Artists' Television Access
Weekly Newsletter
Coming Up This Month
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 8:00 pm, classic-editor
OC: OPTRONICA1
3RD HAND COLLECTIVE + TRIGILIO + SCOBIE + BARTEN +
A special feature of every OC calendar, our Live A/V shows proudly showcase a particularly West Coast cine-practice: Motion Picture pieces PLUS Sound tracks, respectively, performed in situ and in real-time conversation! Headlining this first of a program-pair is the much-loved Frisco ensemble Third Hand, a multi-tasking multi-media crew organized around, in this case, J Lee’s truly marvelous Rear-Projection stagings—here in Operation Theater they explore the living mechanics of the human body, as probed by electronic sensors. Jetting up from San Diego is ex-SF hero-artist Mike Trigilio, who’s taking a break from his UCSD duties to debut his dazzling digi-animations, both as single-channel abstractions and as in-the-moment video-synthesizer performances. Our beatnik homegirl Linda Scobie also dives in to demonstrate what she’s been up to with her water-color painting on found 35mm slides, tonight in collaboration with audio-artists Country Dolls. AND Rebecca Barten graces us with her presence and the world premiere of her Amelia–yes, on that amazing aviatrix. ATA janitor Craig Baldwin sweeps into the mix his stereoscopic twin-projection Double Helix, after a playful potpourri of optical tricks punctuate the pre-show reception! $14
Saturday, October 26, 2024, 8:00 pm, classic-editor
OC: OPTRONICA2
SPELLETICH + 99 HOOKER + DANIEL +
Our second live-cinema screening is shaped by its proximity to Election Day, so that Kal Spelletich can more effectively conjure his curse on candidate D.Trump and his Nazi posse! ProPublica hero-reporter AC Thompson and sound artist Mansur Nurullah aid Kal’s American Aria live remix of never-seen Jan. 6th footage, towards an energized condemnation of the QAnon election-deniers. Co-billed is that nationally-touring video-poet 99 Hooker, a welcome member of the OC family and an electronic artiste whose work approaches stream-of-thought image-generation. AND also here is none other than Bill Daniel, with one of his 16mm double-projection collabs with local musicians. Tommy Becker, too, makes the scene, with the world premiere of his Stars Bright on a Blue Field, while long-time ATA fave Mike Kavanagh brings in his desperately needed critique of AI. PLUS Russ Forster on Banjo, Pussy Riot, Indecline, Vic Berger, and a hilarious battery of anti-Trump punches. $14
Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 6:30 pm, classic-editor
CINE+MAS: Documenta-Me Shorts
Documentary shorts exploring a diverse range of topics in creative and engaging ways. Beyond talking heads, they deliver a message to your heart.
The Moon Will Contain Us
Dir Kim Torres, 2023 Costa Rica 18 minutes
As a magical moon creeps in, different timelines entwine in the mysterious and stagnant town of Manzanillo.
The Echo Of Her Voice
Dir.Rodrigo Guzmán Espíndola, 2023 Mexico 14 minutes
In an immeasurable search for justice for her daughter’s death, Margarita discovers that her voice can form part of a larger struggle that has emerged in the face of the current wave of femicides in Mexico.
Remember Us
Dir Pablo Leon, 2024 USA 14 minutes
A journalist documents the experiences of people who lived through the tragic 12-year-long Salvadoran Civil War in the 1980s, exploring themes of childhood loss, violence against women and the indigenous population, and regaining a sense of hope for the future that spans over three generations.
The Ballad of Tita and the Machines
Dir Miguel Angel Caballero, 2023 US 15 minutes
In a near future where Artificial Intelligence in the workforce is a societal norm, Tita, an injured and elderly fieldworker, reluctantly hires an artificially intelligent humanoid substitute worker to fill in for her picking strawberries and unexpectedly attracts the curiosity of the creators of this technology when their AI workers are unable to do her back-breaking work.
52 Minutos
Dir. Jean Chapiro, 2024 Mexico 11 minutes
Ana, a young woman with anorexia, is caught up in the struggle between sanity and restriction.
Makam Maj (Where are you going?)
Dir Sofía Ptacnik Rosas, 2023 Mexico 24 minutes
Taupp, a young Cucapa woman living in the 16th century, finds out through dream visions that bind her with modern Mexico City that she is the one chosen to preserve humanity by giving birth to the future race.
Thursday, October 31, 2024, 7:00 pm, classic-editor
AL-TA’WEEZA (THE CURSE)
In celebration of Halloween, the 28th Arab Film Festival proudly presents AL-TA’WEEZA (THE CURSE) from 1987 by Mohamed Shebl.
In the last few years, audiences across the globe have rediscovered and fallen in love with the film Anyab (Fangs), a 1980s horror-musical that is a vampiric Arab spinoff of the beloved 1975 American cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Anyab is the work of Mohammed Shebl, an Egyptian filmmaker and critic who is known for his campy horror films and his work both with and about famed filmmaker Youssef Chahine. Shebl sadly passed away in 1996 at just 47 years old and in the years since then, his work has become more and more difficult to access. While many respected film and cultural institutions have screened Anyab, audiences may have noticed that every screening features a low quality print with the logo for a now defunct cable channel in the corner. The only place anyone seems to know where to access this film is through the Internet Archive. The rest of his work is nearly impossible to find, especially with English subtitles, as no one knows who holds the original copies of Shebl’s work.
Earlier this year, the Arab Film and Media Institute was able to access one of Shebl’s other horror films, Al-ta’weeza, also known as The Curse or The Talisman in English. In the film, high school teacher Mahmoud and his family live in a small, rundown home. Mahmoud is under pressure to sell the house to an odd realtor who comes by one day, despite the state of the building. When he refuses the offer, strange and scary things begin to happen to his family. Furniture spontaneously combusts, they are attacked in their beds and an invisible presence settles in the home, trying to drive them out. The film stars a number of very accomplished Egyptian actors, the most famous of which is Yousra, whose work as an actress and singer has made her a glamorous icon of the region.
Similar to other recent screenings of Shebl’s work, this copy of Al-ta’weeza may not at its best quality and still bears a cable logo in the top right corner but despite this, fans of a campy 1980’s horror films will still enjoy Shebl’s creepy, bizarre (and surprisingly funny) work and appreciate the rarity of this special screening.
About the Filmmaker:
Mohamed Shebl was a director, actor, critic and screenwriter, born in 1949. He received a master’s degree in sciences studying Chinese and Russian languages from the Institute of Oriental Studies at Moscow University in 1976. He directed 12 documentaries about the life of director Youssef Chahine and directed a number of campy horror films, the most famous of which is ANYAB (FANGS) from 1981 which has become a cult favorite. He passed away October 2, 1996 at the age of 47.
About Artists' Television Access
Artists' Television Access is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) artist-run
screening venue and gallery located in the heart of San Francisco's Mission
District. ATA is supported in part by Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel
Tax Fund, The Christensen Fund, individuals members, donors and volunteers.
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDIA: Join ATA as a member and receive exciting gifts, including the 2008 DVD compilation, T-shirts, and free admission to screenings and more! Artists on the 2008 DVD compilation include: Yin-Ju Chen, Mike Rollo, Marthaxiv, Sam Manera, Wago Kreider, Federico Campanale, Paul Clipson and Carl Diehl. http://www.atasite.org/membership/
How to Reach Us:
Artists' Television Access
992 Valencia Street (at 21st)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 824-3890
ata@atasite.org
Gallery is open before and after screenings for viewing.
Screenings start at 8pm unless otherwise noted.
Directions: Take Bart to 24th Street Mission. Walk 1 block east to Valencia and 3 blocks north. ATA is located between 21st and 20th Streets.