January 27 2009

MONTHLY READING + DISCUSSION GROUP EXPLORING CINEMA + CINEMATIC PRACTICE THROUGH WRITTEN WORDS

A monthly reading + discussion group, Thought on Film aims to promote critical thought around film product and practice through community-based discussion. Open to the public, Thought on Film fosters the close reading of texts confronting issues in contemporary, cutting-edge cinematic practice and philosophy.

Provoked by Anthony Roberts + Brian Johnson’s The Soft Revolution, an interactive cinematic installation Cineworks is presenting this month at the Interurban, January’s meeting will feature Lev Manovich’s essay “The New Language of Cinema.” Says Manovich in the introduction to The Language of New Media, the book from which this essay is drawn, “We no longer think of the history of cinema as a linear march toward a single possible language, or as a progression toward perfect verisimilitude. On the contrary, we have come to see its history as a succession of distinct and equally expressive languages, each with its own aesthetic variables, and each closing off some of the possibilities of its predecessor.” Roberts + Johnson’s interactive film exploits exactly this space between cinema as it has been and cinemas as they are becoming by using digital technology [and the principles of the I-Ching] to make pointed reference to contemporary artistic researches, and Manovich’s essay makes a compelling argument for how and why this is possible.

Experimenting with the form of reading groups and their discussions, this month’s selection will be read out loud by participants. No pre-reading required!

If  you have any questions about Thought on Film, please do not hesitate to contact Programs Manager cheyanne turions at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Thought On Film XII
reading Lev Manovich’s “The New Language of Cinema”
Cineworks [1131 Howe, back lane entrance]
27 January 2009, 6pm
Free