Cinematic Era: 1977 Vintage

The collage of everyday impressions of social modernization; mixed cultures of old and new mediums, traditions and folklore…

The tragedy of an African Princess who turned her back on love which money buys.

Political texts from the journal In Search, edited by M.S. Arnoni (Wim Schlebaum)

14 year old Freddy fails at livening the party with wine.

How to take care of your own things, as narrated by a talking pillow.

Documentary about the Armenian poet, Sayat-Nova. It first appeared as an episode of the French television series "Foi et traditions des chretiens orientaux (Faith and Traditions of the Oriental Orthodox Churches)."

This film illustrates the theory that a sudden change in climate caused by a stellar explosion resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs.

This film is a travelogue which shows the relationship between the car and the weather. The focal point is the windscreen and the structuring elements, the rain and the windscreen wipers.

Kuntur Wachana is a docudrama in which Garcia re-created the 1950s uprising of the Huaran hacienda campesinos against the hacendados, which led to the assassination of two union organizers. The film then follows the travails of the peasants until 1969, when the Huaran Cooperative was formed.

A three-part video epic in which avant-garde artist Vito Acconci explores the relationship between the self and national mythology. Through multiple vignettes, Acconci brings together a collage of music, photographs, diorama, experimental theater and his own profile, to tell a semi-autobiographical narrative that, in turn, becomes a critique of the alienated quality of American mythology.

1977 Czech experimental short by Petr Skala

Gay mothers argue for the right to custody of their children.

About careful handling of toys.

This film follows the story of young orphaned woman of the slums. Although she is given a chance to improve her life, she stumbles into a series of misfortunes, enslaving herself in the company of characters in the underworld. Teetering on the brink of self-destruction, a ray of hope offers her redemption.

A subjective account of the act of making still photographs.

Mapping extreme close-ups of Broughton's body, the camera slowly becomes a tool to reveal the erotic beauty of the body and the sensual pleasure in loving oneself. The ecstasy and power of sexual gratification are celebrated by the camera, as it probes, reveals, and visually caresses. Broughton's song is a praise of his body as divine androgyne, and an acceptance of this higher, sexual power.

Art film part of the REWIND + PLAY, An Anthology of Early British Video Art box-set.

Art film part of the REWIND + PLAY, An Anthology of Early British Video Art box-set.

A surreal encounter at Père Lachaise cemetery between brightly coloured jelly pudding and Mickey Mouse.

Kurt Kren short

"The editing procedure was to count the number of shots and start the film off with the numerically middle shot and then, after that, the shot that had preceded it, and the shot that had followed it, and to keep fanning further and further out until one saw the first shot of the film followed by the last shot" -Ken Jacobs

Collage of faces taken from television by James Nares

Explores the daily life and work of children in Abnoud, a rural village located 600 kilometres to the south of Cairo, where the trains that carry the tourists to the south of Egypt pass through without stopping. A boy outsmarts the meagerness of his circumstances by dripping goat’s milk on a piece of stale bread and turning it into a special sandwich.

In this short animation film, Norman McLaren presents the first 3 of the 5 categories of motion: constant, accelerated and decelerated. Various types of acceleration and deceleration are demonstrated, and examples are shown of how these types of motion may be applied in regard to gesture, gravity and perspective.

Four films in contemplation upon those events which are so centered upon one moment that chronology seems almost obliterated or at least unimportant in remembrance.

Hollis Frampton alludes to origins and creation as he cuts between a garden featuring a bride and groom and an 1902 film entitled "A Little Piece of String."

The story of a widower as presented by the people surrounding her.

Portrait of Hans Tetzner. Surgeon, specialized in meniscus surgery (football knee) due to his affinity with sport, especially football.

Once upon a time the scientist had a beautiful, balanced life. He was successful in his profession, living in a huge house with his children and young wife, but something had changed. Left alone, these days he wanders like a ghost in the now dilapidated house, his only companion being his madness, which will remain with him forever.

The two-part film by Hartmut Bitomsky is an "essay film with a plot." It revolves around the transportation of books that are meant to go from Munich to Cologne. It's about reading the right texts, deciphering secret messages, the violence that emanates from books and sometimes doesn't return. At the same time, it's about cinematic storytelling; suspense arises where it doesn't belong and gets resolved when no one expects it. (Subtitle of Part 1: "Wandering Plot," Part 2: "At the Inferno of Silence")

East Berlin disco movie.

This performance, presented for German TV's first live satellite transmission marking the opening of the Documenta VI in Kassel on 24 June 1977, is a continuation of Douglas Davis' works on telecommunication. His exhortations of the viewers to establish contact with him via the TV screen are made all the more pointed by the physical distance between two continents.

"One shiny day, so I've heard folks say, a sister and a brother changed themselves to beanbags, changed themselves to beanbags and went out far away. They traveled to the kingdom where imagination loves to play - in Malakapalakadoo, Skip Two. Strange things can happen there, and almost always do." Clay animated "educational" short about the wonders of imagination.

This short film brings together animated interpretations of 4 poems by great Canadian wordsmiths: “From the Hazel Bough” by Earle Birney, “Travellers Palm” by P.K. Page, “Death by Streetcar” by Raymond Souster, and “A Said Poem” by John Robert Colombo.

Documentary on the "Harlem Hellfighters," black American soldiers of the 369th combat regiment in World War I.

A young man is feeling sick inside his house, which is also home to several rabbits. Based on short stories from Julio Cortazar's Bestiario.

The film documents the remarkable woman, Doña Agueda Martinez from Medanales, New Mexico and her lifestyle that ran in harmony with nature and reliance on tradition and proven values. The film depicts Agueda Martinez's deep-rooted relationship with both the land and her family. Agueda Martinez is shown farming her fields of green chile, gathering herbs, cooking and talking to her grandchildren and weaving at the loom. Doña Agueda says, I love to weave and I never get tired doing this work. I will weave until the day I can no longer move. Until then Me va hallar bailando en el telar" (You will find me dancing on the loom).

A harpist (Pedro Llana) is seen positioning his harp near a waterfall. The narrator's voice says, "We knew that harpists went to the mountains to learn new melodies from the waterfalls." The harpist falls asleep, and some children climb up to steal his harp. The harpist wakes up and throws them off. A priest (Father Fausto Pusa) says that the story of harpists, mermaids, and waterfalls is pure fantasy. [He is referring to the belief that harpists receive help from mermaids in those places to tune their instruments.]

A short documentary about the Iranian art of Tiling

From the series Ancient Cultures of Peru. Inca Cusco.

Documentary photo about the life of Daniel Alcides Carrión (1857-1885), martyr of Peruvian medicine.

This documentary was censored by COPROCI (the Film Promotion Commission) of Juan Velasco's government, which argued that it presented a savage view of peasants reenacting a ritual battle to maintain the fertility of the land in the Chiaraje plains (4,700 meters above sea level), in the province of Canas. The production company, without the filmmaker's permission, converted the film into a series of short films; however, a 35mm copy still exists.

The plot follows a musician, Appanna, who falls in love with a dancer, Basanti, with the story exploring themes of power and resistance.

Twins Arwin (Alex) and Irwan (Yacob) live separately for the sake of their respective careers. The two end up both falling in love with Maya (Joice Erna), who tries to play both sides and finds herself accidentally pregnant with no idea which of the twins is the actual father.

Spanish political refugees living in bunkers in Port Vendres.

Through an interview with Professor Leonid Abalkin and the Anikeev family, the documentary's proposal is to present the quick improvement of life felt by the Soviet population, obtained with the increase of the population's income and expansion of social rights. With still dynamic growth, the Soviet economy was consolidating mass production in several economic sectors. The examples used in the documentary, the ZIL, KamAZ factories and the construction of the Baikal-Amur railway (BAM) seek to demonstrate the development of this centralized economy. Attention was also paid to the new technologies of integrated circuits, which enabled economic calculations, previously impossible to be processed manually. The automation of industries was also addressed by the documentary. The marxist idea presented was that the automation of industries in Soviet Union don't promoted layoffs, as a result of the contradictions between work and capital, which occur in capitalist countries.

I want to be Joan was made after Stephanie Beth was asked to document a womens conference. The subsequent film interviewed women who attended the conference but chose not to speak at the event. Amongst their testimony the film-maker interwove song and images of paintings by contemporary female artists including Jacqueline Fraser.

After breaking up with his girlfriend, Toman meets a mysterious woman riding a deer who lures him into the depths of the forest.

"That's how it is, and it's fine," says the main character in Jozef Cyrus' documentary - a lonely, ageing farmer who endures daily inconveniences without complaint and runs a traditional rural farm. "(...) The field cannot stand, you have to work all the time," he explains. The camera accompanies the efforts of the protagonist, who - although the 1970s are coming to an end - does not have any agricultural machinery at his disposal and works like 19th century peasants. His only helper and faithful companion is the eponymous ox. Gradually, in successive shots, we learn about the protagonist's world view. This is the testimony of a man from a different era, who refuses even to sleep on a mattress because he was 'born on straw and will live on straw'. The successive parts of the film, including the scythe, the yoke, the birthday, the hayride and the autumn, are the elements that give rhythm to the main character's life.

A short wildlife documentary about dormouse.

Argentinian horror movie from 1977.