Alternative Projections, Cinematheque108 and Los Angeles Filmforum invite you and a guest to a special USC/UCLA joint program

Crosstown Rivals: Films from UCLA and USC in the 1960s

In person:  David Lebrun, others to be announced (schedules permitting)

7:00 P.M. on Thursday, April 19th, 2012

The Ray Stark Family Theatre, George Lucas Building, SCA 108
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. RSVPS REQUIRED.
 

About Crosstown Rivals: Films from UCLA and USC in the 1960s

Enthused by the possibilities of “underground” film, energetic students at Los Angeles’ leading universities made a healthy amount of work using alternative approaches in the 1960s. This work gained notoriety in the mass media, with an article in Time Magazine, among others. Presented as part of the ongoing programming for Alternative Projections: Experimental Film in Los Angeles, 1945-1980.

Special thanks to the UCLA Film & Television Archive and Mark Quigley.

This program also plays at UCLA Melnitz Movies on Thursday April 12 at 7:30 pm.

Learn more about Alternative Projections at alternativeprojections.com

About the Films

Visiting from UCLA:

Freightyard Symphony (Robert Abel, 1963, DVD, color, sound, 6.5 min)
Highly accomplished animated student film by commercial effects pioneer Robert Abel – on trains and movement.

Les AngeS Dorment (Felix Venable, 1965, 16mm, color, sound, 9 min)
Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive
The only extant film made by the legendary Felix Venable, a primary mentor and friend to Jim Morrison. Venable’s own mythic status among Doors fans in part derives from his tragic early death in November 1970 (a few months before Morrison himself). In Les AngeS Dorment (note the capitalization…), a series of vignettes set to varying scores are exemplified by highly refined and intuitive camerawork and editing. This influential film is intensely and quietly psychedelic, suggestive of acid experiences and a shifting sense of fragmented consciousness.

S.W.L.A. (Rob Thompson, 1971, 16mm, b/w & color, 6 min)
Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive
A semi-abstract cinepoem using high contrast black and white images and stylized color effects to capture the mood of an industrial area in Southwest Los Angeles. The film is reminiscent in style and artistic effectiveness of the work of Pat O'Neill and Scott Bartlett, particularly their 7362 and METANOMEN, and is highly recommended as the largest example of this sort of psychedelic-surreal filmartistry. Winner of innumerable 1971 film festival awards. -  Creative Film Society Catalog, 1975.

Now That The Buffalo’s Gone (Burton Gershfield, 1967, 16mm, color, 7 min)
Restored print from the Academy Film Archive
A powerful New American Cinema protest against the decline and fall of the American Indian, using quasi-three dimensional color techniques as part of its overall structure. 'This beautiful little film uses fast-moving positive-negative color images to recall how the American Indian was displaced from the land. From the colorful past of the buffalo hunt to the less than perfect life of present day reservations this sympathetic protest film shows why even Indians on television can never really win. This film is recommended for discussion with Junior highs through adults and for worship services built around a theme of concern for the American Indian.' - Media for Christian Formation. - Creative Film Society Catalogue, 1975.

Sanctus (David Lebrun, 1967, 16mm, 18 min)
Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.
A New American Cinepoem in which three individual ritual ceremonies in Mexico are filmically interrelated: (1) a Catholic High Mass, (2) a bullfight, (3) the sacred mushroom ceremony of the Mazatec Indians. - Creative Film Society Catalogue, 1972.

Synthesis (Penelope Spheeris, 1968, HD Quicktime, color, sound, 7 min)
Penelope Spheeris's first film, made at UCLA. In a seemingly near-future control room devoid of people, various readouts and calculations suggest that humankind is not altogether compatible with the grand scheme of the universe.

Home at USC:
 
Wipeout (Paul Golding, 1965, 16mm, 3 min)
A dynamic social protest collage film utilizing still photos, accompanied by the Surfaris recording of "Wipeout". - Creative Film Society catalog, 1972.

Pulp (Bruce Green, 1967, 16mm, 8 min)
A cynical yet tongue-in-cheek satire on today's leather-jacketed rebels-without-a-cause whose attitudes and sexual appetites are influenced by the multitude of men's pulp magazines. -  Creative Film Society catalog, 1972.

Marcello, I’m So Bored (John Milius, 1966, 16mm, 9 min)
John Milius was a precious critic of the 'counter-culture,' his critique may be seen as at its most turgid in APOCALYPSE NOW (which he wrote with George Lucas in 1967) and at its lightest in this early film, an intentionally crude cartoon with a live action epilogue in which Milius appears with Gayle Hunnicutt. - Scratching the Belly of the Beast Catalogue, 1994.

Herbie (Paul Golding and George Lucas, 1965, 16mm, 2:45 min)
The filmmakers create stylish visual music from the diffuse, reflected lights of driving cars against a soundtrack of Herbie Hancock music.

Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4 EB (George Lucas, 1967, 16mm, 15 min)
THX 1138 4EB runs through passages into order to escape a totalitarian dystopia. More on Lucas in his student days: http://emdiv.org/pt/mundo/tecnologia/8908-george-lucas.html

About Alternative Projections: Experimental Film in Los Angeles, 1945-1980

Alternative Projections: Experimental Film in Los Angeles, 1945-1980 will feature over 24 shows between now and May 2012. Alternative Projections is Filmforum’s exploration of the community of filmmakers, artists, curators and programmers who contributed to the creation and presentation of experimental film and video in Southern California in the postwar era. Film series curated by Adam Hyman and Mark Toscano, with additional contributions by Rani Singh, Jerri Allyn, David James, Christine Panushka, Terry Cannon, Ben Caldwell, Stephanie Sapienza, Amy Halpern, and more.

Alternative Projections: Experimental Film in Los Angeles, 1945-1980 is part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980. This unprecedented collaboration, initiated by the Getty, brings together more than sixty cultural institutions from across Southern California for six months beginning October 2011 to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene. Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.

Primary funding for Alternative Projections was provided by the Getty Foundation, with additional support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. This screening series is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission; the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles; and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Metabolic Studio. Additional support generously provided by American Cinematheque.

Coming Soon to Los Angeles Filmforum

April 22 – Alternative Projections: Conceptual Media – at the Egyptian Theatre
April 29 – Alternative Projections: – at the Egyptian Theatre

Los Angeles Filmforum is the city's longest-running organization screening experimental and avant-garde film and video art, documentaries, and experimental animation. 2012 is our 37th year.

Memberships available: $70 single, $105 dual, or $50 single student

Contact us at lafilmforum@yahoo.com. www.lafilmforum.org

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About Cinematheque108

Cinematheque108 is an alternative screening series sponsored by the Critical Studies Department at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. The series offers a rare selection of events that highlight noteworthy experimental, documentary, and/or foreign films, many of which can not be seen anywhere else. Cinematheque108 is an educational forum that aims to expand understanding of alternative film and media. All screenings are free of charge and open to the pubic.

Check-In & Reservations

This screening is free of charge and open to the public. Please bring a valid USC ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Doors will open at 6:30 P.M.

All SCA screenings are OVERBOOKED to ensure seating capacity in the theater, therefore seating is not guaranteed based on RSVPs. The RSVP list will be checked in on a first-come, first-served basis until the theater is full. Once the theater has reached capacity, we will no longer be able to admit guests, regardless of RSVP status.

About Parking

The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 900 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes may be purchased for $8.00 at USC Entrance Gate #5, located at the intersection of W. Jefferson Blvd. & McClintock Avenue. We recommend parking in outdoor Lot M or V, or Parking Structure D, at the far end of 34th Street. Please note that Parking Structure D cannot accommodate tall vehicles such as SUVs. Metered parking is also available along Jefferson Blvd.

Contact Information

Name: Alessandro Ago
Email: aago@cinema.usc.edu