Oddball Films and guest curator Scotty Slade bring you Aligning
the Trance Particles, a program of physical and metaphysical forms of trance
exploration that examines ancient traditions alongside experimental film
practices. In tandem with the ongoing Trance Cinema film series, this program begins under the microscope, so that we might start to
imagine the molecular alignment of our own inner beings, in Crystallization (1975). Once aligned
on a molecular scale, it will be time to climb up the particulate ladder with
Norman McLaren’s A Phantasy (1952), a
space-borne surrealist film of dance and ritual glow. From there, we’ll bounce
into Maya Deren’s A Ritual in Transfigured Time (1946),
and once our minds have become fully lubricated, the incredible film Pomo Shaman (1964) will be there to
move us into the next realm. In that deep space of next level consciousness,
let us be further blown away by Pat O’Neill’s color ceremony in 7362 (1952). We’ll then jump back
through time, from special effects land to the Kalahari, where everyone will be
encouraged to get up and move around with the !Kung Bushmen in N/um tchai: The Ceremonial Dance of the !Kung
Bushmen (1973). The evening will end with Takashi Ito’s mind
bending gymnasium camera ritual symbolic mental portal exploration Spacy (1980). Everyone is encouraged
to melt.
Date: Friday,
September 6, 2013 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:
Crystallization
(Color, 1975)
Directed by award-wining
filmmaker Carroll Ballard (The Black Stallion) this film explores the formation
of crystals in liquids through the electron microscope under polarized light.
With innovative electronic soundscore. Shown at the SF International Film
Festival and winner of the Golden Gate Award in 1975.
7362 (Color,
1965-67)
A mind-blowing visual and
sound experience by famed experimental filmmaker (and sometime Star Wars
special effects wiz) Pat O’Neill with sound by cult musician/early synthesizer
artist Joseph Byrd (The United States of America). Described as “a bilaterally
symmetrical (west to east) fusion of human, biomorphic and mechanical shapes in
motion. Has to do with the spontaneous generation of electrical energy. A
fairly rare (ten years ago) demonstration of the Sabattier Effect (re-exposing
partially developed film to light during the processing) in motion. Title
refers to the film stock of the same name.
Spacy (Color,
1980-81)
Hypnotic avant-garde
rarity by Takashi Ito. This experimental
stop-motion film takes place in a gymnasium: we approach a picture on a frame,
which turns out to be a picture of the gymnasium. We enter the picture and approach another
frame, which turns out to be a picture of… and so on. A mesmerizing electronic soundtrack completes
this trance-inducing meditation on time and space.
A Phantasy
(Color, 1952)
Cut-out animation by
Norman McLaren, and music for saxophones and synthetic sound by Maurice
Blackburn. In a dream-like, meditative and surreal landscape drawn in pastel,
inanimate objects come to life to disport themselves in grave dances and
playful ritual.
A Ritual in
Transfigured Time (B+W, 1946)
Maya Deren was one of the
most influential female avant-garde filmmakers of the 20th century. She was
dancer, choreographer, poet, writer and photographer. In the cinema she was a
director, writer, cinematographer, editor, performer, entrepreneur and pioneer
in experimental filmmaking in the United States. She collaborated with Marcel
Duchamp and her social circle included the likes of Andre Breton, John Cage and
Anais Nin. This enigmatic film is a social event choreographed in the manner of a dance, illuminated by concepts drawn from Greek legend. This is a sensual and metaphorically elusive study of the female psyche often considered one of filmmaker’s most intriguing works.
Pomo Shaman
(B+W, 1964)
An extremely rare and
fascinating chance to see a Pomo healing ceremony, led by Essie Parrish, a Pomo
sucking doctor and a leader of the Kashaya Pomo community near Stewarts Point,
California. Shot through holes in the
walls of a ceremonial roundhouse (so as not to interfere), the ceremony
features Parrish entering a trance and with the aid of a spiritual instrument,
she attempts to cure her patient with traditional sucking techniques. The Kashaya agreed to the filming in order to
preserve their traditions for future generations, and continue to watch it
before healing ceremonies, believing the film is impued with Parrish’s healing
spirit.
N/um tchai:
The Ceremonial Dance of the !Kung Bushmen (B+W, 1973)
Tchai is the word used by
Ju/'hoansi to describe getting together to dance and sing; n/um can be
translated as medicine, or supernatural potency. In the 1950's, when this film
was shot, Ju/'hoansi gathered for "medicine dances" often, usually at
night, and sometimes such dances lasted until dawn. In this film, women sit on
the ground, clapping and singing and occasionally dancing a round or two, while
men circle around them, singing and stamping rhythms with their feet. The songs
are wordless but named: "rain," "sun," "honey,"
"giraffe," and other "strong things." The strength of the
songs is their n/um, or medicine, thought to be a gift from the great god. N/um
is also in the fire, and even more so in the "owners of medicine," or
healers. Most Ju/'hoan men would practice as healers at some point in their
lives, and in this film we see several men in various stages of trance. A light
trance gradually deepens, as the medicine grows "hot," and eventually
some men will shriek and run about, falling on hot coals, entering the state
Ju/'hoansi call "half-death."
The film opens with a
brief introduction to the role of n/um tchai in healing and in warding off
evil, followed by scenes from one all-night dance. The dance begins with a
social gathering and becomes increasingly intense as the night wears on,
finally concluding at dawn.