On the heels of Sundance and its New Frontier section every year comes transmediale, the Berlin-based festival more singularly focused on interactive film, video art, transmedia, virtual reality, and other forms of new media. Founded in 199, transmediale also excels at maintaining a clear focus on how these new works engaged with broader societal issues; traditional artwork, panel discussions, academic papers, and other offerings are always an integral part of the proceedings along with films and videos. This year’s theme is “face value.” With forces like globalization and feminism in stark public contrast with nationalistic authoritarianism and racial inequalities in […]
by Randy Astle on Jan 30, 2018Here are my favorite film experiences of the year: 10. Loving Vincent (2017; dir. Dorota Kobiela & Hugh Welchman; Lincoln Plaza Cinema) 9. The Red Turtle (2016; dir. Michaël Dudok de Wit; Lincoln Plaza Cinema) 8. Metropolis (1927; dir. Fritz Lang; Marble Collegiate Church) 7. La Belle et la Bête (1946; dir. Jean Cocteau; Tribeca Film Festival at Town Hall) 6. The Last Animals (2017; dir. Kate Brooks; Tribeca Film Festival at Cinépolis Chelsea) 5. City Lights (1931; dir. Charlie Chaplin; United Palace) 4. Harmony of Difference (2017; dir. Kamasi Washington; Whitney Biennial) 3. Romeo + Juliet (1996; dir. Baz Luhrmann; Little Cinema at House of Yes) 2. Imponderable (2015-16; […]
by Randy Astle on Dec 17, 2017Throughout December, perhaps the best film showing in New York wasn’t in a theater at all but in a Civil War-era equine drill hall. Julian Rosefeldt’s Manifesto, a multiscreen installation starring Cate Blanchett in twelve different roles, closed its stay at the Park Avenue Armory last week. A single-screen linear version will reach a broader audience at Sundance next week, prompting me to reflect on the (presumed) differences between the two versions and what video artists and filmmakers of all stripes can learn from Rosefeldt’s latest work. First, a description. Manifesto takes its title and its text from the written manifestos of artists […]
by Randy Astle on Jan 12, 2017Since 1988 transmediale has been one of Europe’s premiere events for showcasing transmedia and technology for art and narrative and nonfiction storytelling. Director Kristoffer Gansing (who spoke with Filmmaker last year) and his team continue to assemble cutting-edge films, installations, performances, workshops, and other events, turning the House of World Cultures in Berlin into a hub for all things new media. I spoke with a number of artists who presented video-based pieces at the festival. Erica Scourti (seen above in an image from another project) is an Athens-born, London-based artist focusing on video art and, increasingly, Internet-centered artwork; as she describes below, her work gradually transformed […]
by Randy Astle on Feb 24, 2015Artist Adam Pendleton has created a new large-scale video installation at New York’s The Kitchen inspired by Jean-Luc Godard’s Rolling Stones’ deconstruction, Sympathy for the Devil. It features the band Deerhoof and runs through December 23. From the catalog copy: This solo exhibition presents the U.S. premiere of Adam Pendleton’s new large scale video installation. Pendleton’s BAND is a form and content refashioning of Jean-Luc Godard’s Sympathy for the Devil, which stands in open contrast to the earlier film. Modeling Godard’s belief that radical formal complexity can undermine the bourgeois logic implicit to narrative filmmaking, BAND tracks the indie-rock band […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 27, 2010Want to have your work featured among the likes of Warhol, van Gogh and Picasso? The Guggenheim Museum and YouTube have partnered to develop a contest to uncover what they call the “most creative video content in the world.” 20 videos will be selected for a special exhibition at the Guggenheim in October entitled YouTube Play. The submissions will be evaluated by an expert jury in the fields of art, design, film and video. Submission deadline is July 31, go to the Youtube Play channel to learn more.
by Filmmaker Staff on Jul 9, 2010