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Trypps #5 (Dubai) from Ben Russell. | (3:00, 16mm, color, silent, 2008)

Happiness.

January 2010: The Film Society of the Lincoln Film Center conducts an avant-garde film and video poll:

FSLFC’s Preface: In the past decade, the making and showing of experimental film worldwide has gone from strength to strength, so much so that it can be categorically said that avant-garde cinema is as vital now as it has ever been. This addendum to our Jan/Feb end-of-decade wrap-up serves to acknowledge just some of the experimental film achievements of the 21st century’s first 10 years. The rankings on the three lists below were obtained through the tabulation of the number of mentions a given film or filmmaker received in poll responses from a 46-strong group of critics, programmers, and teachers.

Poll participants: Acquarello, Steve Anker, Thomas Beard, Ariella Ben-Dov, Amy Beste, Robin Blaetz, Nicole Brenez, Autumn Campbell, Fred Camper, Abigail Child, David Dinnell, Patrick Friel, David Gatten, Jacqueline Goss, Ed Halter, Alexander Horwath, Kristin M. Jones, Chris Kennedy, Nellie Killian, Lewis Klahr, Irina Leimbacher, Scott MacDonald, Matt McCormick, Mark McElhatten, Kevin McGarry, Don McMahon, Olaf Möller, Oona Mosna, Pablo de Ocampo, Susan Oxtoby, Andréa Picard, Tony Pipolo, Steve Polta, J.R. Rigsby, Jeremy Rossen, Lynne Sachs, Keith Sanborn, Michael Sicinski, Josh Siegel, P. Adams Sitney, Gavin Smith, Phil Solomon, Scott Stark, Chris Stults, Jim Supanick, Genevieve Yue

THE RESULTS

At Sea (2007) by Peter Hutton

BEST AVANT-GARDE FILMS & VIDEO 2000-2009

1. At Sea Peter Hutton, U.S., 2007 (18)
2. Pitcher of Colored Light Robert Beavers, U.S./Switz., 2007 (16)
3. ( ) Morgan Fisher, U.S., 2003 (15)
tie Ah Liberty! Ben Rivers, U.K., 2008 (15)
tie Observando el Cielo Jeanne Liotta, U.S., 2007 (15)
tie Star Spangled to Death Ken Jacobs, U.S., 1956-2004 (15)
7. Ten Skies James Benning, U.S., 2004 (14)
8. The Fourth Watch Janie Geiser, U.S., 2000 (13)
tie The Heart of the World Guy Maddin, Canada, 2000 (13)
tie RR James Benning, U.S., 2007 (13)
11. Black and White Trypps Number Three Ben Russell, U.S., 2007 (12)
tie The Decay of Fiction Pat O’Neill, U.S., 2002 (12)
tie The God of Day Had Gone Down Upon Him Stan Brakhage, U.S., 2002 (12)
tie An Injury to One Travis Wilkerson, U.S., 2002 (12)
tie Kolkata Mark LaPore, US/India, 2005 (12)
tie 13 Lakes James Benning, U.S., 2004 (12)
17. The General Returns from One Place to Another Michael Robinson, U.S., 2006 (11)
tie Song and Solitude Nathaniel Dorsky, U.S., 2006 (11)
19. False Aging Lewis Klahr, U.S., 2008 (10)
tie The Glass System Mark LaPore, U.S., 2000 (10)

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(10:30, 16mm, B/W, sound, 2008 )

Divisible stand up comedy from beyond the grave, adjust your set, rabbits ears tuned to the Bardo Plane.” – Mark McElhatten, Rotterdam International Film Festival

Using a 35mm strip of motion picture slug featuring the recently deceased American comedian Richard Pryor, this extended Rorschach assault on the eyes moves out of a flickering chaos created by incompatible film gauges into a punchline involving historically incompatible racial stereotypes.

(135:00, 16mm, color, sound, 2009)

Let Each One Go Where He May is the first feature-length film by Chicago-based experimental-filmmaker Ben Russell. The film is a two hour and 15 minute long documentary that thoroughly examines the journey of two unidentified African brothers, as they trek on land and through water, to retrace the voyage their ancestors mapped, three hundred years ago, during their escape from Dutch enslavement.

Thus far, the film has been a success, with the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival hosting its world premiere, and in recent news, the Rotterdam International Film Festival announced Let Each One Go Where He May as one of three selections in competition for the 2010 VPRO Tiger Awards, a competition for feature-length debut filmmakers. Russell’s film will be in competition with Anocha Suwichakornpong’s Mundane History (Thailand) and Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio’s To the Sea (Mexico). Rotterdam has yet to release its entire 2010 festival roster and is expected to release the entire 2010 festival schedule in the coming weeks.

Russell shot Let Each almost entirely with a 16mm Steadicam rig in thirteen extended tracking shots. See for yourself in the clip above.

Johnny Lavant of The Auteurs recently attended the 2009 New York Film Festival. Thus far, he has posted four comprehensive reviews of the NYFF’s Views from the Avant-Garde program. His first post trashed avant-garde film genre entirely; I thought it would end on a pessimistic note, however, his second and third posts reveal that Johnny does have a heart for the avant-garde when he’s watching films by Ben Russell, David Gatten, and Deborah Stratman.

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