Index and Film i Samtidskonsten present a joint series of four evenings of experimental films at Index' gallery. The programs have been developed as an extension of the most recent issue of the cultural magazine OEI #69-70: On film, published in autumn 2015, with 496 pages about significant practices of the Swedish experimental film scene. The events are organized as part of the decentral festival Kortfilmsdagen on December 21, supported by the Swedish Film Institute.
Curated by Martin Grennberger and Daniel A. Swarthnas, the program shows a selection of important Swedish experimental films, contextualized by works of international film practitioners. Several of the films are being shown for the first time in Sweden.
Experimental film has a rich history in Sweden, which Viking Eggeling's film Diagonalsymfonin from 1924 is often seen to be the starting point of. These practices do not only exist in the past, however, experiments continue until today. The film programs highlight a number of Swedish filmmakers whose work hasn't been absorbed by the mainstream film industries. The aim is to highlight filmmakers with a poetic or personal attitude to the moving image, often violating or lacking a narrative structure. The programs include examples of lesser-known or neglected filmmakers alongside more established practitioners who in various ways have been important in Swedish experimental film, including Claes Söderquist, Gunvor Nelson, Olle Hedman and Åke Karlung.
The international films are selected to compliment the Swedish aspects of the program. The selection specifically highlights the work of international female experimental filmmakers who have worked with structural and material aspects of film. This includes physical interventions directly onto the film strip, such as chemical interventions and decomposition processors, in which material and tactility are crucial. The film strips are scratched, engraved, painted. Emulsion is lifted and placed on a new transparent film strip. Presented filmmakers are Rose Lowder, Cécile Fontaine, Frédérique Devaux, Marcelle Thirache and Ute Aurand.
During the four evenings on 17, 18, 19 and 21 December, filmmakers, writers and curators will be present and introduce the films. Since many of the presented works reflect on material processes, and analogue material conditions are of central importance in many of the contributions in OEI #69-70: On film, films are shown as much as possible in their original format as 16mm projections.
Thursday December 17, 2015, 7 pm A program with a focus on landscapes and objects, studied with visual accuracy. - Larry Gottheim, Barn Rushes, 1971, 16mm, 36 min- Claes Söderquist, Landskap, 1985–1987, 16mm 36 min
Friday December 18, 2015, 7 pm Åke Karlung and Olle Hedman are two distinctive Swedish experimental filmmakers whose films are characterized by an almost confrontational and aggressive language, both in terms of sound and image. Eastern mysticism, escapism and criticism of civilization are combined in an unexpected way. The program is implemented with the support of the Swedish Film Institute's Kortfilmsdagen. - Åke Karlung, Rast–Vila, 1959, 16mm, 6 min - Åke Karlung, Generalrepetition för självmord, 1963, 16mm, 3 min - Åke Karlung, Homo Ludens, 1964, 16mm, 11 min - Åke Karlung, Det värdelösa leendet, 1965, 16mm, 6 min - Åke Karlung, Alina Kadabra, 1969, 16mm, 5 min - Olle Hedman, Coca Nr1, 1979, 35mm transferred to digital video, 1 min - Olle Hedman, Amazeing Maze, 1979, 35mm transferred to digital video, 5 min - Olle Hedman & Nina Jouchims, Film no 9, 1980, 35mm transferred to digital video, 1 min - Olle Hedman, En Semiotisk Studie av ickelogiska kodifieringar i bild, 1973, 16mm, 6 min - Olle Hedman, Aforism, 1974, 16mm 5 min - Olle Hedman, Dialogue, 1975, 16mm, 5 min - Olle Hedman, Oremus, 1976, 16mm, 4 min - Olle Hedman, Metro means of coveyance, 1977, 16mm, 7 min - Olle Hedman, Phantom conception, 1978, 16mm, 4 min - Olle Hedman, Instant movie, 1979, 16mm, 1 min - Olle Hedman, Glo-babel, 1979, 16mm, 4 min - Olle Hedman, Coca Strip, 1985, 16mm, 6 min
Saturday December 19, 2015, 3 pm Ute Aurand's films are poetic comments to the flows and glimpses of her everyday. She usually edits directly in-camera, which adds to the films' specific rhythm and movement. - Ute Aurand, Junge Kiefern, 2011, 16mm, 42 min - Ute Aurand, To Be Here, 2011, 16mm, 38 min
Monday December 21, 2015, 7 pm The program presents works that emphasize the film's materiality and fragility by directly manipulating and processing the individual frame. Found footage, insertions of text or emphasis of the material's gradual disintegration become important aspects. The program is supported by the Swedish Film Institute's Kortfilmsdagen. - Rose Lowder, Parcelle, 1979, 16mm, 3 min - Rose Lowder, Champ Provençal, 1979, 16mm, 9 min - Rose Lowder & Carl Brown, Two Pictures, 1999, 16mm, 12 min - Cecile Fontaine, Home movie, 1986, 16mm, 5 min - Marcelle Thirache, Lande, 1991, 16mm, 6 min - Marcelle Thirache, Palme d’Or, 1993, 16mm, 4 min - Marcelle Thirache, Pigmentation Secrète, 1997, 16mm, 7 min - Marcelle Thirache, Étude pour arbre seul, 1999, 16mm, 6 min - Frédérique Devaux, Film avec pellicule, 1980, 16mm, 9 min - Frédérique Devaux, Altergraphies 1, 1981, 16mm, 6 min - Gunvor Nelson, Field Study #2, 1988, 16mm, 8 min
Ticket price: 100 SEK per evening, 150 SEK for a filmpass that grants entry to all nights.
Four Evenings of Films is produced with the generous support of the Swedish Filminstitute. Thanks to OEI, Turbidus film and Filmform.
