August 2020
August Brings a New Online Event at The Flaherty
For the past months The Flaherty has been directly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. And with all of our 2020 and upcoming in-person events cancelled we’ve had to redesign and adapt our programmatic grid to a virtual format. We have been working very hard to bring online events to our community that resonate with The Flaherty spirit. This August 14 & 15 we are very happy to announce the first series of programs hosted by our Flaherty NYC 2020 Resident Programmers.
The Body Beautiful (1990) by Ngozi Onwurah, programmed in 1991.
Dispatch: “Are we all thinking about temporality?”
It is not strange that during these months that the pandemic has lasted, where we have been forced to limit our physical movement, our minds have connected with our past, present and future. Our history has been presented to us as an open question towards the future that awaits us. The “aftermath” is questioned because our lives have been put in danger.
In this constant mental coming and going and while we still cannot meet at massive events, The Flaherty has been looking to find engaging ways to exist in a virtual present. A month ago we had a unique moment on our networks. For the first time in the history of our organization, we held an online event with the participation of past and future programmers of the Flaherty Seminar.
In this live event, we were able to realize that the physical space the Flaherty occupies in New York every year translates into an audience that is willing to sit in front of a monitor and appreciate the cinema that characterizes our programs from the comfort/discomfort of their homes.
We are aware that using a laptop is not ideal when it comes to watching movies. The cinema experience is a gathering experience that takes place in a theater dedicated to the projection of filmic and digital material. But as Humberto Maturana, Chilean philosopher and biologist, has said, the pandemic has given us the opportunity to be more human through collaboration. It is at the moment where we unite our voices when we can generate the feeling of reunion despite the distance. This is what happened on June 13th and we hope this is what will happen on August 14th with our new Flaherty NYC online program. When we first met with Neil Sanzgiri, Allia Ayman and Devon Narine-Singh to let them know they were the 2020 Flaherty NYC programmers back in January we actually did it via zoom call but we never expected that this would be the new normal for social meetings.
Our new NYC programmers have prepared a unique screening with films that have been presented in previous Flaherty Seminars. This retrospective includes films that have been programmed for the last 60 years of our seminar. And since we are living a historical moment this year, we thought it was the perfect time to have a historical screening such as The Unwriting of Disaster for our next Flaherty online engagement.
Boston Fire, (1979) by Peter Hutton, programmed in 1993.
The Flaherty NYC Presents: The Unwriting of Disaster
August 12 to 18, in conjunction with Mimesis Documentary Festival
Live zoom q&as on 14 & 15
Curated by Devon Narine-Singh, Suneil Sanzgiri, and Alia Ayman
For the first time ever retrospective of films screened across the 66-year history of the Flaherty Seminar, this online program brings together films that work in opposition to the spectacularization of tragedy.
To write the disaster, to document the catastrophic, to bear witness to the unbearable event all seem to have become default impulses in times of crises. Luckily, this fervor to record has not remained unchallenged. Image-makers from all over the world continue to create works that overhaul the free-floating belief in the merits of visibility, archiving and inscription, thereby favoring the poetic to the sensational. This retrospective of previous films screened at the Flaherty Seminar looks to how these artists and filmmakers have responded to the explosive, destructive and inescapable forces of their times.
2020 NYC programmers (left to right): Suneil Sanzgiri, Alia Ayman and Devon Narine-Singh.
Program 1:
Boston Fire, (1979) programmed in 1993, Peter Hutton, 5'
Solidarity (1973) programmed in 2013, Joyce Wieland, 11'
I Am 20 (1965) programmed in 1963 & 1968, S. N. S. Sastry, 19'
Voices, (1985) programmed in 1986, Joanna Priestley, 4'
The Body Beautiful (1990) programmed in 1991, Ngozi Onwurah, 23'
Village, silenced (2012) programmed in 2013, Deborah Stratman, 7'
Program 2:
Losing Ground (2000) programmed in 2006, Patty Chang, 6'
Partially Buried (1996) programmed in 1997, Renée Green, 20'
No Justice, No Peace! Young Black imMEDIAte (1992) programmed in 1992, Portia Cobb, 13'
Now Eat My Script, (2014) programmed in 2015, Mounira Al Solh, 25'
Who Do You Think You Are (1987) programmed in 2003, Mary Filippo, 10'
Live Q&A Sessions:
Friday, August 14
6.00 PM - 6.40 PM (MDT): Renée Green & Patty Chang moderated by Suneil Sanzgiri
7.00 PM - 7.40 PM (MDT): Joanna Preistley & Mary Filippo moderated by Devon Narine-Singh
Saturday, August 15
10.00 AM - 10.40 AM (MDT): Portia Cobb & Ngozi Onwurah moderated by Devon Narine-Singh
11.00 AM - 11.40 AM (MDT): Deborah Stratman & Mounira Al Solh moderated by Suneil Sanzgiri
The programs will be streaming as part of the Mimesis Documentary Festival between August 12-August 18th. Tickets are $10 for each program individually and $25 for a festival pass!
Solidarity (1973) by Joyce Wieland, programmed in 2013
“The Center for Documentary and Ethnographic Media at the University of Colorado Boulder, host of the Mimesis Documentary Festival, has partnered with the Flaherty media arts organization to create Flaherty x Boulder, a new series showcasing important works of historical and contemporary documentary media art.
Flaherty x Boulder operates year-round, with its premier event at the annual Mimesis Documentary Festival. Inspired by the famed Flaherty Seminar, FxB programs are thoughtfully curated to foster deep conversations and provide interactive experiences for artists, scholars, and audiences.”
Our 2020 Programmers-in-residence ––Devon Narine-Singh, Suneil Sanzgiri, and Alia Ayman –– will curate two programs for the inaugural Mimesis Documentary Festival. This partnership will also include several Q&A sessions with featured filmmakers. Details to follow.
The first annual Mimesis Documentary Festival brings filmmakers together for an immersive week of film screenings, masterclasses, workshops, and discussions. The 2020 edition will be reimagined as an artist-focused online presentation from August 12 - 18 as a response to the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing world health crisis.
Our office is seeing the light for the first time after our shut down in March, this soft start is a Flaherty Family effort to bring our organization back and offer different online events to our community during these uncertain times. We don’t know how long we will exist in this “partial” mode of operations but we are hoping to come back in full force as soon as possible. If you want to contact us you can send us an email to ifs@flahertyseminar.org
Please continue to share your events and screenings with us, you can always submit your info here.
Flaherty FRIENDS
SONIC PORTRAITS: MUSIC IN FILM workshop
Join UnionDocs for SONIC PORTRAITS: MUSIC IN FILM workshop! From August 14 to 15 and August 21 to 22, participants will explore how filmmakers can use soundtracks to create bold and innovative films.
Led by Troy Herion (306 Hollywood, The Hottest August, Bulletproof), participants will be directed towards creating new possibilities with making meaning with music and images. They’ve got a stellar lineup of guest instructors including composer Nathan Halpern ( Minding The Gap, One Child Nation), music and sound editor llghtchlld (Sorry To Bother You, Rolling Stones: Stories from the Edge), artist Rashid Zakat (Revival!), director/ editor, filmmaker Meredith Lackey ( Cablestreet ), and music supervisor Barry Cole ( Who Killed Malcolm X, Founder of Spot Music). Come explore editing, compiling, synching, scoring, composing, experimentation, collaboration, using the soundtrack as a structuring and conceptual device.
Together, we’ll navigate the ways in which the soundtrack can be used as a structuring and conceptual device through editing, synching, and scoring. Participants will leave with fresh ideas and practical tools towards creating their own original project. We’ll also experiment with real-time scoring of their selected scenes and work samples!
Make sure to register before August 10th for the Early Bird price! https://bit.ly/3eWwJAE
You can find more information here: https://uniondocs.org/event/sonic-portraits-music-in-film/
FLAHERTY FELLOWS
Catalina Jordan Alvarez, Sound Spring Seq. #6: The School and the Home, 2020.
Catalina Jordan Alvarez’s (2018 Flaherty Fellow), ‘Sound Spring Seq. #6: The School and the Home,’ will screen as part of the ICA Philadelphia Open Video Call 2020 with Lino Kino, available online between August 10 and 12. A conversation with Catalina will take place via zoom on Wednesday August 12 at 6pm.
Tenzin Phuntsog (2019 Flaherty Fellow) is promoting a new films series called Stateless Cinema. Their first program, “Next Step Manifest: Speak into Existence,” organized by Kush Badhwar, prompts: Manifestos have often served as a means by which individuals and groups state intentions. One statement repeated during this moment of pandemic and lockdown highlights this as a time to pause and seriously consider how we, collectively, proceed? The Next Step Manifest is happening on August 16 and 23 at 11pm EST. You can follow them via instagram @statelesscinema and connect to the screening via Zoom Link.
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2019 Catalog Available Now!
The 2019 Seminar Catalogue includes detailed information about the 65th Robert Flaherty Film Seminar. This publication is the result of a collaboration between Flaherty / International Film Seminars, Inc. and World Records, in conjunction with the Action: the 2019 Flaherty Film Seminar, programmed by Shai Heredia.
Thank you to all our contributors: Shai Heredia, Jason Fox, Abby Sun, Joel Neville Anderson, Lakshmi Padmanabhan, Priya Sen, Ani Maitra, Pooja Rangan, Aparna Sharma, Jim Supanick, Tenzin Phuntsog, Jheanelle Brown, Chet Pancake, and Carl Elsaesser.
Edited by World Records
Design by Dan Schrempf
Copy Editing by Nadine Covert
SUPPORT the Flaherty
With your support, we will continue to bring filmmakers and audiences of all levels together. All contributions, whether large or small, help ensure the excellence of Flaherty programs for many years to come. Every donation makes it easier for us to support the artists in their art and to inspire others to create. Any amount you are able to donate will have a big impact. During COVID-19, The Flaherty can continue to present thoughtful interactive programming about the exploration of film culture and time-based media. Cinemas may be closed, but we must continue to preserve film history and hope to support the restoration of important works for many years to come. This year, your donation will be more impactful than ever.
If you prefer to donate by check please make it out to: The Flaherty, 80 Hanson Place, #603, Brooklyn, NY 11217.
About the Flaherty
The Flaherty is a media arts organization that brings together diverse, curious minds to foster an in-depth discourse on film and the creative process. We believe in the transformative power of the moving image and its ability to change how we think about film, and the world we live in. Since 1954, our unique Robert Flaherty Film Seminar, has provided an unparalleled opportunity to explore beyond known limits of the moving image and renew the challenge to discover, reveal and illuminate the ways of life of peoples and cultures throughout the world.
