Re: FOR LIFE, AGAINST THE WAR @ AFA

From: Andy Ditzler (email suppressed)
Date: Fri Jan 27 2006 - 20:03:53 PST


I had read this too about the Sharits film, but it's dated 1966, the
year before the Week of the Angry Arts took place.

Last year I rented the 45-minute version for an evening of antiwar
Vietnam-era films, but did not show it on the program. I took some
notes, so for those who are interested, the filmmakers on the 45-minute
version are listed below, along with brief descriptions of the ones I
found most memorable. No titles are given on the reel.

Storm de Hirsch (Trap Dance)
John H. Hawkins - a film with cockroaches running over still photos
Stan Vanderbeek - I believe this is one of the Poem Field films
Robert Breer - an animation with birds, frogs, and falling figures
Richard Preston - a flicker-style film featuring the 'f-word'
Lee Savage - Mickey Mouse in Vietnam, an extremely mordant take on war
and U.S. pop culture
Nina Feinberg
Ron Finne
Hannah Weiner - a repetitive poem read over images of homemade flags
Manfred Kircheimer
Peter Eliscu
Robert Fiore
Fred Wellington - What Are You Thinking, Daddy? - a brief but indelible
film
Lionel Martinez
Larry Jordan
Lloyd M. Williams
Leo Hurwitz
Peggy Lawson
Thom Hurwitz
Hilary Harris

There are 17 films on the reel and 20 filmmakers listed, but it was
impossible for me to tell which of the films were collaborations. I
don't remember individual credits for any of the films. The Brakhage,
Mekas, Snow, Wieland films are not on the 45-minute reel.

I have a copy of the call for films that was put out by Shirley Clarke,
Hilary Harris, Ken Jacobs, Jules Rabin and Richard Preston. The deadline
was January 22, 1967 and the Week of the Angry Arts was dated January
29 - February 5. The original title given was "We Believe...Personal
Declarations by American Film-makers for Life Against the War." ("We
would like to receive other suggestions for the overall title.") The
premiere was planned for the Village Theater ("which seats 2600").

Carolee Schneemann's Viet-Flakes, while not as far as I know part of the
For Life film project, was also presented that week as part of her
theater work called Snows.
-------------------
Andy Ditzler

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Polta" <email suppressed>
To: <email suppressed>
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2006 9:46 PM
Subject: Re: FOR LIFE, AGAINST THE WAR @ AFA

> I don't know anything about what actually screened at
> this event but I'm almost certain that Paul Sharits'
> PEACE MANDALA END WAR (does this have a "/" I'm
> omitting?) was made for this program but was *not*
> included--wasn't done in time or something...
>
> steve polta
>
> --- Adrian Tagmenveca <email suppressed> wrote:
>
> > I read something about this film in the first
> > issue of Millennium Film Journal, mentioned in the
> > Ken Jacobs interview (I read this interview recently
> > thats why its on my mind), and I just have
> some
> > basic questions about it I figured someone might
> > know something about it since its getting shown
> at
> > the Anthology at the end of February:
> >
> > What�s the name of the Jonas Mekas film in it
> > (Jacobs describes it as a close up scanning of the
> > preamble to the Constitution)?
> >
> > What Brakhage film is part of it?
> >
> > In the interview, Jacobs had a pretty disparaging
> > view of most of these films � saying something
> like
> > most were made by ad-men that were making weekend
> > films to atone for their weekday sins. Are all the
> > original films included from the program? And does
> > anyone have a differing opinion of those films
> > Jacobs is talking about (I assume he didn�t mean
> to
> > include the ones by Hillary Harris, Breer, Snow,
> > ect)?
> >
> > -AT
> >
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------
> >
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> > Autos
> >
> >
> >
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