Date: Friday, March 2, 2011 at 8:00PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 - Limited Seating RSVP to programming@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117
Featuring:
Hot Dog: The Show
About Stuff (1970, color)
Woody
Allen, JoAnne Worley and Jonathan Winters give education a go with this quirky,
short series for NBC morning television.
This episode features How do they make Hot Dog Rolls? and Where
Do Sardines Come From? A hilarious
query into what people think and what actually is with an awesome female
sardine packing competition that will leave you hungry for more. 
Why Man Creates (1968, color)
This Academy Award
winning film by Saul Bass organizes and deconstructs creativity from a variety
of perspectives. Brilliant and
prolific, Bass was known in Hollywood for his movie poster creations and title
sequences especially that of The Man With The Golden Arm (1955) by Otto Preminger. He is also responsible for the iconic
AT&T bell logo. This short
features animation by Bass as well as stunning visual demonstrations of points
he aims to make.
From Trees to Paper (1960s, b/w)
This
is a fascinating look at paper production made by the people who produce the
paper. From written plans, watch
the industry contemplate, engage and take action on forests to supply paper to
a demanding worldwide industry.
American Forest Product Services shows us their stuff, and demonstrates
human brains at work collectively harvesting the earth for consumer
products.
Flight—A New
Awareness (1973, color)
A languid film about
perception and the humble act of flight, this documentary aligns flying with environmental
knowledge. It is a delicate
reminder that man works very hard to achieve perspectives naturally given to
others, like birds and mountaintops, and questions what might be learned about
ecological preservation from approaching flight in that way. Narrated by John Ingle and with music
by Dick McCurdy, this piece embraces the incredible nature of soaring by
aligning itself with a hand glider’s journey over the land and sea.
New Frontiers of the
Brain (1959, b/w)
An excerpt from the CBS
documentary about experiments in understanding how the brain works includes
testing theories on cats and mice as well as human minds. Is motor function connected to actual
feelings of need? See these
investigators pry open the actual brain and poke at it to see what is really
capable of. This is a somewhat
disturbing but also spellbinding film to watch as the brain becomes broken down
into a tool of nuanced functions.
Perc! Pop! Sprinkle!
Interpreting Perceptual Movements (1969, color)
This high-energy film
will inspire you to get moving too.
A lyrical film showing and teaching kids how to move their bodies like
household appliances. Sharpened
motor skills and the amazing difference between man and machine hilariously
collide in this film. The child
actors are talented, joyful and inspiring, maybe gym class should be more like
this!
Age of Industry (1984, color & b/w)
National Film Board of
Canada and Albert Kish write a film essay on industry, invention and war. Archival footage and photography along
with intense rhythm combine to portray a stark difference between the
vulnerability of man and the power of the things he creates. Culminating in depictions of WWI, Kish
is not subtle about his ironic point of view, erecting this experimental work
on Man versus Machine.
Curator Biography
Soumyaa Kapil Behrens
is a filmmaker based in San Francisco.
Behrens is currently directing “MY GARBAGE, MY NEIGHBORHOOD”, a documentary film
on the legal battle against eviction for one of the oldest recycling centers in
San Francisco located in Golden Gate Park. Behrens also produces film and video in the Bay Area for
other artists and nonprofits. She
sits on the Board of Directors for BAWIFM (Bay Area Women In Film/Media) and
has taught classes at a variety of local institutions. She also holds an MFA in Cinema
Production from San Francisco State University.