3rd Annual Crossroads Film Festival was help at the old Victoria Theater in San Francisco from May 18-20, 2012. Not to be confused with Mississippi’s Crossroads Film Festival of the same name, this event is hosted by the San Francisco Cinematheque, the Bay Area’s long-running showcase of experimental cinema.
While San Francisco is home to many regular experimental film events, typically at least several per week in the Spring/Fall, most events showcase local filmmakers or are curated programs of older works. Crossroads fills a void by showcasing experimental work over multiple days, and attracting a wide range of regional and non-regional filmmakers to town over a single weekend.
The program was heavy on well-known contemporary filmmakers, such as Ken Jacobs, Jeanne Liotta, Deborah Stratman, Ben Russell and others, while mixing in lesser-known international films, retrospectives and live performances. Although digital video was shown, films on super 8mm, 16mm and even 35mm were all part of the event, complimenting the very “film-centric” vibe of San Francisco.
Several of my favorite works were by area filmmakers present at the event. Linda Scrobie’s “Craig’s Cutting Room Floor” is a brief, rhythmic assault of 16mm images literally collected off Craig Baldwin’s infamous basement floor. Scott Stark, who splits time between Austin/SF, presented “The Pool” on 35mm scope film, remixing a popular “cheesy” narrative film into something that was actually visually interesting, while the images themselves remained in crisp multiplex-worthy color.
In perhaps my favorite viewing of the festival, Kerry Laitala’s live performance “The Color Red Bleeds Blue” was a stunningly crisp 16mm kaleidoscope and hand-manipulated multiple projection. The work seemed almost as an “expanded” version of one of my other favorite films in the festival, the visual candy-land that is Anje Dorniden’s “Awe Shocks” (2011), with a whirlwind of Wonka colors that would rival Kodachrome proceeded in acid.
Both Scrobie, Stark and Laitala followed a common trend in the avant-garde film world by manipulating existing film into something completely new and original. In these works, the process or “conception” becomes almost as important as the film itself. Scrobie’s film certainly harks back to older “cut-up” films by Bruce Conner and Frank Mouris (Frank Film, 1973), but is perhaps most akin to more contemporary work such as Steve Cossman’s “Tusslemuscle” (2009). Stark also harks back to some of the work of Martin Arnold and recent Peter Kubela, who have both notably mixed narrative films. Laitala, meanwhile, merges a taste of Oskar Fischinger with the new wave of expanded cinema, luminated by 16mm experimental projection artists artists such as Projexorcism (North Carolina), Eric Stewart (Oakland), Roger Beebe (Florida) and even granddaddy, Ken Jacobs (Nervous Magic Lantern).
Adding to the local favor, certainly, was Paul Clipson, who over the past several years has perfected an eye for stunning super 8mm images. I’d seen some of his work at the Bearded Child Film Festival in 2006, but now he has moved above and beyond the pack, becoming a bit of an avant-garde film star in San Francisco. He screened a short, “Araneae (Compound Eyes No. 4),” which is a short insect-study commissioned by the San Francisco Exploratorium, and part of a larger body of films. www.withinmirrors.org
Possibly the two most high-profile works in the program were Ken Jacobs’ “Seeking the Monkey King” (2011) and Ben Russell’s “River Rites” (2011). Jacobs has been pushing the boundaries of “mind control” cinema over the past several years, using flicker effects to create 3D images and viewer hypnosis. Given the rare opportunity to see his recent work, the viewer should sit close to the screen for full effect. This is also a rare viewing that can be enjoyed “glasses-off” for those with poor eyesight, as the dramatic, dynamic and overwhelming heavy-handed nature of the film makes it perhaps best enjoyed just a tad out-of-focus.
Russell’s “River Rites” is another masterpiece by the Chicago filmmaker, incorporating essentially one long linear reel shot of acrobatic African bathers at a native river bed. The entire film is reversed, occasionally varying speed, with a spot-on, hip and energetic soundtrack. While generating avant-garde fame via his single-take “Trypps” series, this new film dazzles the screen and certainly ranks as one of the top films produced in this decade. On 35mm no less!
Perhaps curator Steve Polta’s biggest leap of faith during the festival was to grant a retrospective to somewhat obscure young filmmaker, Laida Lertxundi, which proved to be one of the highlights of the festival. Lertxundi, who has only been making films for about five years, showcased her own “experimental narrative” works alongside influential films by Hollis Frampton (Lemon, 1969), Bruce Baille (All My Life, 1966) and Morgan Fisher (Picture and Sound Rushes, 1973). Using non-actors to stage various poignant, stark scenes, Lertxundi’s films also seemed to parallel more mainstream independent filmmakers such as Vincent Gallo (Buffalo ‘66) or a much more subtle, laid-back version of Harmony Korine (Gummo).
Crossroads can be thought of as a mini-Ann Arbor Film Festival, in a similar vein as The International Experimental Cinema Exposition in Colorado, FLEX in Florida or Experiments in Cinema in New Mexico. It represents the “mainstream” in experimental cinema, meaning that featured films could likely go on the museum showings, society screenings and possibly literary publications in the years to come.
Reviewed by
d.anderson 2012
