Joan Heemskerk & Dirk Paesmans in person!
JODI
1996-2005, Netherlands, ca. 60 min.

Digital provocateurs JODI (Joan Heemskerk and Dirk Paesmans) pioneered Web art in the mid-’90s, creating anarchic programs that simulated computer crashes, viruses, and error messages. In a rare public appearance, JODI will demonstrate their latest game modification MAX PAYNE CHEATS ONLY (2005), a series of “cheats” compiled from the ultraviolent vigilante game Max Payne. Also: their groundbreaking modifications of Quake 1 (UNTITLED GAME, 1996/2001), Wolfenstein 3D (SOD), and the eponymous early ‘80s game JET SET WILLY VARIATIONS ©1984 (2002). Co-presented by CATE, the SAIC Visiting Artist Program, and the Department of Interactive Arts and Media at Columbia College Chicago. Various formats. (Amy Beste)

Thursday, October 5, 6:00 pm

WORLDLY DESIRES
2005, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand, 42 min.

“One of the most creative and unpredictable film artists now working anywhere.”--Jonathan Rosenbaum, Reader

A slate of new films and videos by multiple Cannes-winner and SAIC alum Apichatpong Weerasethakul (TROPICAL MALADY, BLISSFULLY YOURS) is headed by his dazzling 2005 featurette WORLDLY DESIRES. A musical companion piece to TROPICAL MALADY, the film begins as a behind-the-scenes look at the jungle productions of a Thai soap opera and a music video, but the camera soon falls under the spell of the rainforest. The two shoots bleed into one another and into the reality of the backstage production, punctuated by shimmering pop numbers.

Accompanied by the short films GHOST OF ASIA (2005, 9 min.), THE ANTHEM (2006, 5 min.), and others. Total program ca. 70 min. Various formats. (Amy Beste)

Thursday, October 12, 6:00 pm

Akram Zaatari in person!
THIS DAY
2003, Akram Zaatari, Lebanon, 86 min.

In 1982, 16-year-old Akram Zaatari watched the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon from his balcony in Saida, documenting the bombings in a diary of snapshots. The resulting images--at once beautiful and terrifying--make up his stunning 2004 video SAIDA. JUNE 6, 1982 (4 min. loop) and have haunted his work ever since. Zaatari will present SAIDA, along with his recent feature THIS DAY, an elegant meditation on the photography of the Middle East, from exotic portraits of nomadic Bedouins to television clips of Beirut today. Various formats. (Amy Beste)

Thursday, October 19, 6:00 pm

Jim Trainor in person!
The Animated Films Of Adam K. Beckett
1925-75, Adam K. Beckett and others, USA, ca. 90 min.

Before his tragic death in 1979 at age 29, animator Adam K. Beckett created a handful of astonishing films that combine trippy meditative rhythms with the edgy sensibility of underground comics. SAIC professor Jim Trainor presents newly restored prints of five Beckett films: EVOLUTION OF THE RED STAR (1973, 7 min.), HEAVY-LIGHT (1973, 7 min.), FLESH FLOWS (1974, 7 min.), SAUSAGE CITY (1974, 6 min.), KITCH IN SYNC (1975, 5 min.). Also: selected animations admired by Beckett, including MOTION PAINTING, NO. 1 (1947, Oskar Fischinger, 11 min.); 7362 (1965-7, Pat O’Neill, 10 min.), MIRROR PEOPLE (1974, Kathy Rose, 4 min.); LUMA NOCTURNA (1974, Dennis Pies, 4 min.). 16mm. (Jim Trainor)

Thursday, October 26, 6:00 pm

The Video Data Bank celebrates 30 years!
Anne McGuire in person!
Anne McGuire: Videos
1991-2006, USA/Taiwan, ca. 90 min.

Anne McGuire is a San Francisco-based video artist whose “private cabarets” expose the formal elements of another era’s media mannerisms and lay bare their cultural mores. Tonight’s program includes ALL SMILES AND SADNESS (1999, 7 min., starring George Kuchar), I AM CRAZY AND YOU’RE NOT WRONG (1997, 11 min.), JOE DIMAGGIO 1, 2, 3 (1991, 7 min.), and TURN TABLE (2005, 4 min.), among others. Co-presented by the Video Data Bank and CATE. Beta SP video. (Amy Beste)

Thursday, November 2, 6:00 pm

George Kuchar in person!
The World Of George Kuchar
2005-6, USA, ca. 90 min.

Avant-garde icon George Kuchar will present a selection of his high-ambition, low-neckline genre tapes and autobiographic chronicles, coinciding with the launch of a special Video Data Bank DVD compilation, The World of George Kuchar. The program includes the weather-imbued HEAVENLY FEATURES (2005, 10 min.); the people, pets, and places of FAULTY FATHOMS (2006, 15 min.); and the world premiere of his latest opus TEMPLE OF TORMENT (2006, 18 min.); plus others. Co-presented by the Video Data Bank and CATE. Beta SP video. (Amy Beste)

Thursday, November 2, 8:00 pm

Upcoming programs in Conversations at the Edge:

November 9
Frédéric Moffet in person!
The Outer Ear Festival of Sound: Jean Genet & Frédéric Moffet
1950-2006, France/USA, ca. 75 min.

November 16
Gunvor Nelson in person!
Light Years: The Films & Videos of Gunvor Nelson
1966-2006, Gunvor Nelson, Sweden/USA, ca. 85 min.

November 30
Lewis Klahr in person!
Daylight Moon & the Sunset Strip: Recent Films by Lewis Klahr
2002-4, Lewis Klahr, USA, ca. 90 min.

December 7
Janie Geiser in person!
The Secret Story: Films by Janie Geiser
1996-2004, Janie Geiser, USA, ca. 70 min.