Regarded for decades as one of the monumental and iconic works of the historical American avant-garde, Stan Brakhage’s five-part Dog Star Man remains a defining and radically original work of independent cinema.  Utilizing numerous inventive filmmaking techniques ranging from distortion lenses, multiple superimpositions, hyperkinetic editing, hand-painting, and even the physical collaging of materials onto the film strip, Dog Star Man employs a vividly subjective, hypnagogic vision following a mythic man’s ascent and struggle through the obstacles and vicissitudes of existence.  Images of birth, death, nature, the cosmos, and the psyche gradually combine and coalesce over the course of the film’s 74 minutes with increasing intensity and complexity, resulting in a total cinematic experience that remains unique nearly sixty years after its initial making.

Undoing The Whole Thing, the kick-off event of The Futurism is Ours, is about breaking down and building back up again. Featuring short work by Barbara Hammer, Miatta Kawinzi, and Joey Carducci, the program reflects on the filmmakers’ experiences working within and against cinematic lineages through their exploration of selfhood, queerness, and alternative social realities.