. Winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Short Animation.
The Eye Hears, the Ear Sees 59mins/1970 Dir: Gavin Millar. This documentary explores the work of animator Norman McLaren. Many of McClaren's shorts are presented in their entirety, including Hen Hop, Pas de Deux, Neighbors, Spheres, and several others.
Sat 26/8 & Mon 28/8 Brakhage
USA/75mins/1998 Dir: Jim Shedden. This documentary celebrates the vision of Stan Brakhage, one of the most important figures in avant-garde filmmaking, and explores the extraordinary artistic possibilities he pursued.
“This is an exemplary, insightful documentary guaranteed to fascinate and provoke many. A must-see.” Jerry Saravia
Screens with Symphonie Diagonale Germany/5mins/1921 Dir: Viking Eggeling and Rhythm 21 Germany/3mins/1923 Dir: Hans Richter.
Sat 2/9 & Mon 4/9 This is America
USA/99mins/1977 Dir: Romano Vanderbes. This "documentary" contains a mixture of real and fake footage, and falls somewhere between the mondo movies of the 60s and 70s and the later mockumentaries of the post-modern era. A vicious satire of American social mores, it features the Dead Kennedy’s Jello Biafra, political prankster Captain Sticky, kung fu nuns, and more.
“I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.” imdb.com
Sat 9/9 & Mon 11/9 Short Film Smorgasboard
Anemic Cinema France/6mins/1926 Dir: Marcel Duchamp. 'Anemic' is an anagram for 'cinema'. A series of rotating, spiral-like images, spinning discs and nonsensical puns.
Le Voyage de Monsieur Guitton France/12mins/1969 Dir: Pascal Aubier. Monsieur Guitton wakes up one morning only to find his apartment is now a speeding train. Andrei Tarkovsky called Aubier "the great hope of French cinema," and the L.A. Weekly noted that, "Pascal Aubier makes films that are as abnormal as they are smart."
The Hangman USA/11min/1963 Dir: Les Goldman & Paul Julian. An animated presentation of an allegorical poem by Maurice Ogden.
Fireworks USA/14mins/1947 Dir: Kenneth Anger. “The most exciting use of cinema I have seen.“ Tennessee Williams
Pigs USA/12mins/1967 Dir: Carroll Ballard A day among pigs on a farm showing the characteristics of the animal in candid observation without comment. Award-winning film by the director of Black Stallion and Fly Away Home.
The Blood of the Beasts France/22 mins/1949 Dir: Georges Franju. 'Poetic' and 'surreal' seem to be not quite adequate to describe this treatment of the disquieting subject of a Parisian slaughterhouse.
Don’t UK/18mins/1974 Dir: Robin Lehman. In this Oscar-winning short, filmed in New York, we observe the precariously brief existence of a butterfly.
A Divided World Sweden/10mins/1954 Dir: Arne Sucksdorff. Animal predator-prey relationships lyrically photographed and edited in a quiet, misty, snow-covered forest.
Sat 16/9 & Mon 18/9 Asiamania
Australian Premiere A feature length compilation of vintage movie trailers from the archives of Hong Kong’s most notorious B-movie studios. Painstakingly assembled over four years, this crazy collection of coming attractions features all the death-defying stunts, outrageous humour and high-octane kung fu action you’ve come to expect from the wild and wacky world of Hong Kong cinema.
Sat 23/9 & Mon 25/9 That's Education, or They Came from the Classroom
What are educational films? Educational films were used in classrooms to guide and instruct students in the finer points of everything from personal hygiene to the dangers of communism. In the 1960s the educational film evolved into a unique form of film art. Discover this neglected area of film history with this great collection of inspirational educationals.
Let the Rain Settle It USA/10mins/1970 Children and racism.
Cry of the Marsh - USA/12mins/1969 Dir: Robert Hartkopf A lyrical and shocking plea for ecological conservation, Cry of the Marsh won first place in nearly every film festival it was entered.
Skater Dater USA/18mins/1965 Dir: Noel Black A poetic story of a young boy on the verge of adolescence from the director of the cult classic Pretty Poison. Great surf music soundtrack. In 1966 the film won the Golden Palm for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film.
“Before I had a crush on Marsha Brady and Laurie Partridge, there was the girl on the bicycle from Skater Dater.” imdb.com
Time Piece - USA/10mins/1965 Dir: Jim Henson The first film by Muppets creator Jim Henson, this is a humorous allegory about the rat race told in a beat-era inspired stream-of-consciousness style. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film 1965.
Leo Beurman - USA/18mins/1969 Dir: Herk Harvey. From the director of the horror classic Carnival of Souls comes this Oscar nominated portrait of a very special man. Nominated for an Academy Award for the Best Short Documentary of 1969.
Omega - USA/15mins/1972 Dir: David Fox. A psychedelic special- effects extravaganza - the 2001 of educational films.
Pigs Vs the Freaks USA/12mins/1975 Dir: Jack Epps Jr. Each fall the longhair students at Michigan State University and the local town police do battle.
Wondering About Things USA/22mins/1971 Dir: Larry Yust. On the creative impulse in art and science.
Sat 30/9 & Mon 2/10 The Amazing World of Ghosts
Australian Premiere USA/89mins/1978 Dir: Wheeler Dixon.
Avant-garde filmmaker, prolific film critic and Professor of Film Studies at the University of Nebraska, Winston Wheeler Dixon, has disowned this delirious “documentary”. If you want to see the world's first avant-garde found-footage pseudo-documentary, here it is.
"What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is the holy grail of speculative documentaries. There was no film footage shot specifically for this project, nor do we have those sometimes annoying interviews with “experts” or eyewitnesses. The film is made up entirely of nonsensical narration over stock footage, photographs, animation, and even old silent films; 90-plus minutes of the most insincere and thoroughly enjoyable baloney you are likely to see." David Deal, http://www.unexplained.net/
"Let's not mince words here. Wheeler Dixon is a genius and Amazing World of Ghosts is nothing short of a masterpiece." imdb.com
"You will actually feel your mind slipping away as you watch "The Amazing World of Ghosts." imdb.com
Sat 7/10 & Mon 9/10 Great French Short Films
Golden Fish 20mins/1958 Dir: Edmond Sechan. Prod: Jacques Cousteau. This humorous and suspenseful animal film won the 1959 Academy Award for Best Short Film.
“How Cousteau got these animals to behave in this manner is remarkable.” imdb.com
La Jetee 25mins/1961 Dir: Chris Marker. Using black and white still photography and a voice-over narration, La Jetee, is one of the most enigmatic and thought provoking science fiction films ever made.
Night and Fog 32mins/1953 Dir: Alain Resnais. This essay film on the holocaust was called the "greatest film of all time" by director Francois Truffaut.
One Eyed Men are Kings 15mins/1974 Dir: Michel Leroy & Edmond Sechan. A passive man under the domination of his mother and a nasty little dog masquerades as a blind man to make friends. This comedy won the 1975 Academy Award for Best Short Film.
Red Balloon 25mins/1956 Dir: Albert Lamorisse. This timeless family classic won the Grand Prize at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Short Film in 1957.
Le Toyshoppe - 8mins/1976 Animated sex toys come to life in this outrageous adult comedy.
Sat 14/10 & Mon 16/10 The Films of Charles and Ray Eames
Single-handedly, Charles Eames created the look of 1950s America. Most of these informational films feature music by Elmer Bernstein.
“They’re not experimental films, they’re not really film. They’re just attempts to get across an idea.” Charles Eames
“There are many ways one can think about Charles Eames. He defies categorization; he is architect, inventor, designer, craftsman, scientist, filmmaker, professor.” Paul Schrader, Film Quarterly
Powers of Ten: A Rough Sketch USA/8mins/1968 Illustrates the relative size of things from the outer galaxies to the nucleus of a carbon atom.
Toccata for Toy Trains USA/10mins/1958 Old toys are brought to life by the rhythm of music. “An exuberant and curious universe of fantasy.” George K. Arthur
Computer Glossary USA/9mins/1968 A film that uses an understanding of the jargon of computers to convey something of their nature.
Atlas USA/5mins/1976 An homage to Gibbons’ Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire using maps to tell the story.
The Look of America USA/26mins/1976 An evocation of the life, style, and feel of Early America.
Mathematical Peepshow USA/12mins/1961 Presents, in simple terms, five concepts of sophisticated mathematics. An IBM film. Tops USA/8mins/1973 Shows the great variety of tops from many lands, and how they are wound, prepared and launched, and how they spin and die.
The Black Ships USA/8mins/1960 A documentary about the opening of American relations with Japan in 1853.
Degas in the Metropolitan USA/10mins/1978 Shows the collection of art by Edgar Degas in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
House: After Five Years of Living USA/10mins/1955 A personal portrait of the Eames House, a classic of post-war American architecture which the Eameses designed and built in 1949.
Powers of Ten-a film dealing with the relative size of things in the universe and the effect of adding another zero USA/8mins/1978 “Never before has such grand ideas been explained so clearly and perfectly. This is a master piece that goes beyond film and animation and goes further to show our place in the universe.” imdb.com
Sat 21/10 & Mon 23/10 Dark Side of the Rainbow
Experience the hypnotic wonder of The Wizard of Oz with the original soundtrack turned down and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon turned up to eleven in its place. The synchronicity between the film and the new soundtrack is uncanny. Screens with short The Wizard of Yes.
"Jung described synchronicity as an acausal connecting principle that manifests itself through meaningful coincidences." Jean Shinoda Bolen, The Tao of Psychology
The Chauvel Cinematheque acknowledges the assistance of the National film and Video Lending Service and the National Film & Sound Archive in creating this program.
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