How to Enjoy Experimental Film

Film and video artist John Woodman joins H2EEF to discuss his observation and often landscape based works. Described by Malcolm LeGrice as having produced “a sensitive body of creative work”, John’s works are often durational, regularly using one single take to observe and reflect upon particularly natural phenomena and how spaces change over time. It is shot through with a real joy in observing t...

Norwegian filmmaker Inger Lise Hansen joins H2EEF for a discussion about her work in film. Whether in the extraordinary time lapse of her early films Static, Hus and Adrift or the innovative use of inverted camera in her Trilogy (available in a DVD and book from Lux) or the introduction of digital video alongside celluloid film in her latest film Tåke , Inger Lise’s work proposes alternative persp...

Filmmaker Peter Rose makes a welcome return to the show, this time discussing his transition from celluloid film to video, then to installation work and his latest explorations in 3-D (or should we say 6-D!) works for individual viewing using headsets for your mobile phone. Whether in individual or communal viewing experiences, Rose probes the limits of vision itself by toying with the dimensions...

American film and video artist Peter Rose joins the show for the first of a two-part discussion about his life and work. In this episode we discuss Peter's earliest work in 8 and 16mm film, which proposed and explored expanded realms of perception, such as in the psychedelic influenced Incantation , but he then began to explore the formal possibilities of film to access dimensions far beyond those...

Guy Sherwin makes a most welcome return to the show to continue our conversation about his prolific and varied output. In this episode, we discuss some of Guy's film performance works as well as several of his more lyrical and personal films. Through work that combines the personal with structural rigour, these films form a sensitive and highly original body of work.  Filmmakers and artists d...

One of the most prolific and multi-faceted film artists currently working in the UK, Guy Sherwin joins H2EEF for the first of a two-part conversation. In this episode, we cover the origins of Guy's film works as well as discussing the variety of stylistic features that inform his work.  Artists & Filmmakers discussed in this episode include: Anne Rees Mogg Chris Wellsby Malcolm LeGrice Pe...

One of the most noted experimental animators in the UK, Paul Bush joins the show to discuss his life and work, both in scratch animation and stop motion. Ever popular with audiences, Paul has produced extraordinarily beautiful films, one of which was described by one critic as being akin to “reading a book by moonlight”.  Watch Paul's films online here: https://vimeo.com/user5238437 You can a...

Coming next week wherever you get your podcasts: 10 new episodes of How to Enjoy Experimental Film Featuring Paul Bush Guy Sherwin Peter Rose,  Inger Lise Hansen  John Woodman Ingo Petzke  Marie Losier

French filmmaker, author, photographer and video maker Christian Lebrat joins How to Enjoy Experimental Film to discuss his entire output of works made on celluloid film.  Christian produced these works between 1975-1985 and can see and read Christian’s work from Re:Voir, either using their smartphone app or on DVD.  The films: Film No. 2 (1976) Couleurs délicieuse sur fond bleu (1976) O...

Recorded live at Anglia Ruskin University, we are joined by filmmakers Neil Henderson and Andrew Vallance, as they discuss their "ways in" to experimental cinema as well as how closely linked Avant-Garde cinema is to more mainstream work. The speakers have each chosen a handful of films to discuss to illustrate their points as well as recommending others to the audience. As this is a live recordin...

Filmmaker Ding Xin, more commonly known as Sandy Ding produces extraordinary "psychoactive" films, which lull the viewer into states of altered consciousness to weave his very special kind of cinematic magic. In this in-depth interview, he discusses his filmmaking methods as well as his wide ranging interests in noise music and hypnosis. Sandy graduated from CalArts in 2007 and now teaches at the...

Filmmaker Emily Richardson joins us to discuss her highly atmospheric explorations of spaces and locations, many of which are in states of transition. Working both in film and digital video, Emily's works communicate a sense of immanence in often anxious atmospheres hinting at something just unseen at the periphery of our vision. These spaces are often "haunted" by soundscapes created by recording...

Prolific filmmaker Nick Collins joins us to discuss his extensive body of film work. Shot in some of the filmmaker's most frequently visited locations, these are films that defy classification, despite the regular presence of landscapes and of carefully controlled structures. Simply put, we are in the presence of a filmmaker who explores the world around him and we are gently invited to explore wi...

Bret Battey is a composer and visual musician, who creates both electro-acoustic music together with digital moving image art. The films are as complex visually as the music is to listen to, but together they create an altogether gripping and captivating experience. Musically, Bret is influenced as much by the sweep of late romantic composers such as Gustav Mahler as he is by the granularity of Ia...

The incredibly prolific Lynne Sachs returns to the show to discuss her films, particularly those found under the collective title "I Am Not A War Photographer". These titles include: States of Unbelonging, Which Way is East, Investigation of a Flame, The Las Happy Day and Your Day is My Night . We also discuss her films Film About a Father Who... as well as film as an act of civil disobedience. Ma...

One of the leading figures in the field of experimental documentary, Lynne Sachs joins H2EEF to discuss her extraordinary body of work. In subjects ranging from the personal to the global political, Lynne's films are consistently sensitive and completely compelling. In this episode, she discusses the field of experimental documentary in general as well as her ways into the field.  Filmmakers...

Larry Gottheim returns to the show to discuss some of his mid and late period works as well as the questions some of these films raise. It includes a discussion of how Larry found himself travelling to Haiti and becoming deeply involved with Voodoo as well as the deep self questioning that led to his latest films Chants and Dances for Hand and Knot/Not , both of which can be downloaded from the Ne...

One of the giants of the American Avant-Garde, Larry Gottheim joins H2EEF to discuss his life and work from his near legendary early films like Blues, Fog Line and Barn Rushes to his mid-period work (more recent work will be discussed in part 2).  The serenity and beauty of Larry's early films can be enjoyed in a DVD produced by the New York Filmmakers' Co-Operative and Re:Voir and more recen...

Filmmaker Bill Morrison, whose work explores found and often decayed film footage, discusses his work and the nature of memory when contained in found footage. Broadly describable as documentary films, Bill's works have a hypnotic quality (his production company is even called Hypnotic Pictures!), which feature footage both from fiction and documentary films as well as home movies, scientific docu...

Painter who makes experimental films and experimental filmmaker who paints, Jeff Scher joins us to discuss his complete embrace of the term "experimental" across a rich and varied body of work including rotoscope animations and live action films.  A student of Adolfas Mekas, Scher also teaches animation at NYU. Jeff has collaborated with musicians as diverse as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Graham...

In a special extended episode of How to Enjoy Experimental Film, FOUR filmmakers gather to discuss one of their favourite filmmakers: Kurt Kren. Nicky Hamlyn and Simon Payne have edited (with the late A.L. Rees) the first English-Language study of Kren's films, while Anna Thew, who has regularly programmed Kren's works for screenings, shares some stories of her own association with Kren and his fi...

Anna Thew returns to the show for a lively discussion of her film works, including Cling Film , which has been known to generate considerable controversy, particularly when shown in the UK. Much of the work, however is very personal and has universal appeal, whether humorous, or tragic. We'll also discuss broader themes connected to the films including the AIDS crisis and the role of arts in educa...

Painter turned filmmaker Anna Thew discusses her first steps in filmmaking, leading to her feature film Hilda was a Goodlooker , which dramatises her mother's reminiscences and Behind Closed Doors , which deals with the trauma of losing her mother suddenly. Anna's cinema is deeply personal and yet possesses universal appeal, which will be approachable to audiences everywhere. Highly literate and i...

Contains brief strong language. Join film artist John Smith as he explores some of the major works of his career from his breakthrough film The Girl Chewing Gum , through documentary works including Blight and Home Suite , to his most recent works in the video medium including the Hotel Diaries , The Kiss and Citadel.  A number of John's recent films can be found on YouTube including Dad's St...

Contains brief strong language. Legendary London-based artist-filmmaker John Smith joins H2EEF to discuss the beginnings of his career leading up to his breakthrough film The Girl Chewing Gum . Smith's films are renowned for their sense of humour, often used to illustrate a more serious underlying point. His works are shown all over the world including, at the time of recording, on Mubi.  Pop...