Programme 1: Films by Thorbjorg Jonsdottir and Bruce Baillie
Time and place
Description
In Thorbjorg Jonsdottir’s work a cinematic poem or an intimate portrait of a friend or family member is paired with vistas of Iceland’s landscapes and its (oral) mythologies and cultural codifications. In her most recent work A Tree Is Like a Man (2019), however, instead of Icelandic nature we witness an encounter between an animist and shamanist in the Colombian jungle. Shot using 16mm film, her work appears deceptively straightforward, but in fact proves to be elusive.
As one of the pioneers of the poetic lyrical approach to experimental filmmaking, Canyon Cinema founder Bruce Baillie has been an important creative force and reference point for whole generations of filmmakers, among them Thorbjorg Jonsdottir. All My Life is a masterpiece that perfectly encapsulates Baillie’s method in all its simplicity. It will be shown here alongside the film Termination, made in 1966 by the Canyon Cinema Documentary Film Unit — that is, by Baillie and his friends — for a small community of Native Americans near Laytonville, California.
After the screening there will be one more special event: the Russian premiere of End of Summer by Jóhann Jóhannsson (Iceland, 2014). The film will be presented by Torbjorg Jonsdottir (Iceland).
Q&A after the screening.
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