In the second half of the 1970s Alfred Kaiser was entirely unknown to the film world when he went public with two films, namely A Third Reich (1975) and A Third Reich from Its Refuse (1977). Both compilation films bridge the threshold between avant-garde and documentary cinema and were enthusiastically received by audiences and film critics alike upon their release. To this day, these two closely related films occupy a place of particular significance in the history of Austrian cinema, not least due to their subject matter and compositional virtuosity.

LIGHT YEARS brings together a series of short films made on 8mm between 1968 and 1987 to create a single diary film in 25 sections with its own narrative arc as a bildungsroman or story of self-education.

Between 2015 and 2018 this material was digitized, reduced and re-edited, and voice-over and sound added. LIGHT YEARS draws inspiration from the American Underground films reaching Britain at the time, and seeks to emulate the qualities of the diary, making the personal public and re-envisioning the world.

DVD featuring a feature and 3 short films from the inimitable Igor and Ivan Buharov

Newly released DVD that features much of Harry Smith’s early film work, including Early Abstractions (Film # 1 – 5, 7 & 10), Mirror Animations (Film #11) and Late Superimpositions (Film #14), as well as Untitled Seminole Patchwork (Film #15). Special extras include Percy Heath (Modern Jazz Quartet), in conversation with Rani Singh, and the Percy Heath Trio performing live to Early Abstractions, both from 2001.

New High-Definition Digital Transfers