San Francisco Cinematheque presents:
Pakistan and a radical interrogation of the documentary form. They write: “The scars of colonialism, partition and subsequent post-colonialist ventures of improvement run deep in Karachi. Representations of Pakistan by Western media portray a rogue state, suffering from conflict, extremism, natural disasters and sporadic martial law, made more fearsome by its nuclear status. [We] seek to discover the patterns of everyday life, and how to represent them in this environment.” Equally incisive—if less reverent—in its questioning of the representation of “otherness,” Steve Reinke’s The Mendi, views a CBC ethnographic doc through the eyes of a sullen ‘70s teenager. Also screening is Jonathan Schwartz’ drifting yet troubled travelogue Nothing is Over Nothing, described by Schwartz as “a series of portraits, gestures, light captured, divisions recorded and lines collected in Jerusalem.” (Steve Polta)
Brad Butler & Karen Mirza: The Exception and the Rule (2009) 37 min. / Steve Reinke: The Mendi (2006) 11 min. / Jonathan Schwartz: Nothing is Over Nothing (2008) 16 min
Join us for a special event with celebrated Canadian musician Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins), who will present herHD fantasy film Out Of Our Minds, part of a multidisciplinary conceptual project that includes her 2010 solo album Out Of Our Minds and a new comic book. Described by Auf der Maur as a “blood-and-witches fantasy” about “the hunt for the heart,” the film is a Norse-inspired, music-filled experimental saga without dialogue in which a crashing car opens a gateway to parallel worlds and other time periods. OOOM was conceived and produced by Auf der Maur (who plays the central character), directed by Tony Stone, and features a score by Auf der Maur and Los Angeles psychedelic rockers The Entrance Band. It premiered at Sundance in 2009. “A flamboyant and fantastical new film…A 28-minute rush of stunning images, expressive music and narrative experimentation…A journey through parallel worlds that brings together a Viking heart, a car crash and a bleeding forest for an unforgettable climax, this imaginative mini-epic is proudly self-produced, shot in HD and fueled by solar power” ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts/ London). Colour, HDCAM. 28 minutes.