'THIS IS LIVING FILM CULTURE'
by Al Razutis 2022
Conversations with Sebastian Di Trolio, March 2022
TAKE ONE
"This is living film culture -- and it re-starts like this:"
E-mail from: Sebastian Di Trolio
Date: Mon, Mar 21, 2022 at 4:37 PM
"We're hosting a screening this coming Friday with one of the authors of the recently published compendium book, Moments of Perception: Experimental Film in Canada, and presenting a programme of works by filmmakers profiled in the text.
"It was my suggestion to include a work by Razutis, as I have a 16mm print of his 1973 piece 98.3KHz, Bridge at Electrical Storm, which previously belonged to a library in Toronto. When I acquired the film, it was in rather rough physical condition, but I have since repaired the damaged sections and re-spliced it into the correct sequence using digitized copies as a reference.
"While there is some moderate wear occasionally noticeable, the print overall is quite stunning, retaining it's proper colour palette and not showing any discernible instances of fading. I'll include some images below from the print.
"It was initially my intention to contact him directly to inquire about the ideal method of payment for his screening fee but, admittedly, I was also wary about him potentially objecting to the work being shown in a group programme and outside the context of AMERIKA, as I noticed that even Light Cone does not distribute prints of this piece in its solo form.
"I can definitely comprehend the problematic situation I may have engaged by insisting on showing a work, and possibly against a filmmaker's wishes, so I guess I just wanted to feel out the predicament and seek your advice on what you think Al's reaction and opinion on the matter might look like."
sebastian
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E-mail from: Al Razutis
Mar 22, 2022 at 12:40 PM
"Thank you for forwarding to me this interest / inquiry. I have absolutely no problem with 'Bridge' or any of the 'Amerika' or even 'Visual Essays' films / 'reels' being screened individually.
"I am sending this to Sebastian as well to inform him of my consent.
"As for 'artist fees' I will leave that to Sebastian to discuss with me separately at this email address. It has been years (pre-covid, actually) since I have discussed fees or rentals and I'm pretty much open to any / all suggestions and terms as long as it is 'not free'..."
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E-mail from: Sebastian Di Trolio
Tue 3/22/2022 11:27 AM\
"Hi there Al,
"I appreciate your swift response.
"As the images confirm, this print has miraculously survived the past half century and still offers such a stunning and mesmerizing experience when projected that, despite my ethical guilts, I was preparing to ask forgiveness after the fact if you weren't in favour of it being exhibited.
"I'm pleased to have your permission though; I typically work with distributors and have on occasion had direct encounters with irate filmmakers that have wilted my spirits, but more often than not most are open to their work being shown. ( ... )
"Your film is one of my favourites in the collection which I've become a caretaker of, as I particularly gravitate towards optically printed works and experiments in colour and photochemistry.
"It previously belonged to the Toronto Reference Library, which deccessioned their holdings in 2010. York University had first pick and saved about 200 titles, but were limited in the number they were permitted to accept, and on such short notice missed many significant works. I began volunteering efforts with the individuals that took in the bulk of the collection a few years after and in the interim period managed to liberate many important experimental films from storage.
"When I first inspected the print it had been absolutely butchered, with feeble attempts to scotch tape it together by a library patron. At the time, Martin Heath, proprietor of CineCycle and a former mentor, instructed me on print repairs and with his assistance we were able to restore the torn perforations and splice the film back together.
"More recently, I realized that it was not in the correct sequence, so utilizing the digital facsimile on your YouTube page as a frame by frame point of reference, I was able to re-splice it in the proper order. It projects smoothly without issue and I cannot detect any instances of missing footage.
"Given my understanding that prints of this piece are obscure outside of institutional collections, feel free to reach out about this copy in future, which I'd be happy to make available to other exhibitors within Canada, as I do for most of the items in my archive.
( ... )
"Anyways, I've included the description of the film quoting you from your website in the program notes for the screening. Again, I appreciate your permission and enthusiasm as well as your time wading through my exhaustively neurotic emails. It really is my privilege to be sharing this work in my community and I'm proud to project it in its original exhibition medium."
sebastian
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TAKE TWO
"This is living film culture -- and it re-starts like this:"
E-mail from: Sebastian Di Trolio
Date: Mon, Mar 21, 2022 at 4:37 PM
"Last week's screening was quite a success and received a very enthusiastic response from audience members. We had around 35, which for this venue was a full house with extra chairs needing to be set up for late comers. Ages ranged from students in their early 20's to folks in their 70's that have long been active in the local arts community. Also present were university film professors and curators from the city's prominent museum.
"I'm pleased to report that your film was immensely popular, with several individuals commenting on it after the show, including a couple filmmakers who actively work in analogue formats. I'm proud that my repairs on the print held firm and the projector maintained the loop, with only a minimal periodic flutter. I'll include an image of the print that provides a notion of the numerous sections where perforations had to be reinforced."
"I'm also attaching an image of your piece being projected in the space. I requested an acquaintance take some documentation photos, so I’m still waiting on him to send me others from that evening. It's my hope he was able to capture others that might display more colourful portions, but we'll wait and see.
"It was a unique privilege sharing this piece among both peers and others I admire in the community and I do hope that others will express an interest in including it through their own programming in other cities, particularly if variations of this programme screen elsewhere.
"If you weren't otherwise aware, your films are profiled in a short essay in the recently published book, so you certainly have not been omitted from discourse this time around. I hope it might at least encourage others to explore your artistry both in Canada and beyond."
sebastian
>> A separate Web Page on 'Bridge at Electrical Storm'
TAKE THREE
(REALLY? THERE IS A TAKE THREE!?)
"This is DEAD film culture -- and it re-starts like this:"
""Oh, oh! Al brought his own script!"
E-mail from: Al Razutis
Fri 3/25/2022 7:58 AM
"Sebastian,
"You have done 'experimental film' a great favour by including my work and re-igniting this issue of a cabal (Innis) dominating, then destroying (for a short while) the Experimental film scene, CFMDC, and their Experimental Film congress fiasco.
"Truly, I appreciate the spark you have provided to me and there is no need (ever) for you to apologize for inviting me.
"When I looked at ( ....... ), ( .... ), ( ......... ) being there, and yet 'another book' to place in their 'legacy laundromat', I took that as a great opportunity to continue the story for next gens (like yourself) to read. Otherwise, nobody would know anything (!).
"So I see it as a further 'invitation' to tell my stories and of course I will much to the chagrin of those perps who came afterwards, like ( ......... ) and 'cashed in'.
"So, please take some photos tonight, to even include the above, and a photo of 'bridge' being screened, perhaps an audience.
"I really appreciate this opportunity you provided, the context, and the fact that our 'counterculture' truth can be told. In Vancouver (post-Intermedia) we had it even worse (!) -- some of us filmmakers were 'written out!' and the perps here continued in their academic appointments and 'book publishing'.
"Thank you again. If you know me at all you'll know that I've been fighting such battles in 'holographic art', 'video art', and 'film art' in Canada now for at least 5 decades, and since '1968' in Vancouver...
"Talk to you later after your screening. Good luck and thank you very much."
'Razutis - Aside' 2002 -- Al Razutis
Response to Toronto Experimental Film Congress
'Nothing Personal' - Al Razutis 1989
First published in Independent Eye, 1989, (Mike Hoolboom, ed.)
DO WE HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN?
"Until we get it right!"
'TAKE THREE before the cameras now!" -- Al shouts, "I BROUGHT A SCRIPT NOW!"
BEFORE the LIGHTS, the CAMERAS, and the subject is?
Professor ( .... ) at ( .... ) and his 'definitions' and his framework.
Published in 2010, somewhere in ( ....... ):
"Film Professor ( .... ) is interested in the ugly ducklings of the film world!"
ACTION! ROLL MONOLOGUE!
"As a researcher, my current work is focused on the complexities of history and academic institutionalization from the 1960s onward in relation to experimental and independent film. While most of my past research has concentrated on American films, I am also examining avant-garde films created since the 1960s."
"To analyze an experimental film is not so different from analyzing an abstract painting. The fun, I say, is in finding intersections between the elements of sound and sight, and discovering how these contiguities trigger emotions and ideas in a viewer.
"Although 'experimental' and 'independent' films are both considered avant-garde film genres, they are not interchangeable terms. Experimental films are made outside the mainstream practice of filmmaking. They serve 'to broaden the horizons of what film can be and do,' says I to inform all new society members. Experimental films usually lack dialogue and are sometimes referred to as 'underground'.
"Independent or 'Indie' films are made without studio aid and usually have a narrative. The more politically inclined avant-garde films, like many artistic endeavours of the 1960s, were created in response to events like the Vietnam War, the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy and the American civil rights movement.'
"My research on film history will provide important information about the cultural contexts to which avant-garde filmmakers in ( .... ) were responding. An interesting fact, notes ( .... ), is that avant-garde were watched in the past by advertising companies to steal new techniques to market their products in television advertising. On the other side of the spectrum, avant-garde films have also influenced abstract and performance artists like Andy Warhol, Steve Reich, Trisha Brown and Merce Cunningham.
"Even the Hollywood filmmakers of many well-known classics were influenced by the avant-garde films they were exposed to in film school, he says. Big-time Hollywood directors such as George Lucas and Martin Scorsese have mentioned the influence of experimental filmmakers like Kenneth Anger and Arthur Lipsett (a Canadian who was trained by the Group of Seven painter, Arthur Lismer).
"One important difference between avant-garde and mainstream films is the sharp contrast in salary. George Lucas makes $121,354.16 per hour. Arthur Lipsett died almost penniless after losing his job at the National Film Board of Canada. Does that mean Lucas is any less of an artist? ( .... ) is no hippie. Since art is not defined by its price tag, he considers Star Wars as much a piece of art as any of Arthur Lipsett’s pieces – just not as interesting."
"Of course this is all BUNK.", offered another Professor.
(TO EXPLAIN FURTHER: Said first professor at ( ..... ) who is quoted here makes well over 160K per year himself, so the web says.
"Now, THAT'S QUITE A TAKE, this TAKE THREE!" say other people,
but is the way we end film studies here.)
RELATED:
Film performance art by Razutis - 1980's
'THE TILTED X' -- The Professor has no pants!
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