Location: Redcat
RedCat's weekly experimental film screenings are nothing short of lovely. The schedule alternates documentaries, features and shorts programs and generally includes guest speakers and Q&A sessions. The January 19th screening featured a shorts program of films restored by archivist Bruce Posner. The evening's centerpiece was a pristine, digital restoration of Manhatta that was so clean that the traces of time were practically invisible. Posner's aggressive approach to preservation and restoration insists on an erasure of wear and tear. The program included Manhatta, Soul of the Cypress, Ballet Mécanique, Haiti, 1941, Meditation on Violence, N.Y. N.Y., Confession and Sapho and Jerry. Deren's Meditation on Violence had been reframed to increase the image's clarity, revealing a hair that Deren had attempted to keep out of frame. The clarity and quality of all the films made me wonder: is it okay for things to look old? Is there charm to be found in the traces of time? Does restoration have to insist on perfection?
2 comments:
It was an interesting show. What are yor views though on Bruce's comments on Maya Deren and his preservation/reworking of Maya Deren's "Meditations on Violence?"
Also, are you on the Los Angeles Filmforum email list?
Best regards,
Adam Hyman
http://lafilmforum.wordpress.com/
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