WINTER 2011

STARTING TIME - 8pm (except where indicated)
Admission- $8 / $6 members.


JANUARY 28 (Fri.) OPEN SCREENING
DVD, Mini-DV, Videotape, 16MM, S8MM. All works are shown on a first-come-first-served basis. Bring films, videos and/or come as a viewer. (Finished works only, limited to a maximum of 20 minutes per person). Refreshments will be available. Doors open at 7pm. Screening begins at 8pm and ends at 10:30pm. Admission by contribution.

Shiho Kano
"Rocking Chair" and "Incense" by Shiho Kano

JANUARY 29 (Sat.) SHIHO KANO
Tokyo-based Shiho Kano is one of Japan's leading film/video artists. Her work has screened at festivals and museums in over 15 countries. This program will include ROCKING CHAIR (13 min.-2000), INCENSE (6 min.-2002), WAVE (15 min.-2005) and other works to be announced.

"There is also a musical, even a theatrical dimension to Kano's work, especially in the way she choreographs her visuals and sounds. Doors open and close, allowing light into a portion of the space or removing some of the light; traffic sounds grow louder and soften; the light subtly modulates as a breeze moves through the space; Kano opens her aperture so fully that the image whites out, or she closes the aperture and the image fades to black; someone is seen, or heard, passing through the limited space revealed by the frame or somewhere close by ...The resulting experiences are simultaneously open and in firm control, quiet and full of energy. They are reminiscent of various cultural traditions - the Japanese garden, the haiku, North American avant-garde film (the slow zoom in Rosecolored Flower is evocative of Michael Snow's Wavelength [1967]) - and aesthetically distinctive and particular to Kano's own place and moment." - Scott MacDonald, IMAGE FORUM, Japan.

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Kuchar Brothers


FEBRUARY 5 (Sat.) GEORGE AND MIKE KUCHAR
 The Kuchar brothers are back with a full program of new works, all NYC premieres. These shows are a popular yearly tradition at Millennium. Bronx-born George and Mike both make their home in San Francisco. For fifty years George and Mike Kuchar have produced some of the most original, innovative and witty independent cinema in this country.

On LINGO OF THE LOST - "This is a recent example of narrative concoctions I make with attractive young people on a cheap budget...$600. The budget is cheap, not the young people... It's my big chance to run a kind of movie story and in a way we are all under contract to make a blockbuster (At least that's our hope). A total flop is fine too as long as it's artistic. Find out if we hit these goals by seeing this colorful drama on the sacred and the profound (with a little sci-fi thrown in)."- G.K.

On ROOM 666 - "An episode of marital mayhem commissioned by 'Vice' magazine- M.K

On MEDUSA'S GAZE - "Marbles spill out of the ocean on summer days spent laundering personal wreckage."- M.K.

By GEORGE KUCHAR:
TUMMY ACHE TIME (25 min.-2010)
LINGO OF THE LOST (35 min.-2010)

By MIKE KUCHAR:
IDOLATRY (10 min.-2010)
CINEVEGAS (7 min-2009)
ROOM 666 (10 min.-2010)
MEDUSA'S GAZE (12 min.-2010)
ECHO'S GARDEN (12 min.-2010)
OPAL ESSENCE (12 min.-2010)

Note - The Kuchar brothers will not be present for this screening.

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MFJ 53
LEFT: "Piensa en mi" by Alexandra Cuesta - RIGHT: "Pasadena Freeway Stills" by Gary Beydler

FEBRUARY 12 (Sat.) MIGRATION / DISLOCATION:
A CELEBRATION OF MILLENNIUM FILM JOURNAL No. 53
 In celebration of the publication of MILLENNIUM FILM JOURNAL #53, this program will feature films, videos and digital works discussed in the journal, coalescing around the connected themes of dislocation and migration. We will screen works by Amie Siegel, Rebecca Meyers and Laura Kraning, who are discussed in Tony Pipolo's review of the New York Film Festival's "Views from the Avant Garde." The issue includes substantial interviews with veteran filmmakers Peter Rose and Vincent Grenier, and the program will include works by each of them. Tom Chomont and Gary Beydler will be memorialized with screenings of their films, and works by other artists discussed in the journal will also be shown.

MY WAY (9.5 min.-2009) by AMIE SIEGEL
NIGHTSIDE (4.5 min.-2009) by REBECCA MEYERS
PIENSA EN MI (THINK OF ME) (15 min.-2009) by ALEXANDRA CUESTA
VINELAND (10 min.-2009) by LAURA KRANING
SECONDARY CURRENTS (16 min.-1983) by PETER ROSE
LES CHAISES (8.5 min.-2005) by VINCENT GRENIER
PASADENA FREEWAY STILLS (6 min.-1974) by GARY BEYDLER
7362 (10 min.-1967) by PAT O'NEILL
and a work by TOM CHOMONT (To be Announced)

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JEFF SCHER
"L'eau Life"

FEBRUARY 19 (Sat.) JEFF SCHER
Jeff Scher is a New York-based filmmaker, who defines himself not as an animator, but as a painter working in motion. He is fascinated by the human mind's ability to create the illusion of movement from disparate images. His montages are dizzying arrays of color, light, figures and forms that flit about like unruly thoughts, tricking the eye and revealing unexpected visual harmonies. Scher gave up his pre-med studies for film while at Bard College in the mid-1970s. He still makes use of rotoscoping, an old animation technique in which film frames are blown up and traced individually onto animation cells. In Scher's case, he painstakingly hand paints and shoots each frame, sometimes substituting clay, paper models, or found materials for his paintings.

NYC ( 3 min.-1975/2007) Second version of film shot in 1975, rescored and recut in 2007
L'EAU LIFE (3 min.-2007)
THE SHADOW'S DREAM (3 min.-2009)
NO TIME (3 min.-2007)
SUMMER RETREAT (3 min.-2008)
GRAND CENTRAL (Short Version - 3 min.-1999)
YOU WON'T REMEMBER THIS (2 min.-2006)
FLY BY NIGHT (3 min.-2007)
THE PARADE (3 min.-2008)
WHITE OUT (3 min.-2007)
YOU WON'T REMEMBER THIS EITHER (3 min.-2008)
LOST THOUGHTS (3 min.-2010) [PREMIERE]
GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS DAY (3 min.-2010) Made with Paul Simon
EXPERIMENTS AND CLIPS (5 min.-2000-2010)
PRETTY DEAD, A Faux Noir Faux Narrative (4 min.-2010)

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FEBRUARY 25 (Fri.) OPEN SCREENING
DVD, Mini-DV, Videotape, 16MM, S8MM. All works are shown on a first-come-first-served basis. Bring films, videos and/or come as a viewer. (Finished works only, limited to a maximum of 20 minutes per person). Refreshments will be available. Doors open at 7pm. Screening begins at 8pm and ends at 10:30pm. Admission by contribution.

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LEWIS KLAHR
"Cumulonimbus"

FEBRUARY 26 (Sat.) LEWIS KLAHR
PROLIX SATORI (75 min.-2008-2010) - NYC PREMIERE IN ITS FULL SERIES FORM.
I have often worked in series before-"Picture Books For Adults", "Tales of the Forgotten Future", "Engram Sepals", "The Two Minutes to Zero Trilogy"-but never quite like this. The main difference is that "Prolix Satori" is both open ended with a variety of thematic focuses instead of a single, centralized one. As the series title suggests, it will include films that are very very short (under a minute) and films that are feature length. "Prolix Satori" will also contain various sub-series: this program offers several films from "The Couplets" ("Wednesday Morning Two A.M.", "Sugar Slim Says" and all 3 Nimbus films). "The Couplets" will generally, but not exclusively, organize themselves around the pairing of various pop songs and just as in the songs lyrics, the theme of romantic love. This screening marks the NYC premiere of the first completed sequence of this ongoing series. - L.K.

On LETHE: "In Greek mythology Lethe is the underworld river from which the dead drink to forget their life on earth. The first film in a possible trilogy of mythologically inspired pieces with female protagonists." - L.K.

Writing in 2002 about a first showing with his wife Janie Geiser, Lewis Klahr writes- "I remembered how many other firsts I'd had at the Millennium: first group, first solo show, first time I ever curated a show. And then, of course, there's the most important first- the first roll of Super 8 I ever shot was with a camera rented from the Millennium. That was way back in 1977."

FALSE AGING (14.5 min.-2008)
"THE NIMBUS TRILOGY": NIMBUS SMILE (8.5 min.-2009),
NIMBUS SEEDS (8.5 min.-2009), and CUMULONIMBUS (9.5 min.-2010)
SUGAR SLIM SAYS (7 min.-2010)
WENESDAY MORNING TWO A.M. (6.5 min.-2009)
LETHE (23 min.-2009)

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BLACKMARIA

Left: THE GARDEN by Ann Steuernagal
Right: YOU KNOW THEY WANT TO DISAPPEAR HELL'S KITCHEN by Stephanie Gray

MARCH 4 (Fri.) 30th ANNUAL BLACK MARIA FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL
A selection of award-winning independent films and videos from the 2010 festival. Festival director and co-founder, JOHN COLUMBUS will be present to introduce and discuss the works shown. Black Maria, one of the most well known festivals of new film and video in the United States, organizes a travelling showcase tour of 40 or more works exhibiting at more than 50 host institutions. Each program presents a different selection of work and is introduced by the festival's director. http://www.blackmariafilmfestival.org

CET AIR LA (3 min, 2010) by Marie Losier with April March & Julien Gasc
DRUMS+TRAINS (12 min, 2009) by Paul Winkler
POSSESSED (9 min, 2010) by Fred Worden
SIX EASY PIECES (10 min, 2010) by Reynold Reynolds
YOU KNOW THEY WANT TO DISAPPEAR HELL'S KITCHEN (17 min, 2010) by Stephanie Gray
COW BOY'S, HEIFERS (W)RAP (5.5 min, 2010) by Jerry Orr
LABYRINTHINE (14.5 min, 2010) by Greg Biermann
RETROGRADE PREMONITION (5 min, 2010) by Leighton Pierce
SOUND OF A SHADOW (10 min, 2010) by Lynn Sachs & Mark Street
THE GARDEN (10 min, 2010) by Ann Steuernagal

-Program runs approximately 96 min

Download the program booklet of the festival

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Coleen Fitzgibbon
"Internal System Fourth Pass"

MARCH 12 (Sat.) COLEEN FITZGIBBON: PUBLIC RECORDS
Coleen Fitzgibbon was active as an experimental film artist under the pseudonym "Colen Fitzgibbon" between the years 1973-1980. A student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Whitney Independent Study Program, she studied with Owen Land (aka "George Landow"), Stan Brakhage, Yvonne Rainer, Carolee Schneemann, Vito Acconci. Fitzgibbon came to NYC from Chicago in the 1970s and worked at Millennium where she had some of her first one-person screenings. Fitzgibbon has screened her work at numerous international film festivals and museums, including The Toronto International Film Festival 2009, Museum of Modern Art, EXPRMNTL 5 at Knokke-Heist, Belgium, ICA, London, Anthology Film Archives, and Collective For Living Cinema.

"Between 1973 and 1976, Coleen Fitzgibbon produced a series of films that stand as some of cinema's most rigorous explorations of the medium. Associated with the Structural film movement and New York's No Wave scene, Fitzgibbon's films emphasize time, duration, and their own flickering mechanics while also hinting at a deeper socio-cultural meaning" -Gene Siskel Film Center

DAILY NEWS (6 min.-1974) DER SPIEGEL (9 min.-1976) INTERNAL SYSTEM FOURTH PASS (15 min.-1974-2010) DOCUMENT (PUBLIC RECORDS) (6 min.-1976-2010) DICTIONARY (3 min.-1975-2010) TIME (8 min.- 1975-2009) Note - Most works shown are film to digital transfers.

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KINOFEST NYC


MARCH 16 - 19 (Wed. - Sat.) KINOFEST NYC:
UKRAINIAN AND POST SOVIET FILM FESTIVAL

Four evening programs: MARCH 16 (Wed.), 17 (Thurs.), 18 (Fri.), 19 (Sat.)
One afternoon program: MARCH 19 (Sat.)- starting at 3pm.

$10 admission

Kinofest NYC is pleased to present its spring 2011 film festival; taking place from Wednesday March 16th to Sunday March 20th 2011, at two locations: the Millennium Film Workshop and The Ukrainian Museum in the East Village, the historic neighborhood home of the Ukrainian community in New York City. Kinofest NYC gives New Yorkers a rare and intriguing look at independent cinema from Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union. A selection of documentaries, features, shorts, and animations will highlight emerging film talent with a focus on the region and the post-Soviet experience.

In conjunction with the festival, the Millennium Gallery will present an exhibit of photographs titled Slavs of New York: Andy Warhol's Nowhere curated by Cynthia von Buhler. The exhibit features photographs of Andy Warhol taken by artists Anton Perich and Sebastian Piras, some of which include Warhol’s celeb “superstars” such as Taylor Mead, Candy Darling, Genevieve Waite, and Sylvester Stallone. Also on display will be photos of other notable figures of Ukrainian descent by Kyle Cassidy, in addition to works by other photographers. 

Slavs of New York: Andy Warhol's Nowhere - Opening Night Reception March 16th, 6pm. Gallery show is free and open to the public. 

Exhibition runs March 16 - April 25 at the Millennium Gallery.

www.kinofestnyc.com

PROGRAM:

KINOFEST WARHOL

MARCH 16 (Wed.) 8pm

I AM FROM NOWHERE (79 min. 2002. Slovakia) Directed by Georg Misch  language: Slovak/English (w/Eng. subtitles),website
When asked about his origin, Andy Warhol used to say “I am from nowhere.” Nowhere is actually the tiny village Mikova in Slovakia where all of Warhol’s ancestors lived. Novelist and political scientist Alexander Motyl (“Who Killed Andrei Warhol,” 2007) identifies him as Rusyn-Ukrainian, a common ethnicity from that region.  Georg Misch’s quirky, entertaining and informative documentary investigates the fuss media has made of Warhol’s relatives who still live there, Warhol-related media fame, and Warhol’s legendary '15 minutes of fame.' Film screening co-sponsored by The Ukrainian Museum. The Museum's film program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

MARCH 17 (Thu.) 9pm

FATAL PROMISES (60 min.2009. USA) Directed by Kat Rohrer, language: Russian/English (w/Eng. subtitles)
This searing and eye-opening documentary about human trafficking exposes the modern day version of sex slavery and the lesser known crime of manual labor slavery. The film focuses on post-Soviet human trafficking, in particular out of Ukraine's Black Sea port city, Odesa. Heart-breaking interviews with trafficked victims are interspersed with commentary from feminist activist Gloria Steinam and acclaimed British actress Emma Thompson, who has been advocating at the U.N. for stricter legislation to prosecute traffickers.

Preceded by the film shorts:

LIZA (21 min. 2006. Ukraine) Directed by Taras Tomenko, language: Russian (w/Eng. subtitles)
A disturbing documentary about Liza, a homeless, independent 11-year-old orphan in Kyiv who's learned to manipulate the system in order to survive. Poignant and touching.

BINGO (28 min. 2009. Netherlands) Directed by Timur Ismailov, language: Russian (w/Eng. subtitles)
Set in Holland, three undocumented workers -- a Chechen biology teacher, a former Russian boxer, and Bingo, and a Moldavian gypsy -- illegally earn money performing demolition. They soon learn that not only the work can be extremely dangerous but that when things go wrong, their very lives are considered expendable

CAUGHT UP (8min. 2010. USA) Directed by Rosa Gazarian,language: Russian (w/Eng. subtitles)
A fictional account of a young woman from Ukraine who travels to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn seeking employment and adventure. She's quickly stranded when her handbag, possessing her money, and most importantly, her passport is stolen.

MARCH 18 (Fri.) 9pm

DEAFNESS (11min. 2010. Ukraine) Directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, language: Ukrainian (w/Eng.subtitles)
A deaf, mute young man is questioned by a hulking policeman and his partner in their squad car. The short film highlights authority's arbitrary brutality in present day Ukraine. This short received a Golden Bear nomination in 2010 at the Berlin Film Festival for Best Short Film and was a finalist at the 2010 Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival.

DIAGNOSIS (15min. 2009. Ukraine) Directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, language: Ukrainian (w/Eng.subtitles)
Rampant drug addiction, AIDS and relationships among homeless Ukrainian youth who form their own community in abandoned buildings to survive. This short received a Golden Bear nomination in 2009 at the Berlin Film Festival for Best Short Film.

THE INCIDENT (20min. 2006. Ukraine) Directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, language: Ukrainian (w/Eng.subtitles)
A man moves to the bucolic Ukrainian countryside to elude the madness of city life. But he'll soon find he can't escape the omni-present brutality of humankind.

MUM DIED SATURDAY IN THE KITCHEN... (52 min. 2009. Ukraine) Directed by Maksym Vasyanovych, language: Ukrainian/Russian (w/Eng. subtitles)
A gentle, textured expose narrated by the filmmaker Maksym Vasyanovych about his own childhood but focusing on his father, an elderly provincial classical conductor in Zhytomyr who gave up the chance to study for a professional career as a big-time symphony director in order to raise his family. The director beautifully captures his father's daily activity and commentary liberally sprinkled with regret for what could have been. Touching and insightfully honest. Winner of Best Film of Ukrainian Panorama and Special Prize for Best Ukrainian Directing Work at the 2009 Molodist Film Festival in Kyiv and top prize in creative competition at 2010 Docudays UA Film Festival, also in Kyiv.

MARCH 19 (Sat.) 3pm

ARTISTS OF ODESSA (47 min) Directed by Dmitriy Khavin, Lilya Klimova, language:English/Russian (w/Eng. subtitles)
Artists of Odessa is a raw, humorous and nostalgic look at life and contemporary art in post-Soviet Odesa. A dynamic city with its own unique cultural tradition, Odesa was home and muse to Babel, Zhabotinskiy, Eisenshtein, Kandinsky and many others. Walking through the courtyards of Moldavanka, market stalls of famous Privoz, and underground bars of the old quarters the search is on for the inextinguishable creative spirit of The City by the Black Sea.

Preceded by the film short:

FRYPOOLYA (13 min. 2010. Ukraine) Directed by Slava Feofilaktov, language: Ukrainian/Russian (w/Eng.subtitles)
This short film shows Kyiv's beloved and free-spirited, bohemian, colorfully-costumed artist (recently deceased) as he creates amazing art from ordinary, everyday items.

MARCH 19 (Sat.) 5pm

VACATION (60 min, 2010, Belarus) Directed by Vladimir Kozlov, language: Russian (w/Eng. subtitles)
In this youth drama set in an anonymous Belarusian industrial suburb, two alienated and lonely teens, Olga and Sergei fall in love then fantasize escaping their dead-end, full of teen alcoholism and meaningless violence surroundings. The two young lovers soon have to face the stark fact that their options are limited.

Preceded by the film shorts:

OBSTACLE (9min, Ukraine) Directed by Maksym Bunitsky,language: Ukrainian (w/Eng.subtitles)
Dreamlike short narrative shows schoolchildren on the verge of puberty playact, foreshadowing budding sexuality. Eroticism mixed with innocent, playful fantasy.

ADAM AND EVE (22 min, Ukraine, 2006) Directed by Murat Mamedov,language: Russian (w/Eng.subtitles)
This visually stunning documentary depicts the daily hardscrabble existence of a group of coal miners and their supportive wives in one eastern Ukrainian mine. Several claustrophobia-inducing shots reveal to viewers the narrow shafts 300 feet below ground then pulls us up to sunlight via a rickety, antiquated pulley system.

HUSH CITY (8min, Belarus, 2008) Directed by Ilya Andreyev, English text
An experimental multi-media online project using text and stills which tells a personal story set within the city of Minsk, Belarus over 4 seasons. Screening the first season, Autumn.

MARCH 19 (Sat.) 8pm

THE PIED PIPER OF HUTZOVINA (65 min,2006) Directed by Pavla Fleischer,language: Ukrainian/Russian/English (w/Eng. subtitles)
This documentary chronicles a road trip through Ukraine by the filmmaker and Eugene Hutz, frontman and lead singer of New York's gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello. Hutz's purpose is to rediscover his Romani gypsy roots and learn the secrets of gypsy music. The filmmaker's aim is to rediscover a forgotten romance. The result is a story of two people traveling together on two very different yet convergent courses.

AKBULAK (15 min. 2008. Kazakhstan/UK) Directed by Tatjana Korol, language: Russian (w/Eng.subtitles)
Olja, an urbane teen who's been living abroad for eight years, revisits her hometown Akbulak, a small, dusty speck in Kazakhstan. It's a stirring film about reconnecting with one's roots, rediscovering the haunts of one's childhood and resurrecting old friendships.

NEW BUSINESS (13 min. 2007. USA) Directed by Julia Kots, language: Russian (w/Eng.subtitles)
An off-beat dark comedy about misguided dreams of entrepreneurship and the coming of age of a post-Soviet Russian teenage boy. His attempt at playing a "pimp' by prostituting two young women soon go awry.

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MARCH 25 (Fri.) OPEN SCREENING
DVD, Mini-DV, Videotape, 16MM, S8MM. All works are shown on a first-come-first-served basis. Bring films, videos and/or come as a viewer. (Finished works only, limited to a maximum of 20 minutes per person). Refreshments will be available. Doors open at 7pm. Screening begins at 8pm and ends at 10:30pm. Admission by contribution.

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DAVE LEE


MARCH 26 (Sat.) DAVE LEE
The Millennium is pleased to have Dave Lee back with a program that contains a mix of his very newest work along with early memorable films from the 1970s. Lee, as prolific as ever, lives in Washington, DC with his wife and son. His new pieces come from various serial works he is producing. They touch on Buddhist ritual, his son and dedication to a German Artist.

On REMEMBERING: CLEARING SPACE- "I have humbly pirated a snippet of footage shot from 1937-39 of Balinese trance dancing. The sound track comes from a Balinese. He said, 'When I put on the mask of Rangda it is as if I remember from moment to moment, but when I take the mask off my thoughts are as usual.' I have artistically analyzed the movement so that we too (for a change) can 'remember from moment to moment'" - D.L.

EEL (11 min.-1975)
DVDHARMA (13 min.-2008-11)
ISLE OF SPICE (31 min.-2009-10)
REMEMBERING: CLEARING SPACE (11 min.-1975)
SHADOW DANCE (7 min.-2009-10)
SEVEN FACES OF MAGIC (13 min.-2009-10)
SITTING (15 min.-2009-11)

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Links to Previous Shows.

Fall 2010 Personal Cinema Series.

Spring 2010 Personal Cinema Series.

Winter 2010 Personal Cinema Series.