AFA Screening: MFJ 78 "Now... and Then"

Program Notes.

In a world aflood with an infinite array of screens competing for attention, we hope these films can offer a moment of critical reflection on where we”ve been, where we”re going, and where we are now.
–Vince Warne, MFJ 78 Introduction

Programmed by Millennium Film Journal senior editor Grahame Weinbren and editor-at-large Jonathan Ellis.
All film descriptions are excerpted from MFJ No. 78 “Now… and Then”.

Kenneth Anger KUSTOM KAR KOMMANDOS (U.S., 1965, 3 min, 16mm)
16mm Print courtesy Anthology Film Archives
“His very name is provocative, much like the artist himself – a mysterious creator of worlds steeped in dark beauty and perverse imagination. Anger’s force of nature emerged from an early age, shaping a unique worldview of homoerotic obsession and desire, where myth and ecstasy danced to a soundtrack that would leave an indelible mark on the aesthetics of the 60s and 70s. He was a cinematic magician, and in his eyes, Lucifer shone as a beacon of light piercing through cosmic darkness, the patron saint of the visual arts.” –Brian Butler Remembrance: Kenneth Anger

Ajabu Ajabu APOSTLES OF CINEMA (Tanzania, 2023, 18 min, digital)
“A fast-paced examination of the Tanzanian pirate DVD-based DJ movie culture, offering an exhilarating account of what true democratization of cinema might look like.” –Susana Bessa Moving Image”s Communal Body (69th Oberhausen Kurzfilmtage)

Alan Butler DOWN AND OUT IN LOS SANTOS – LE MOMENT FABRIQUÉ (Ireland, 2017, 4 min, digital)
“Using the in-game camera, Butler captures [Grand Theft Auto V’s] non-playable characters (NPCs), specifically the unhoused population of Los Santos (a city based on Los Angeles), who mostly exist on the game’s fringe. Butler’s efforts to bring these NPCs back from within the margins of the game calls attention to how the digital’s ever-growing associations with the real feed capitalist hegemonies.” –Will DiGravio Against Gravity (69th Oberhausen Kurzfilmtage)

Chris Brandt DANCE VOLDO DANCE (U.S., 2004, 4 min, digital)
“A humorous, sexy, and hypnotic video is made even more so by the knowledge that human users are manipulating the characters via controllers, not (as one might do today) by coding the dance movements. Containing only a single cut, the film is a technical achievement and an immersive meditation on video games as sites of embodiment.” –Will DiGravio Against Gravity (69th Oberhausen Kurzfilmtage)

Lori Felker PATIENT (U.S., 2023, 20 min, digital)
“Looking for different ways of examining trauma, PATIENT is especially convincing, because of how unsentimental and matter-of-fact it is in its daily staging of queries and reactions between trainee medical professionals and their assigned ‘patients.’” –Susana Bessa Moving Image’s Communal Body (69th Oberhausen Kurzfilmtage)

Lawrence Abu Hamdan 45TH PARALLEL (UK, 2022, 15 min, digital)
“Hamdan’s art – or his artistic intervention – is profoundly political. In his words, it demands deploying all available means, scientific, legal, religious, or mnemonic, to uncover the truth. Through his research, evidence collection, and presentation of findings in the form of a monologue performance, the artist transcends the traditional approach towards artistic process through reference materials such as documents, photographs, video clips, digital 3D architectural models, and interviews.” –Andrzej Jachimczyk Private Ear (“Signals” MoMA April – June 2023)

All excerpts from Millennium Film Journal No. 78 “Now… and Then”.
Works in this program were included in the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 69 (2023) and NYFF 60 (2022).

Total running time: ca. 70 min.

Anthology Film Archive Film Notes

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AFA Screening: MFJ 78 "Now... and Then"