Wednesday,
January 20 + Thursday, January 21
The
Medical Film Symposium
Taking
place throughout the city from January 20 – 23, The Medical
Film Symposium examines the relationship between moving images
and medical science. Medical films comprised one of the earliest
film genres, but the vast majority of these films are unseen
and unknown today. The Symposium explores various categories
of medical films: actualities and documentations of medical
procedures, training films for health professionals, hygiene
tutorials and contemporary medical imaging. For more information
about the films and screenings, please visit www.medicalfilmsymposium.com.
Wednesday,
January 20 at 7:30pm
A
Man To Remember
dir. Garson Kanin, US, 1938, 35mm, 80 mins, b/w
Introduced
by Nico de Klerk of the Nederlands Filmmuseum
Made
during the Great Depression, A Man
to Remember brings the public health discussion
to small town America. A local doctor opposes powerful men to
protect the public health during an impending polio epidemic.
Exploring the politics of healthcare and strategy for containing
public health emergencies, the film couldn't be timelier.
With
the Art @ International House Opening Reception of Radiologic
Images Photography Exhibit.
Thursday,
January 21 at 7pm
Experimental
Medical Films
Curated
by experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer, this program showcases
artists’ representations of medical encounters. Exploring
a variety of medical situations, these filmmakers examine medicine,
surgery, disease and treatment in illuminating new ways.
Twist
of Fate
dir.
Karen Aqua, US, 2009, 35mm, 9 mins, color
With
experimental animation and collage techniques, Karen Aqua presents
a beautiful and astonishing account of her experience with cancer.
Twist of Fate is less a literal representation
of events than an expressionistic rendering of Aqua’s diagnosis,
treatment and recovery. The film improbably explores a
frightening experience with a surprisingly light touch.
A
Horse is Not a Metaphor
dir.
Barbara Hammer, US, 2008, HDCam, 30 mins, color
Fighting
stage 3 ovarian cancer, Barbara Hammer returns to her experimental
roots in a multilayered film blending numerous chemotherapy
sessions with images of light and movement that take her far
from the hospital bed. A cancer ‘thriver’ rather than
’survivor’, Hammer rides the red hills of Georgia O’Keefe’s
Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, the grassy foothills of the Big Horn
in Wyoming and leafy paths in Woodstock, New York, changing
illness into recovery.
Sanctus
dir.
Barbara Hammer, US, 1990, 16mm, 20 mins, color
Hammer
manipulates the re-photographed x-rays of Dr James Sibley Watson
to highlight the central contradiction of these rare and beautiful
images. Though the original ‘films’ reveal the miracle
of the human body and its internal structures in motion, they
also question the value of medical imaging when the very process
of visualization is dangerous itself. Sanctus is a
fascinating and elegant investigation of the life and death
forces.
Qualia
Diaries
dir.
Emily Mode, US, 2009, DVD, 17 mins, color
After
her diagnosis of a seizure disorder, Emily Mode explores
her place between reality, fantasy and memory. While describing
the horrifying side effects of several anti-convulsive prescriptions,
Mode recounts the origins of her condition nd identifies its
earliest symptoms from her childhood games.
Colon
Karaoke
dir.
Brina Thurston, US, 2008, DVD, 6 mins, color
Colon
Karaoke
is taken from a documented medical procedure where the song
Sledge Hammer comes on the radio in the operating room. A voice-over
was added in postproduction of the patient singing along to
the radio. Colon Karaoke highlights the absurdity
we endure in the most personally penetrating modern day experiences.
It also plays with issues of power, sex and humility in popular
culture.
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