Available for the first time on DVD, Guy Sherwin's acclaimed Short Film Series, a unique collection of interconnected 16mm 3 minute films started in 1975. The series is held together by certain formal considerations: each film is three minutes long, i.e. the length of a roll of 16mm film, all films are b/w and silent, and the order in which they are shown is flexible. Apart from this there is a range of imagery from portraiture to still life to travel. The films operate on the border between movement and stillness, revealing their inner logic through an active engagement in looking.

'100' reels of epiphanies, time-lapse studies, ordinary objects and scenes rendered strange and ambiguous.' Michael O'Pray

'Sherwin's hallmark is the direct concentrated image which fully exploits the tonal range of black and white stock. This control is not at all rigid, since its purpose is to capture in the shot a certain kind of freedom and chance in the visible world.' A.L.Rees

'The uniform duration of the films, the overriding concern with light, time and corporeality, the relentless three-minute focus on a single subject or event, are common to all the films and provide a powerful cumulative effect for the viewer. But on a deeper level, what binds these films together and gives them their enduring fascination is the deeply human connection which Sherwin makes between his formal filmmaking concerns and the subjects of his films. These films are all about relationships - between light and darkness, light and camera, camera and subject, subject and filmmaker and viewer, all at once and played out not only on the screen but also in the mysterious conjunction between the projected film and the viewer.' Andy Ditzler

Download film notes for the DVD here

Contents Metronome, 1978 Chimney, 1977 Columns, 1977 Cycle, 1978 Yi Wei, 2011 Mei, 2010 Guy & Kai, 2013 Candle & Clock, 1977 Blink, 1977 Window/Light, 2013 Tree Reflection, 1997/8 Cat, 1997/8 Treeline, 1976 Maya, 1978 Window, 1976 Breathing, 1978 Light Leaves, 1978 Eye, 1978 Swimming, 1977 Clouds & Wires, 1997/8 Tree & Cloud, 1997/8 Coots, 1997/8 Cat on TV, 1977 Handcrank Clock, 1976 Gnats, 1997/8 Night Train, 1978 Tap, 1978 Track, 1976 Hand/Shutter, 1976 Clock & Train, 1978 Portrait with Parents,1975 Barn, 1978 Wind & Water, 1980 Piano, 2013

DVD 5, PAL, Region 0, 98 mins, 4:3

Published by LUX with the support of the University of Wolverhampton and Middlesex University