Sunday, June 15, 2008, 7:00pm
At the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood
LA Filmforum presents
A Tribute to the the Creative Film Society, featuring selections from the CFS collection and more
Former CFS Director Angie Pike in person
The Creative Film Society (CFS) was founded in 1957 by Robert Pike, with the intention of “consolidating the efforts of the individual West Coast film artists in terms of aiding closer communication of ideas, films and equipment, as well as distributing the finished works of the members.” The CFS was one of the key distribution organizations of the Los Angeles avant-garde film movement in its time. According to historian David James, CFS played “a major role in publicizing experimental film and in bringing the Los Angeles avant-garde film communities together,” and helped lay the groundwork for later organizations like the Los Angeles Independent Film Oasis and, of course, Los Angeles Filmforum.
The films screening tonight, selected by Angie Pike and Mark Toscano, include films associated with the Creative Film Society. Most are part of the CFS Collection. Although the CFS collection, now partially housed at the iotaCenter, once boasted the work of many representative West Coast filmmakers such as Curtis Harrington, Hy Hirsh, and the Whitney brothers, tonight’s screening will also feature some of the lesser-known works in the collection and beyond. Several of these were recently restored at the Academy Film Archive.
Tonight’s films include:
Logos (1957, 16mm, 2 min) and Odds and Ends (1958, 16mm, 5 min) by Jane Conger Belson Shimané
Things to Come (1953, 16mm, 3 min) and Obmaru (1953, 16mm, 4 mins) by Patricia Marx
Wu Ming (1977, 16mm, 17 min) by James Whitney
S.W.L.A. (1971, 16mm) by Rob Thompson.
108 Movements by Peggy Wolff
Death of the Gorilla (1965-66, 16mm, 16 min) by Peter Mays
Furies (1982, 16mm, 3 min) by Sara Petty
Mirror People (1974, 16mm, 6m) by Kathy Rose
Plus several more to be announced!
