Discovered: Trajectories of Self-Determination: Experimental Cinema’s Embrace of Jazz

Curated by Juan Carlos Kase

Experimental cinema has long embraced American vernacular music as a generative model, whether it supplied a formal template, an affective inspiration, or a point of cultural reference. From the collective polyphony of Charles Mingus' kinetic ensembles to the gale and squall of Joe McPhee's storming cornet, the improvisational energies of jazz - as well as blues and other popular-modernist musics - have continued to inspire American avant-garde filmmakers. Collectively, the films in this program explore the myriad ways in which experimental cinema has drawn from African-American improvised music and embraced its spontaneous, collaborative, polyrhythmic, and lyrical energies.


Screening Line-Up

Dufus (aka Art)
Mike Henderson, 1970/73, 8 minutes, b&w, sound, 16mm

Up and Atom
Doug Wendt, 1970, 3 minutes, color, sound, 16mm

Not a Music Video
Toney W. Merritt, 1987, 7 minutes, b&w, sound, 16mm

Pilgrim
Cauleen Smith, 2017, 8 minutes, color, sound, digital video

Duet for Trumpet and Camera
Robert Fenz, 1992, 10 minutes, b&w, sound, 16mm

Mirror Animations [Film #11]
Harry Smith, 1957, 4 mins, color, sound, 16mm

28.IV.81 (Bedouin Spark)
Christopher Harris, 2009, 3 mins, color, silent, 16mm

The Clown
Donna Cameron, 1998, 13 mins, color, sound, 16mm

Many Thousands Gone
Ephraim Asili, 2014, 8 mins, color, sound, digital video

Four Women
Julie Dash, 1975, 8 mins, color, sound, 16mm transferred to digital video

All My Life
Bruce Baillie, 1966, 3 mins, color, sound, 16mm



Approximate running time: 75 minutes