2010 Symposium: Call For Papers
Dates: October 15-17, 2010
Location: School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California
Contact: Stephanie Sapienza, Los Angeles Filmforum
Los Angeles Filmforum is the only venue in Southern California dedicated exclusively to the ongoing, non-commercial exhibition of independent, experimental, and progressive cinema. In keeping with our mission to feature the underrepresented voices and visions of truly independent filmmakers, and in conjunction with the Getty’s $3 million initiative to explore post-war L.A. art, Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA 1945 – 1980, we are planning a 16+ screening series in 2011 related to the history of avant-garde media in Los Angeles. The purpose of the Getty’s initiative is to broaden awareness and exposure of LA's contemporary art history.
Filmforum's project, entitled Alternative Projections: Experimental Film in Los Angeles 1945 – 1980, aims to expand understanding of how experimental filmmaking – including works created on film, video and other forms of time-based media - evolved in Los Angeles and to contextualize its place in postwar art history. It will focus on the community of filmmakers, artists, curators and programmers who contributed to the creation and presentation of experimental cinema in Southern California in the postwar era.
As part of this three-year research and planning project, Filmforum will hold a symposium in October 2010 focused on some of the key aspects of this movement and time period. We would like to invite scholars, historians, curators, filmmakers, and artists to submit proposals for papers, panels and presentations relating to experimental film production and organizations in Los Angeles from 1945-1980.
Proposals should be in the form of a 250-word abstract describing your suggested presentation, though more fully developed and even completed papers are encouraged. Topics could include:
•Analytic explications of specific films or groups of films
•The relation between filmmaking and the LA exhibition and distribution infrastructure
•Collaborations between artists and curators, especially as these fostered new creative voices
•Exploration of the connections between experimental film work and contemporaneous works in other arts, such as painting, dance, photography, poetry, music, and theatre
•Relations between experimental/ avant-garde developments and the film industry
•Filmmaking’s responsiveness to the spatiality of Los Angeles and Southern California.
These topics are not intended as limits, and we hope to discover new methodologies and approaches.
Presentations should be 20 minutes long, including the use of media if appropriate. Scholars who present will also have the option to revise and expand their work to incorporate it into our supplementary exhibition publications.
For consideration, submit the abstract via email by Friday March 26, 2010 to Stephanie Sapienza at [email protected]. It should be noted that the archival research phase of our project is well underway and we may have valuable resources to contribute to the writing of your proposal. If you would like to discuss the projected scope and content of your proposal, including specific artists, films, curators or organizations, please contact us and we can provide assistance by granting access to this research.
About Los Angeles Filmforum: Filmforum was incorporated in 1975. Its mission is to promote a greater understanding of film as an art form and the filmmaker as an artist by providing a forum for independently produced, experimental films, which have little opportunity of reaching the general public through normal channels of commercial distribution. It showcases alternative media that aims to inspire, enlighten, and empower, as well as to entertain. By featuring the underrepresented voices and visions of truly independent filmmakers, Filmforum exposes audiences to the full range of artistic expression, cultural perspectives, and critical inquiry. It continues as the city’s longest running organization that screens experimental and avant-garde film and video art, documentaries, and experimental animation. For more information, visit our website at www.lafilmforum.org.
For further information please contact Project Director Stephanie Sapienza at [email protected], or Project Supervisor Adam Hyman at [email protected].