Cinematic Era: 1981 Vintage

Essay film about surfaces.

In a domestic setting, two men in suits with rather glassy and listless facial expressions sit at a table with two mocha cakes on it. A classic slapstick element in an experimental setting.

Kino Da! (1981) is a portrait of North Beach Communist cafe poet & gentle comrade, Jack Hirschman, editor of the “Artaud Anthology” (City Lights). Shot in sync with wind-up Bolex.

Tuning In – A Film about Karlheinz Stockhausen was produced for the BBC in 1981. Directed by Robin Maconie, who authored The Works of Karlheinz Stockhausen, this documentary is a lively and informative introduction to the work and process of a man who shook music and consciousness up.

Excerpts from a collection of 9.5mm films dating from 1900 to 1928—including theatrical films, anthropological documentaries, and home movies—that reveal much about life during the silent-film era. —MoMa

When childless Anjani prayed to Shiva to give her a son, he must have been listening because nine months and a visit from Marut, the God of Wind later, she delivers one -- the young deity Hanuman. As a child Hanuman mischievously tried to swallow the sun, thinking it was a fruit. When he is smote for his unwitting trespass by Indra, king of the Gods, he lays lifeless, only to be resurrected and granted gifts by an assemblage of gods. These gifts along with his own virtues earn him the title of Mahabali, or The Mighty One. His life is the subject of this film, which focuses on both his childhood exploits and adult adventures.

Short film by Mundo Nuevo Films.

Pink film by Yu Yoshino.

A Bedouin love story set in the desert near Najaf.

The works of Dominican painter Gilberto Hernández Ortega.

Show scenes and interviews with the transvestites Viola, real name Kurt, and Belinda, real name Paulo. They all live and work in Hamburg.

Short film by Japanese filmmaker Jun’ichi Okuyama.

Pink film directed by Jô Ichimura.

Windows in the Kitchen is a film dance by Elaine Summers and a collaboration of four female New York artists: Originally part of an intermedia concert at the now-legendary The Kitchen, Matt Turney (1950-1973), icon of the Martha Graham Company, explores in a loft the possibilities of relaxed, casual to expansive movement. Along a large window front, which offers a view of the building opposite, a dialogue is created between Turney’s organic movements and the rectangular forms of New York’s architecture.

Documentary on the Atlanta Boy Choir's tour of Italy during the summer of 1981.

Gisela worked "normally" on Herbststraße. Introduced to "English training" by her clients, she switched to working as a dominatrix at Club de Sade. It was a step up: her clients became club members, and Gisela no longer needed to interact with them, she just needed to beat them. And after her experiences with "men," that fulfilled her with satisfaction.

About the USA's international terrorism, targeted on Latin American countries: El Salvador, Cuba, Nicaragua.

A witty interpretation of classic fairy tales, this time for adults. The Emperor's New Clothes, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood uncensored.

Mirage is a visionary, metaphysical journey that uses the unique art form of dance-animation.

The Váci Street tram was discontinued with the completion of the Deák Square - Lehel Square section of the North-South Metro in December 1981. The film is a nostalgic sequence of images about the tram in Angyalföld.

Transformations is a work in which the author addresses the issue of gender freedom. According to Castillo, the moving images and the unfolding action open a window to free thought and free interpretation of what is seen. "To be or not to be, that is my film," says the author.

Subverting the classic children’s book series "Peter and Jane" in order to reveal how language structures gender roles.

The film begins with the Christmas preparations, so to speak, and ends with the first petrol price increase of the new year.

About the role of Yasnaya Polyana estate in the life and work of the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.

Taiwan action film.

A film about possums and the most prestigious organization in the world today, the Possum Growers and Breeders Association.

Pink film distributed by Tokatsu.

Reconstruction of silent films: a parody of the salon drama of the early twentieth century.

Erotic-drama distributed by Nikkatsu for home video.

70s Glam Rock star Gary Glitter joins Gerry Cottle's Circus

UCLA Student Film, Preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. A conversation between Fani Lucas and the filmmaker, with audio overlayed over photographs of Fani Lucas in her home.

Horror short.

A story about a stubborn and fearless tree, which despite harsh conditions, moves forward and reaches the place it wants, becoming the root of a new forest.

A look into the lives of workers at a Washington saw mill that produces shingles.

Four short love stories from the point of view of four different men.

Shows a part of Hans Boerwinkel creation assisted by his wife Ans. They lived with their children in Meppel, Netherlands.

A story following a young man who cares a lot about getting with a girl.

A documentary about Monimbo, a town in Nicaragua.

Directed by Deborah Jo Short.

Promotional film about pipe coatings in the fuel industry.

Adapted from a novel by Edmond Wilson, the story follows two men, a horde of teals, and hundreds of snapping turtles as they collide in an absurd world.

The association of Whitby with Bram Stoker’s Dracula is fairly well-known; the writer Leo Walmsley less so. Michael Clegg takes us on a journey around the places that inspired both authors, Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay, just five miles apart on the Yorkshire coast. With the help of excerpts from two films based on their novels, ‘Turn of the Tide’ (1935), and ‘Scars of Dracula’ (1970), Clegg provides a guide to their work and the very different tales they have to tell.

In the airport lobby, two men waiting for the plane to take off tell each other macabre stories.

A film by Abbott Meader and Walter Easton 16mm, 43:43 minutes, color, sound, 1981

Ineke and Jamal, have already discussed their marriage plan, but disaster strikes. Ineke is hit by a horse, and faces the possibility of paralysis. Jamal, who has already applied for a job in the oil industry, has to leave her in the hospital and goes to Natuna island. Jamal never fails to send her letters, but his letters are always kept by Ineke’s mother. Doctor Yaman, who has just returned from Timor Timur, is challenged to cure Ineke. His effort is successful and he even marries Ineke who has forgotten about Jamal. Then Jamal returns home and is heartbroken when his younger sibling informs him about the situation. Ineke’s mother feels guilty.