H2EEF Spotlight: Electric Poetry with R. Bruce Elder

As well as being a teacher, publisher of great Canadian experimental films, producer of video essays and numerous other talents, Stephen Broomer is a prolific writer and editor. Here, we discuss two of his major book publications (one as author and one as co-editor) with a third due to be published soon. The first of these books is Imprints: The Films of Louise Bourque, which he co-edited with Clint Enns and which collates a host of essays and supplementary material about Bourque's films. Louise has appeared previously on this show and the book was an invaluable resource for this episode, as well as a great starting point for any viewers interested to learn about her work. Buy this title here: https://www.blackzero.ca/products/imprints-the-films-of-louise-bourque The other title authored by Broomer is Codes for North: Foundations of the Canadian Avant-Garde Film, which charts the development of Canada's distinctive experimental film cultures including the work of artists like Jack Chambers, Michael Snow and Joyce Wieland. Buy this title here: https://www.blackzero.ca/products/codes-for-north-foundations-of-the-canadian-avant-garde-film

In the final of our brief surveys of the work of three significant Canadian experimental filmmakers, Stephen Broomer (responsible for the publishing of works by the three artists discussed recently) returns to the show to discuss the work of Josephine Massarella (1957-2018). Massarella's career spans works involving various formally radical approaches to filmmaking. From durational works like One Woman Waiting and Interference to more restless works using flicker such as Light Study and No End, the central concerns of her work remain consistent, including feminist and ecological concerns as well as a strong sense of kinship and shared humanity. Broomer has published her entire filmography on a blu ray disc now available from Black Zero. In this episode, Stephen discusses Massarella's work, his friendship with the filmmaker and reflects on various personal responses to her work. Buy the blu ray here: https://www.blackzero.ca/products/green-dreams View Stephen's video essay on Massarella's work here: https://www.artandtrash.ca/episodes/one-woman-walking

Richard Kerr is a giant in Canadian experimental film. His works span from early personal projects such as On Land, Over Water: Six Stories to his fiercely urgent trilogy of films with a focus across the border to the United States: The Last Days of Contrition (1986), Cruel Rhythm (1991) and Field Trip (2021). His output also includes formally radical works of "accelerated cinema" featuring, as you'll hear, Richard's theory of "Total Movement" in films such as Plein Air and House Arrest. An all-round artist, Richard's work also includes photography, painting and "film weavings", many of which you can view online. This episode takes a broad look at Richard's career, with a particular focus on the "American" trilogy, which has been released on Blu-Ray along with a short film and a host of extra features by Stephen Broomer at Black Zero. View some of Richard's films online here: https://vimeo.com/richardkerr View Stephen Broomer's video essay on his American films here: https://vimeo.com/groups/essay/videos/706234266 Buy the Blu Ray here: https://www.blackzero.ca/products/field-trips

Please be advised that this episode contains discussion of subjects that some listeners may find troubling. R. Bruce Elder is one of the most prolific and acclaimed artist filmmakers currently working in Canada. In this episode we discuss Bruce's journey toward his personal filmmaking practice and focus particularly on the first two films in his epic "Book of Praise" cycle: A Man Whose Life Was Full of Woe Has Been Surprised by Joy and its emotionally devastating follow up Crack, Brutal Grief. Both of these films have been recently released on the Canadian home video label Black Zero by filmmaker, writer and historian Stephen Broomer. Both blu-ray editions are jam packed with special features to help you better get to know these complex and fascinating works. Learn more about Bruce's films at: https://rbruceelder.com Buy the Blu Rays here: https://www.blackzero.ca

Filmmaker, video artist and current president of the Paris Films Co-Op Dominique Willoughby returns to the show to discuss his own film and video works. Fascinated by the hypnotic power of cinema, his films and videos are simultaneously mesmerising and energetic experiences. In this episode, Dominique discusses his career from his earliest experimental works, (inspired variously by CinéDoc founders Guy Fihman and Claudine Eizykman as well as international artists Len Lye and Michael Snow) as he forged his own path to create a unique body of work. Also fascinated by pre-cinema artefacts, particularly Phenakistiscope stroboscopic discs, Dominique's films explore the viewer's capacity for perception in a manner quite unlike any other filmmaker. This episode features music from Parazite Système Sonore: Spot Phelizon & Joëlle Colombeau as well as music by Kaumwald. Dominique's book Cinéma Graphique (in French) is available to buy from Amazon. View many of Dominique's films via his Vimeo page: https://vimeo.com/domwilloughby For more info about Cinédoc, visit cinedoc.org

A special episode to coincide with the start of the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the Paris Films Co-op CinéDoc. A series of special screenings are taking place in Paris from the 20th to the 30th of November and the programme will appear online shortly after. This episode features music from Parazite Système Sonore: Spot Phelizon & Joëlle Colombeau Filmmaker Dominique Willoughby is the current president of the Paris Films Co-op. In this episode, Dominique traces the journey of the Co-op from its inception in 1974, thanks to two key filmmakers: Claudine Eizykman and Guy Fihman. Heavily influenced by the thinking of philosopher Jean-François Lyotard, their films brought a radical new approach to film in France at the time, with a great emphasis on the experiential aspects of film. The filmmakers included in the celebratory screenings are: Adolpho Arrietta Edouard Beux Yaa Bôé Robert Cahen Jenny E. Davidson Claudine Eizykman Guy Fihman Catherine Le Gallou  Barbara Glowczewska (Also sometimes credited as Glowczewski) Jacques Monory Georges Rey Hans Richter Pierre Rovere Jean-Pierre Valladeau  Unglee Due to time constraints, we have been unable to discuss everyone's films in this episode, so please accept our apologies for any names and films we have missed in the discussion! Please visit cinedoc.org for more info.

Inter-disciplinary artist Sapphire Goss joins the show to discuss her varied work, involving art objects, installation work, still photography and our particular focus here: film and video work. In a hybrid practice, bringing together celluloid film, digital video and pre-cinema artefacts, (particularly stereoscopic photography) these are haunting works in the truest sense: the screen is haunted by otherworldly decayed and decaying images and the viewer is haunted in turn by the works’ mesmerising presence. To learn more about Sapphire's work Visit: sapphiregoss.com

Vivian Ostrovsky is a truly international filmmaker (as well as curator). Born in New York to a Belarusian father and Ukrainian mother, Vivian has been somewhat nomadic all of her life, regularly finding herself in Rio, Paris, New York and Tel Aviv. “Home”, she writes “is wherever I feel at home – and that might be in a hotel or on a plane or on my way to an unknown destination with a camera and recorder in my bag”. Her works freely combine footage she has shot herself with an array of found footage, featuring both heartfelt affection and laugh-out-loud humour. Starting as an exclusively Super-8 based filmmaker, she now favours her mobile phone as the primary instrument for her work. Here we discuss her filmmaking practice ranging from her first experiments to her current work-in-progress (a film about the poet Elizabeth Bishop) as well as some of Vivian's own favourite films. Information about her films as well as excerpts can be found at http://vivianostrovsky.com Two DVDs featuring her films are available from Re:Voir https://re-voir.com/shop/en/frederique-devaux-michel-armager-cineperimentaux/78-rousset-rey-ostrovsky-chodorov-cineperimentaux-1-4-.html and https://re-voir.com/shop/en/vivian-ostrovsky/1026-vivian-ostrovsky-plunge.html The latter of which is also available to stream from Re:Voir's video on demand page.

A continuation of our discussion of the films of Louise Bourque. In this episode, we take a closer look at a handful of Louise's films (including her latest film "Bye Bye Now"), focusing in particular on the images of houses that recur regularly in her filmography. Additionally, we discuss some of the formal concerns informing her work, including both the physical interventions with the film strip itself and the methods by which the results are presented to the viewer. Here are a few links to her films that are viewable online: From Light Cone Fissures ⁠https://lightcone.org/en/film-3475-fissures⁠ Going Back Home ⁠https://lightcone.org/en/film-3512-going-back-home⁠ From Massachussetts Cultural Council Self Portrait Post Mortem ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr4-LaUy1tk⁠ From Vidéographe Bye Bye Now – Trailer ⁠https://vimeo.com/808805153⁠ A video essay on her work by Stephen Broomer can be found here: https://vimeo.com/533753926 Broomer and Clint Enns co-edited the book Imprints: The Films of Louise Bourque which can be purchased on Amazon as well as Lightcone and various other sources. This book is quoted from throughout these episodes. This interview was facilitated through the help of Dave Beaumler. With sincerest thanks for his help.

Louise Bourque is one of the most distinguished film artists currently working in Canada. She was born in Edmundston New Brunswick and has been making films since the late 1980s. Her body of work, by her own admission, is not vast, but it reveals a filmmaker of incredible focus  and determination when it comes to producing the work she desires. Hers are not films that always give themselves over to analysis very easily. Instead, they are instantly gripping, compelling the audience’s full attention from start to finish, often using intense visual and auditory means to bring the viewer to a point of cathartic release, upon which we reflect afterwards. Here are a few links to her films that are viewable online: From Light Cone Fissures https://lightcone.org/en/film-3475-fissures Going Back Home https://lightcone.org/en/film-3512-going-back-home From Massachussetts Cultural Council Self Portrait Post Mortem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr4-LaUy1tk From Vidéographe Bye Bye Now – Trailer https://vimeo.com/808805153 A video essay on her work by Stephen Broomer can be found here: https://vimeo.com/533753926 Broomer and Clint Enns co-edited the book Imprints: The Films of Louise Bourque which can be purchased on Amazon as well as Lightcone and various other sources. This book is quoted from throughout these episodes. This interview was facilitated through the help of Dave Beaumler. With sincerest thanks for his help.