Hello, I saw Wonder Woman, and I had some feelings about it.
June 08, 2017 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
"Dead of Winter: Cinema of the Occult" festival at The Brattle this weekend!
I am *thrilled* to announce "Dead of Winter: Cinema of the Occult," a film festival I co-curated with magickally-minded writers, Peter Bebergal & Janaka Stucky, happening at Boston's premiere art house cinema, The Brattle. It starts this Friday and goes through Feb 2nd, and will feature some of my all-time favorite witchly movies.
Still from "The Love Witch" (2016)
I'll be there in person this weekend as part of 2 events (and lingering to watch some films, too):
This Friday, Jan 27th at 7pm: A Cinema of the Occult panel with Peter and Janaka to kick off the festival
This Saturday, Jan 28th at 7pm: My presentation, "What Is A Witch: Female Magic and Transgression in Pictures"
Details about the festival and events:
Dead of Winter: Cinema of the Occult, Friday, January 27 - Thursday, February 2, 2017
The Brattle is excited to team-up with three noted authors to co-curate this series of magical movies: Peter Bebergal, Pam Grossman, and Janaka Stucky. Each will contribute their own introductions and illuminations for films during the series and we kick off the program with a panel featuring a conversation between the three on Friday, Jan 27. This series explores images of the occult in cinema - mostly dealing with the Western traditions of witchcraft and ritual magic - from 1950s (NIGHT OF THE DEMON, BELL BOOK & CANDLE) to today (THE WITCH, THE LOVE WITCH). A full listing of all of the films can be found here.
Peter Bebergal is the author of Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll and the forthcoming Strange Frequencies.
Pam Grossman is an independent curator, writer, and teacher of magical practice and history. She is the creator of Phantasmaphile.com and the author of the illuminated manifesto, What Is A Witch.
Janaka Stucky is an American poet, performer, and publisher. He is the founding editor of the independent publisher Black Ocean and the author of the full-length poetry collection, The Truth Is We Are Perfect.
Tickets for all events and films available here.
And here are some nice write-ups about it all in the Boston Globe and on The Arts Fuse.
Do join us!
January 24, 2017 in Events, Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
"Unarius: We Are Not Alone" short doc
I'm a big fan of Jodi Wille, director of the impeccable California cult documentary, The Source Family. And I'm also a devotee of anything Thalia Mavros and her new women-led media company, The Front, do. Swirl these phenoms together, and you come up with this glorious short documentary, We Are Not Alone, about the Unarius Academy of Science. Unarius was a spiritual art collective led by its clairvoyant, flamboyant founder, Ruth E. Norman. She and her members created a staggering oeuvre of theatre, art, and song all of which was meant to encourage healing and psychic growth in the participants. The film is chock full of archival footage, interviews, and prismatic visuals that are sure to brighten your day. It's a fascinating, trippy, and ultimately rather dear story, so do give it a watch here.
September 01, 2016 in Art, Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
"Witches' Brew" Film Series at BAM!
Thrilled to see that BAMcinématek will be hosting "Witches' Brew," a witch-themed film series next month in honor of the premiere of Robert Eggers' "The Witch." Films include such occultic classics as "Black Sunday," "Suspiria," "Bell, Book, and Candle," and "Häxan." The series runs from Feb 16th through Feb 29th. More info:
"Witches have long fueled the imaginations of filmmakers, elevating them from pagan pariah status and portraying them as broomstick-wielding sorceress and supernatural teen queen. But it may be their status as symbols of empowered, unconstrained womanhood that is the most enduring source of witches' powerful allure as a proto-feminist icon.
To mark the release of Robert Eggers' potent new entry in the canon, The Witch, BAMcinématek conjures a series of spellbinding films that delve into dark arts and occult dealings."
I know how I'll be celebrating my birth month now.
(Thank you, Tasha, for the pointy-hatted heads up!)
January 15, 2016 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders - Criterion Release!
This is a PSA to make sure you know that the resplendent Valerie and Her Week of Wonders is getting the Criterion treatment. It will include:
New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Three early shorts by director Jaromil Jireš: Uncle (1959), Footprints (1960), and The Hall of Lost Footsteps (1960)
New interview with Czechoslovak film scholar Peter Hames
Interviews from 2006 with actors Jaroslava Schallerová and Jan Klusák
Alternate 2007 psych-folk soundtrack to the film by the Valerie Project, and a new video piece on the music's origins
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by critic Jana Prikryl
And if you have no idea what I'm on about, then I think their film description should entice you:
A girl on the verge of womanhood finds herself in a sensual fantasyland of vampires, witchcraft, and other threats in this eerie and mystical movie daydream. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders serves up an endlessly looping, nonlinear fairy tale, set in a quasi-medieval landscape. Ravishingly shot, enchantingly scored, and spilling over with surreal fancies, this enticing phantasmagoria from director Jaromil Jireš is among the most beautiful oddities of the Czechoslovak New Wave.
Anyhow I could not be more excited. It releases on June 30th, but you can pre-order yours here now.
April 02, 2015 in Art, Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
"Origins: Superstitions" web series by Mitch Horowitz & Ronni Thomas!
Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! What better way to celebrate than to watch occult scholar, Mitch Horowitz, wax wyrd in his marvelous new web series, Origins: Superstitions. Created with eerie filmmaker extraordinaire, Ronni Thomas, the series explores the reasons behind thirteen prominent superstitions including the avoidance of black cats, knocking on wood, and clutching a lucky rabbit's foot. Each episode is informative, fun, and beautifully art directed with delightful animations and spooky tunes.
As a big bonus, you can see Horowitz and Thomas present the series live tonight at the Morbid Anatomy Museum. Wish I could be there myself, but copying details below for those of you who are lucky enough to be able to go:
Friday the 13th : A Celebration of Superstitions
February 13 @ 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
With Morbid Anatomy Film-maker in Residence Ronni Thomas and Mitch Horowitz, author of "Occult America"
Date: Friday, February 13th
Admission: $13 ( Tickets Here ) ($20 for Double Feature with Love Cults, Drugs and the Hypnotic Arts with Mel Gordon on February 14th )
Location: Morbid Anatomy Museum, 424 Third Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215
***Refreshments sponsored by Art in the Age
There are very few of us who don't abide by at least one, if not a battery, of rituals to ensure good luck or protect us from bad. We may knock on wood to prevent a jinx, toss spilled salt over our left shoulder, or fearfully avoid breaking a mirror to avert the dreaded 7 years of bad luck. But why? Find out this Friday the 13th, with filmmaker Ronni Thomas and Mitch Horowitz, author of "Occult America" as we celebrate the launch of their new web series "Origins : Superstitions".
The series is a 13-episode exploration of our culture's most enduring superstitions. hosted by occult historian Mitch Horowitz. All 13 2-minute episodes will screen throughout the night. There will also be a brief introduction to the series, and an in-depth look at some of history's most trenchant superstitions. Throughout the museum, you'll be tempted to "test"your superstitious side, with ladders, umbrellas, mirrors, and more. Complimentary "Superstitious" cocktails will be provided while supplies last!
Ronni Thomas is the film-maker in residence at The Morbid Anatomy Museum. He is also the creator and director of the "Midnight Archive" web series (www.themidnightarchive.com), "Walter Potter the Man Who Married Kitten" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjHBpxIa45U), and the upcoming "Morbid Anatomy Presents" film series.
Mitch Horowitz (www.mitchorowitz.com) is a PEN Award-winning historian and the author of "Occult America" and "One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life."
February 13, 2015 in Film, Myth | Permalink | Comments (0)
My "Witching Hour" video essay on Film Comment
I'm thrilled to have gotten to do this video essay on witches in cinema for Film Society of Lincoln Center's Film Comment blog.
You can watch it here, though there are some NSFW (AKA Nude Satanic Fetid Witches) bits, so be warned:
You can also watch it in its entirety here, or in 5-part chunks here. And you can read the full transcript here.
I am indebted to Violet Lucca from Film Comment, who not only invited me to do the project, but was its tireless and brilliant editor both for the video and the text, and who was a delight to work with. Thank you, Violet!
Wishing you all a blessed Samhain, and a wonderful, witchly Halloween.
October 31, 2014 in Art, Esoterica, Film | Permalink | Comments (1)
October releases
In addition to all the fantastic music out this season, here's some more mystic media releasing this month:
One of my favorite things Vertigo's done in is their 1999 mini-series, The Witching Hour, so I'm excited to see they've rebooted it, and in the Year of the Witch, no less. The 2013 iteration just released on Tuesday, and I can't wait to read it myself. Coven comics! YES! (Which reminds me, I never posted here about my more recent Huffington Post article on Triple Witches, so there you go.)
Speaking of Vertigo, you may remember my giddiness re: the news of Neil Gaiman and JH Williams III's collaboration on a new Sandman prequel. Well, the wait is nearly over, as The Sandman: Overture #1 releases on October 30th. Pinching myself.
You may also recall my weak-kneed reverie about stumbling upon Luigi Serafini's mysterious, lavishly illustrated tome, Codex Seraphinianus, and my subsequent lamenting about its $500 price tag. Well, joy of joys, Rizzoli is rereleasing it on October 29th for the much more afforadable price of $125 (currently only $75 on Amazon ). Oh yes, she will be mine.
On the film front, I'm thrilled that the 1942 Veronica Lake classic, I Married a Witch , is finally getting the Criterion treatment. (It always comes back to witches these days, doesn't it?) This new version features:
New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
Audio interview with director René Clair
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by filmmaker Guy Maddin and a 1970 interview with Clair
Not too many goodies, but I'll take it anyway! Just happy to see it back in print, let alone restored to its former glory.
October 04, 2013 in Art, Books, Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
Brian Butler's Babalon Working at MoCA LA tonight
If you are a fan of Kenneth Anger-esque film, and you are in LA, you're going to want to go to Brian Butler's screening of his new piece, Babalon Working. It's at the Museum of Contemporary art, with doors at 7pm:
MOCAtv Presents a Screening and Performance Event by Los Angeles Artist BRIAN BUTLER at MOCA Grand Avenue.
World Premiere of Brian Butler's Preternatural Odyssey film Babalon Working featuring Paz de la Huerta and the performance Transmigration.
Doors 7pm, Screening 8pm
MOCA GRAND AVENUE
Ahmanson Auditorium
Here's hoping he brings it to NYC some day soon.
God Damn Religion
There's a nice little interview with Sun City Girls' Sir Richard Bishop over at The Quietus which is a good read. Most exciting is that it introduced me to this short cut-up film, God Damn Religion, which he created out of his vast collection of mystic iconography and travel footage (and a bit of borrowed footage from one of my favorite witchy films, Haxan) - and of course with his own music as the soundtrack. It's a phantasmagoric fever dream, full to bursting with rhythmically flashing pictures of sex, death, ritual, and the gods of many worlds. Totally mesmeric, and well worth your 32 minutes.
August 05, 2012 in Art, Esoterica, Film, Music | Permalink | Comments (0)
The Midnight Archive // Observatory web series
One of the most frequent things we Observatory folks get asked is if we will ever record our events, so that those who can't be there in body can enjoy our odd-lightful lectures from afar. We've experimented with both video and audio, but haven't yet landed on a method which logistically works for us - though certainly open to ideas. The next best (or in my opinion, even better) thing has happened though. Genius independent filmmaker, Ronni Thomas, has started a web series of short pieces featuring some of Observatory's weird and wonderful special guests - including occult historian and frequent collaborator, Mitch Horowitz. The series is called The Midnight Archive, and the first episode will be launching on 9.9.11. In the meantime, you can watch a trailer for it here.
August 17, 2011 in Esoterica, Events, Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sue de Beer's "The Ghosts"
The Park Avenue Armory is fast becoming my favorite venue in the city to see contemporary art projects of all stripes. Sue de Beer's "The Ghosts" will be up there from Feb 3rd-6th, and it sounds fabulous:
The Ghosts, a film and installation is open to the public.
Visit the free film screenings:
Thu & Fri, 5:00pm and 6:00pm
Sat & Sun, 3:00pm and 4:00pm
The Ghosts is a two-channel film by Sue de Beer that tells the story of an occult hypnotist who can retrieve lost lengths of time from peoples' memories and return them to the patient as if they are experiencing those moments anew.
In the Armory's historic Veterans Room, whose ornate decorative motifs echo the lighting effects in the film, de Beer will create a comfortable viewing environment for the film with soft carpet and soft seating, leaving much of the original décor of the room untouched. The Ghosts will also include include a sculptural 'fountain' in the Armory's Silver Room and a screen installation in the Field and Staff Room that will produce some of the lighting effects from de Beer's visually intense films in sculptural form.
Sue de Beer is an artist who uses video, installation, photography and sculpture to explore the connections between memory, history and architecture. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally in such venues as the New Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, PS1/MOMA, the Brooklyn Museum, and Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions in Los Angeles, the Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Kunst Werke, the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, and the Kunsthalle Shirn in Germany, the Neue Gallerie am Landes Museum Joanneum in Austria, the MuHKA Museum in Antwerp, Belgium, and the Museum of Modern Art, Busan, in Busan, South Korea. De Beer's work is in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the New Museum for Contemporary Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Goetz Collection. She received her M.F.A. from Columbia University in 1998.
January 24, 2011 in Art, Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
Leonardo's Last Supper: A Vision by Peter Greenaway
I'm a big Greenaway fan, so I could not be more excited that his multi-media installation, Leonardo's Last Supper, is opening here in NYC at the Park Avenue Armory tomorrow:
December 3, 2010 – January 6, 2011
"a bold and utterly distinctive multimedia artist" – The Guardian (London)
Visionary artist and filmmaker Peter Greenaway brings new insight into one of the world's most celebrated masterpieces in his multimedia reverie of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. Set within a full-scale replica of the dome of Refectory of Santa Maria Delle Grazie in Milan, the home of the original painting, a meticulously detailed facsimile of The Last Supper is brought to life through Greenaway's ingenious manipulation of light, sound, and theatrical illusion. Visitors navigate a series of vivid audio-visual environments that provoke new ways of seeing this iconic work.
Leonardo's Last Supper is part of Greenaway's ongoing series Ten Classic Paintings Revisited in which the artist creates a dialogue "between 8,000 years of art and 112 years of cinema." The Armory's presentation marks the first time that one of Greenaway's critically acclaimed artistic installations is mounted in the United States.
They have showings on the hour, so get your tickets here.
(And thanks for the heads up, Leo!)
December 02, 2010 in Art, Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
Power of Myth Re-release!
Just a heads up that the best educational program of all time, The Power of Myth with Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, has been re-released on DVD. About time - very excited!
(Thanks to Shiwani for the heads up!)
September 27, 2010 in Film | Permalink | Comments (1)
TONIGHT at Observatory: BEYOND BIBA: A PORTRAIT OF BARBARA HULANICKI Film Screening
TONIGHT at Observatory:
BEYOND BIBA: A PORTRAIT OF BARBARA HULANICKI Film Screening
Admission: $10
Presented by Phantasmaphile
Please join us for this special screening of BEYOND BIBA: A PORTRAIT OF BARBARA HULANICKI (November Films), about the fashion icon and mastermind behind BIBA, once the world's most decadent and innovative clothing store. BIBA remains one of the most evocative names in British design history; it pioneered a new style, mixing the contemporary with Art Nouveau, Art Deco and the golden age of Hollywood, dressing itself in the richly luxuriant colors of a bygone time.
Barbara Hulanicki will always be remembered for BIBA, the shop that changed the face of UK fashion in the 1960s and 70s. A phenomenon in the truest sense of the word, BIBA would leave an indelible mark on the minds and wardrobes of the customers who ventured through its doors.
Just as Barbara was a key ingredient in the cultural explosion that occurred in London during the 1960s, she also found herself at the birth of the incredible regeneration of Miami Beach in the late 1980s and 90s. This is where she still resides, and continues to work as one of the most respected interior designers in the United States.
The film provides an invaluable glimpse into Barbara Hulanicki today. A rare insight into the woman herself, her memories of her father's murder, the impossible glamour of Biba, the impact of her husband Fitz on her life, her thoughts on modern America and her refusal to give up and live in the shadow of the past. The film focuses on these elements, and more, to create an all access portrait of an overlooked and elusive artist.
DIRECTIONS TO OBSERVATORY: ***PLEASE USE NEVINS ST./PROTEUS GOWANUS ENTRANCE***
OBSERVATORY is located at 543 Union Street at Nevins St., in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn. The entrance is currently through Proteus Gowanus gallery, in the alley off Nevins St (see below for full details).
R or M train to Union Street in Brooklyn:
Walk two long blocks on Union (towards the Gowanus Canal) to Nevins Street. 543 Union Street is the large red brick building on right. Go right on Nevins and left down alley through large black gates. Proteus Gowanus is the second door on the left.
F or G train to Carroll Street:
Walk one block to Union. Turn right, walk two long blocks on Union towards the Gowanus Canal, cross the bridge, take left on Nevins, go down the alley to Proteus Gowanus, the second door on the left.
For more information, see observatoryroom.org
And please join our Facebook group if you are so inclined.
September 17, 2010 in Events, Film | Permalink | Comments (1)
Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 on Blu-ray!
I have been waiting for this news for years - YEARS I tell you! Fantasia & Fantasia 2000 are finally being released on Blu-ray, on November 30th! It's a 4-disc set, chock full of treats, including the miraculous Dali/Disney collaboration, Destino - one of the most beautiful and strange animated shorts ever made. Here's the full list of contents:
This 4-disc collection includes the movies and extras on two Blu-Ray discs, along with two DVDs with the movies and limited extras. Contents for each disc are as follows:
Disc One: Fantasia Blu-Ray
* DisneyView
* Disney Family Museum
* The Schultheis Notebook - Newly discovered document reveals movie secrets
* Interactive Art Gallery
* Audio Commentaries
Disc Two: Fantasia 2000 Blu-Ray
* Destino - 2003 animated short debuting on Blu-Ray
* Dali and Disney - A date with Destino documentary
* Musicana - Walt's inpiration for a sequel
* Disney's Virtual Vault - BD-Live
Disc Three: Fantasia DVD
* Audio Commentary
Disc Four: Fantasia 2000 DVD
Plus, if you pre-order it from Amazon now, it's 30% off. I already bought mine. Squeeeeeeeee!
September 01, 2010 in Art, Film, Music | Permalink | Comments (0)
Coming to Observatory: BEYOND BIBA: A PORTRAIT OF BARBARA HULANICKI Film Screening
Coming soon to Observatory:
August 23, 2010 in Events, Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
Kenneth Anger for Missoni
Via.
July 28, 2010 in Adornment, Art, Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
The Secret of Kells
I saw the Academy-nominated animated film, The Secret of Kells, yesterday, and I can't resist adding my own praise to the already clamorous fray. It's a Celtic tale about a young monk named Brendan who discovers that he has a gift for illuminating books - and later finds himself conscripted by an old sage to help finish the paintings for a treasured tome, The Book of Iona. I won't give anything else away, because so much of the joy of this film is in its unfolding. I will say that as a whole, it is a visual poem about creativity, belief, and self-actualization, and is a true hero's journey in the most Campbellian sense. The plot and characters were delightful to be sure, but for me the real star of the show is the art direction. In a world that's been dominated by the sleek, CG design of Pixar and the like, it's wonderful to see artfully stylized 2D characters and breath-taking, hand-painted backgrounds. The entire film has an intoxicating, artisanal look to it, with loads of lines, doodles, and textures - quite fitting for a story about a young painter, and will be irresistible to art-lovers of any age. The Secret of Kells is a must-see.
March 11, 2010 in Film | Permalink | Comments (2)
I just saw one of the trippiest, most fun movies of all time: Obayashi's House. It's a Japanese horror flick from 1977 with some of the nuttiest, kitschiest, and yet most delightfully inventive visuals I've seen. It's hard to even describe what it's about, but it consists of a group of 7 teenagers who spend a summer evening at the country home of the spinster aunt of one of the girls. And wouldn't you know it, bewitchings and troubling goings-on ensue (with the help of a mysterious cat named Blanche).
The story is beside the point. This is the kind of film one could watch with the sound off, and still get immense pleasure from, thanks to the color-drenched sunsetty lighting, madcap moments, and hilariously imaginative design. I don't want to say too much else, cause the joy of watching it is in its surprises. But those in the NYC area can see it now on the big screen at the IFC Center. Elsewhere, it shouldn't be too long before it's released on DVD by Criterion (later this year - so sayeth the internet rumor mill).
February 08, 2010 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0)
ROCATERRANIA Screening
I gushed about Renaldo Kuhler here before, so I am over the moon excited to announce that I got permission to screen a documentary about him at OBSERVATORY. Full announcement:
ROCATERRANIA Film Screening
A Documentary about Outsider Artist Renaldo Kuhler
Rocaterrania is a feature length documentary exploring the secret world of scientific illustrator and visionary artist Renaldo Kuhler. This screening is presented by Phantasmaphile.
In the last four decades, seventy-six-year-old Renaldo Kuhler has created hundreds of plates for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, illustrating diverse flora and fauna for obscure scientific journals and reference books. Before the making of this documentary, no one knew that Kuhler is also a prolific visionary artist - and the creator of an entire imaginary world called Rocaterrania.
Rocaterrania is a tiny nation of eastern European immigrants who purchased a tract of land along the Canadian border - just north of the Adirondack Mountains in New York - after growing restless with America's notions of "democracy." Over the next six decades, Rocaterrania saw two revolutions and the rise and fall of a succession of czars, dictators, and presidents among a cast of characters vaguely resembling Russian historical figures. But, as the film reveals, each change in government reflects a deeper meaning for Renaldo, an outsider who struggled to escape an emotionally abusive family and searched for freedom within a real nation threatened by forces of conformity.
Rocaterrania unveils Kuhler's astounding body of work to the world and reveals the powerful story of his life in the process. Among other themes, the film is about the insidious nature of conformity, the courage to be one's true self, and the redemptive power of artistic creation. Featuring an eclectic original score by Merge Records recording artists Shark Quest.
Rocaterrania is directed by Brett Ingram and released by Bright Eye Pictures.
So mark your calendars, chickadees. And see you at OBSERVATORY on the 19th.