Genres: experimental

  • taking pictures

    A hand-processed diary film about memory, family and loss told through snapshots and landscapes in and around Ontario. Music by Sam Phillips. Screenings include: 2008 Berlin International Film Festival (in Forum Expanded section), 2008 Rotterdam International Film Festival. “nostagia isn’t what it used to be, i can only picture the disappearing world when you touch me”

  • Kuboå

    The life and times of an ordinary Norwegian ghost.

  • Decodings

    “Michael Wallin’s ‘Decodings’ is a profoundly moving, allegorical search for identity from the documents of collective memory, in this case, found footage from the ’40s and ’50s … The search for self ends in aching poignancy with stills of a boy and his mother at the kitchen table, catching the moment that marks the dawning of anguish and loss; desire becomes imprinted on that which was long ago.” – Manohla Dargis, Village Voice “‘Decodings’ is a magical, seamless work that manages to beguile even as it probes areas tender to the touch. Its tale is beautifully told…” – Patrick Hoctel,…

  • Greater the Weight, The

    “The way it usually goes down is like this – the greater the weight, the better it feels. When it hurts, nothing feels better to me than hurting a bit more.” – Dana Michel We live in a world where people will fall. The film plays with the idea of falling – the heaviness and the lightness, the emotion, and the sounds associated with falling. It reflects on moments when one stumbles… by accident, on purpose. Sometimes you can get up again right away and you’re fine, and sometimes you’re not. A young woman (Dana Michel) is in a rebellious…

  • Films of Su Friedrich, The: Volumes 1-5

    Digitally re-mastered from the original 16mm negatives, this collection of 13 films is essential for every library or media centre, as well as women’s and cinema studies programs. Since the 1970s, Friedrich’s skillful mix of experimental narrative and documentary forms, filled with provocative feminist and lesbian themes, has made her a groundbreaking member of the avant-garde film community and a pivotal force in the establishment of Queer Cinema. This collection of DVDs includes the filmmaker’s classic works such as SINK OR SWIM, HIDE AND SEEK, THE TIES THAT BIND, DAMNED IF YOU DON’T, and THE ODDS OF RECOVERY, as well…

  • Films of Su Friedrich, The: Volume 1 – The Ties That Bind

    “The Ties That Bind” is a powerful meditation on political responsibility and personal loss as seen through the story of the filmmaker’s mother, who grew up in Nazi Germany. Using rare archival footage, extensive interviews and critical commentary, Friedrich constructs a fearless dialogue between past and present, between mother and daughter. “The Ties That Bind” engages in a profound search for an understanding of history, and challenges us in our responsibility for the present. Languages: English, German * New Directors/New Films, MoMA * “Le Mois du Film Documentaire,” France * “In and Out of the Cold, 1945 to 1995,” International…

  • Films of Su Friedrich, The: Volume 2 – Damned If You Don’t

    “Damned If You Don’t” is Friedrich’s subversive and ecstatic response to her Catholic upbringing. Blending conventional narrative technique with impressionistic camerawork, symbols and voice-overs, this film creates an intimate study of sexual expression and repression. Featuring Peggy Healey as a young nun tormented by her desire for the sultry irresistible Ela Troyano. Languages: English, German PLUS BONUS FILMS: RULES OF THE ROAD 31 minutes, Color, USA, 1993, 16mm RULES OF THE ROAD is the story of a love affair and its demise through one of the objects shared by the couple: an old beige station wagon with fake wood paneling.…

  • Films of Su Friedrich, The: Volume 3 – Sink or Swim

    A contemporary classic and a landmark in autobiographical filmmaking, “Sink or Swim” is an unflinching account of the highly charged relationship between a daughter and her father. Through a series of twenty-six short stories, a young girl chronicles the childhood events that shaped her ideas about fatherhood, family relations, work and play. As the stories unfold, a dual portrait emerges: that of a father who cared more for his career than for his family, and of a daughter who was deeply affected by his behavior. Working in counterpoint to the forceful text are sensual black and white images that depict…

  • Films of Su Friedrich, The: Volume 4 – Hide and Seek

    “Hide and Seek” tells the story of Lou, a twelve-year-old girl coming to terms with her budding sexuality in the mid 1960s. Her bittersweet tale is skillfully interwoven with clips from a wide array of scientific and educational films, as well as interviews with adult lesbians who recount their adolescent attractions to girls, how they felt when they first heard the word lesbian, where they fit in the butch/femme continuum, and their thoughts about how they became baby dykes. “Hide and Seek” is for every woman who’s been to a slumber party and every man who wonders what went on…

  • Films of Su Friedrich, The: Volume 5 – The Odds of Recovery

    After a twenty-year period of multiple illnesses and injuries, Friedrich turns the camera on herself as a way to analyze her chances for a happier, healthier life. In the process, she captures the frustration, tedium and petty annoyances of a revolving-door relationship with the medical establishment, while portraying the complicated web of emotions that accompany any medical problem. With humor and honesty, “The Odds of Recovery” uses the filmmaker’s medical history as a means to address a perennial human problem: the desire to avoid conflict and deny the need for radical change. “…plays with the genre of the self-portrait…all in…