Divinations by Storm De Hirsch (1964).
Divinations was completed in 1964 at the same time Storm De Hirsch was finishing her only feature film, Goodbye in the Mirror. According to the Film-makers’ Cooperative Catalogue No. 4, published in 1967, the music making up the film’s soundtrack is a ritual chant of a Maori medicine man and a Sicilian tarantella performed on a jew’s harp.
Also in the Catalogue, De Hirsch described the film as:
A film poem that records a psychic event in color, shape and sound. The inner eye reveals its visionary powers through a series of mystical signs and symbols, a collage of negative and positive images, incantations and sorcery.
P. Adams Sitney and Ken Kelman both called Divinations “Among the best films of 1964.”
In an interview with Jonas Mekas published in his July 19, 1964 “Movie Journal” column, De Hirsch described the making of Divinations:
I wanted badly to make an...
Divinations was completed in 1964 at the same time Storm De Hirsch was finishing her only feature film, Goodbye in the Mirror. According to the Film-makers’ Cooperative Catalogue No. 4, published in 1967, the music making up the film’s soundtrack is a ritual chant of a Maori medicine man and a Sicilian tarantella performed on a jew’s harp.
Also in the Catalogue, De Hirsch described the film as:
A film poem that records a psychic event in color, shape and sound. The inner eye reveals its visionary powers through a series of mystical signs and symbols, a collage of negative and positive images, incantations and sorcery.
P. Adams Sitney and Ken Kelman both called Divinations “Among the best films of 1964.”
In an interview with Jonas Mekas published in his July 19, 1964 “Movie Journal” column, De Hirsch described the making of Divinations:
I wanted badly to make an...
- 11/25/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
In October 1968, the transcript of a conversation between filmmakers Shirley Clarke and Storm de Hirsch was published in the 46th issue of Film Culture magazine. Excerpts from that conversation are below.
At the time, Clarke and de Hirsch were totally unique in their respective careers. While there were certainly many women filmmakers active in the New American Cinema movement of the late ’60s, only these two had directed feature films. Clarke had directed three: The Connection, The Cool World and Portrait of Jason; and de Hirsch just one: Goodbye in the Mirror.
Therefore, most of the conversation in Film Culture revolved around the ideas of women making feature films — from differences in “masculine” and “feminine” storytelling to the future of women working in the industry, either independently like themselves or within the Hollywood system.
Both women have very different opinions on the subject. De Hirsch frequently states that she sees...
At the time, Clarke and de Hirsch were totally unique in their respective careers. While there were certainly many women filmmakers active in the New American Cinema movement of the late ’60s, only these two had directed feature films. Clarke had directed three: The Connection, The Cool World and Portrait of Jason; and de Hirsch just one: Goodbye in the Mirror.
Therefore, most of the conversation in Film Culture revolved around the ideas of women making feature films — from differences in “masculine” and “feminine” storytelling to the future of women working in the industry, either independently like themselves or within the Hollywood system.
Both women have very different opinions on the subject. De Hirsch frequently states that she sees...
- 8/19/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
In 1966, as the underground film wave was sweeping the country, a Boston off-shoot of New York City’s Film-Makers’ Cinematheque opened at a performance space at 53 Berkeley Street. Underground films were shown on weeknights, while on the weekends the space transformed into a music venue called The Boston Tea Party.
The Cinematheque and the Tea Party were founded and run by a controversial figure named Mel Lyman, a harmonica player and the leader of a hippie commune in Boston’s Fort Hill neighborhood. Lyman has also been considered a cult leader on par with Charles Manson, except Lyman’s followers never actually murdered anyone. According to the book Apocalypse Culture, Lyman claimed to be an extraterrestrial and was seemingly obsessed with “ruling” the country’s underground culture.
Whatever Lyman’s background, the Cinematheque showed some cool films, according to the actual flyers from that time period below. Click each poster...
The Cinematheque and the Tea Party were founded and run by a controversial figure named Mel Lyman, a harmonica player and the leader of a hippie commune in Boston’s Fort Hill neighborhood. Lyman has also been considered a cult leader on par with Charles Manson, except Lyman’s followers never actually murdered anyone. According to the book Apocalypse Culture, Lyman claimed to be an extraterrestrial and was seemingly obsessed with “ruling” the country’s underground culture.
Whatever Lyman’s background, the Cinematheque showed some cool films, according to the actual flyers from that time period below. Click each poster...
- 8/6/2017
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
It’s the 50th anniversary of the Ann Arbor Film Festival and they’re preparing an all-out blowout on March 27 to April 1 to celebrate! The fest is crammed to the gills with the latest and greatest in experimental and avant-garde film, in addition to a celebration of classic work from Ann Arbors past.
Filmmaker Bruce Baillie was there at the first Aaff — and numerous times since. He’s back this year with a major retrospective of his entire career that spans three separate programs. Baillie, who’ll be in attendance of course, will present a brand-new restored version of his epic pseudo-Western Quick Billy, plus screenings of his classic short movies such as Castro Street, Yellow Horse, Quixote, To Parsifal and more.
There’s also a program dedicated to the films of the late Robert Nelson, including Bleu Shut and Special Warning, as well as sprinklings of underground classics throughout...
Filmmaker Bruce Baillie was there at the first Aaff — and numerous times since. He’s back this year with a major retrospective of his entire career that spans three separate programs. Baillie, who’ll be in attendance of course, will present a brand-new restored version of his epic pseudo-Western Quick Billy, plus screenings of his classic short movies such as Castro Street, Yellow Horse, Quixote, To Parsifal and more.
There’s also a program dedicated to the films of the late Robert Nelson, including Bleu Shut and Special Warning, as well as sprinklings of underground classics throughout...
- 3/7/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This Week’s Absolute Must Look is a series of film stills from Storm de Hirsch’s documentary about Jonas Mekas making his documentary of the performance of The Brig in 1964. So that’s what a filmmaker shooting with a film camera looks like!Aryan Kaganof had an unpleasant experience at a European film festival. Maybe it’s just me, but I think his comment to Bela Tarr is funny.Jason Kupfer has a snazzy new filmmaker website, which I’ve been meaning to link to for awhile, so I guess it’s new-ish.Dominic Deacon’s nunsploitation feature Bad Habits got reviewed on the site Scaryminds and received a 3 out of 5 on the sex and violence scale.The site Bad at Sports interviews filmmaker Jesse McLean.J.J. Murphy reviews Azazel Jacob’s feature Terri, marking it along the filmmaker’s inching closer to the mainstream. Or is there something...
- 1/22/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Happy New Year! Unfortunately, since it’s been a holiday week and today is technically a holiday, there aren’t too many links to get us started in 2012. However, these are some pretty darn good ones:
Kenneth Anger swears to God that he’s not a Satanist in this interview in the Guardian. (For the record, he’s a pagan.)Cinemad has been busy with a couple new podcasts. The newest one is an interview with the Zellner Brothers. Previous to that, they interviewed underground film legend Ken Jacobs.Donna k. says she’s going to right a terrible wrong and start interviewing female artists, which sounds like a fabulous idea. The next two links should offer some inspiration:Making Light of It scans in a conversation between Shirley Clarke and Storm de Hirsch from Film Culture.Not really underground film: Potzrebie has an excerpt from a ’50s documentary about black artists.
Kenneth Anger swears to God that he’s not a Satanist in this interview in the Guardian. (For the record, he’s a pagan.)Cinemad has been busy with a couple new podcasts. The newest one is an interview with the Zellner Brothers. Previous to that, they interviewed underground film legend Ken Jacobs.Donna k. says she’s going to right a terrible wrong and start interviewing female artists, which sounds like a fabulous idea. The next two links should offer some inspiration:Making Light of It scans in a conversation between Shirley Clarke and Storm de Hirsch from Film Culture.Not really underground film: Potzrebie has an excerpt from a ’50s documentary about black artists.
- 1/1/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday announced its lineup for the 2011 Special Events and Tribeca Talks panel series. The full press release follows.
New York, NY [March 23, 2011] – The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, today announced its lineup for the 2011 Special Events and Tribeca Talks® panel series. The component programs are “Tribeca Talks: After the Movie,” “Tribeca Talks: Industry,” “Tribeca Talks: Pen to Paper, hosted by Barnes & Noble,” the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival panel, and new this year, in celebration of the tenth Festival, the “Tribeca Talks: Directors Series,” featuring one-on-one conversations with acclaimed filmmakers, plus the premiere of five new documentary films and a one-of-a-kind videogame-film event.
This year, Tribeca’s annual panel series, a collection of special events, conversations and audience Q&A’s designed to spark a richer dialogue about film, has expanded to include the “Tribeca Talks: Directors Series.” The series invites audiences to...
New York, NY [March 23, 2011] – The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, today announced its lineup for the 2011 Special Events and Tribeca Talks® panel series. The component programs are “Tribeca Talks: After the Movie,” “Tribeca Talks: Industry,” “Tribeca Talks: Pen to Paper, hosted by Barnes & Noble,” the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival panel, and new this year, in celebration of the tenth Festival, the “Tribeca Talks: Directors Series,” featuring one-on-one conversations with acclaimed filmmakers, plus the premiere of five new documentary films and a one-of-a-kind videogame-film event.
This year, Tribeca’s annual panel series, a collection of special events, conversations and audience Q&A’s designed to spark a richer dialogue about film, has expanded to include the “Tribeca Talks: Directors Series.” The series invites audiences to...
- 3/23/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday announced its lineup for the 2011 Special Events and Tribeca Talks panel series. The full press release follows.
New York, NY [March 23, 2011] – The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, today announced its lineup for the 2011 Special Events and Tribeca Talks® panel series. The component programs are “Tribeca Talks: After the Movie,” “Tribeca Talks: Industry,” “Tribeca Talks: Pen to Paper, hosted by Barnes & Noble,” the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival panel, and new this year, in celebration of the tenth Festival, the “Tribeca Talks: Directors Series,” featuring one-on-one conversations with acclaimed filmmakers, plus the premiere of five new documentary films and a one-of-a-kind videogame-film event.
This year, Tribeca’s annual panel series, a collection of special events, conversations and audience Q&A’s designed to spark a richer dialogue about film, has expanded to include the “Tribeca Talks: Directors Series.” The series invites audiences to...
New York, NY [March 23, 2011] – The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, today announced its lineup for the 2011 Special Events and Tribeca Talks® panel series. The component programs are “Tribeca Talks: After the Movie,” “Tribeca Talks: Industry,” “Tribeca Talks: Pen to Paper, hosted by Barnes & Noble,” the Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival panel, and new this year, in celebration of the tenth Festival, the “Tribeca Talks: Directors Series,” featuring one-on-one conversations with acclaimed filmmakers, plus the premiere of five new documentary films and a one-of-a-kind videogame-film event.
This year, Tribeca’s annual panel series, a collection of special events, conversations and audience Q&A’s designed to spark a richer dialogue about film, has expanded to include the “Tribeca Talks: Directors Series.” The series invites audiences to...
- 3/23/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Flaming Creatures midnight screening
Jonas Mekas’ Movie Journal: The Rise Of The New American Cinema 1959-1971 is essential reading for anybody interested in underground film. The book contains excerpts from the “Movie Journal” column Mekas wrote for the Village Voice alternative weekly newspaper for a dozen years. Also included in the book are a couple of movie posters and newspaper ads from that era, which I’ve scanned and uploaded to a photo gallery. If you click on each image in this post, it will take you to an embiggened version of it so you can look at them in better detail.
It’s tough for me to pick an absolute favorite poster out of the bunch, but I inserted the most striking above. It’s for a special midnight screening of Jack Smith’s classic Flaming Creatures. I’m guessing from the date on the poster and the year the film was completed,...
Jonas Mekas’ Movie Journal: The Rise Of The New American Cinema 1959-1971 is essential reading for anybody interested in underground film. The book contains excerpts from the “Movie Journal” column Mekas wrote for the Village Voice alternative weekly newspaper for a dozen years. Also included in the book are a couple of movie posters and newspaper ads from that era, which I’ve scanned and uploaded to a photo gallery. If you click on each image in this post, it will take you to an embiggened version of it so you can look at them in better detail.
It’s tough for me to pick an absolute favorite poster out of the bunch, but I inserted the most striking above. It’s for a special midnight screening of Jack Smith’s classic Flaming Creatures. I’m guessing from the date on the poster and the year the film was completed,...
- 11/23/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Going to start off a little differently this week. I was chatting over email this week with Brett Kashmere about the history of Canadian experimental and avant-garde film. Well, more like the lack of much written about that history. So, a few Canadian links! First, the Canadian Encyclopedia has an entry on Film, Experimental. Film Reference also has a brief article covering Canadian experimental film. This is a Pdf link, so you might want to download first: For his Masters in Fine Art degree from York University, Gerald Saul wrote a thesis on the Canadian avant-garde in the ’90s. Actually, Saul’s website in general has some good resources on it. Barbara Sternberg has an old article about the rise of Canadian experimental in the ’70s, reprinted from the 1991 catalog “The Visual Aspect: Recent Canadian Experimental Films.” Mike Hoolboom has reviews and details of his book Inside the Pleasure Dome: Fringe Film in Canada.
- 11/14/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This isn’t a terribly exciting or sexy update, but I want to keep pimping out my Underground Film Timeline. Up until now, I’m not sure if it’s usefulness has been all that apparent, but I’m liking where it’s going.
Phase 2 of the Timeline project involved me integrating it better with Bad Lit’s sister site, the Underground Film Guide (Ufg). And, yes, by “integrating” I mean adding links on both sites. This is how it works: Let’s say you’re perusing the 1960 — 1969 page of the Timeline and come across the name of filmmaker Storm de Hirsch, who in 1965 made her most famous film Peyote Queen.
De Hirsch isn’t one of the more famous of the ’60s underground filmmakers, like Brakhage, Anger, Kuchar, et. al. So, you click on her name to get more info on her on the Ufg where you can see her complete filmography — or,...
Phase 2 of the Timeline project involved me integrating it better with Bad Lit’s sister site, the Underground Film Guide (Ufg). And, yes, by “integrating” I mean adding links on both sites. This is how it works: Let’s say you’re perusing the 1960 — 1969 page of the Timeline and come across the name of filmmaker Storm de Hirsch, who in 1965 made her most famous film Peyote Queen.
De Hirsch isn’t one of the more famous of the ’60s underground filmmakers, like Brakhage, Anger, Kuchar, et. al. So, you click on her name to get more info on her on the Ufg where you can see her complete filmography — or,...
- 7/28/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Back when I first turned Bad Lit into an underground film website, an early boost in traffic, awareness and respectability came when film link archivist David Hudson started linking here at his original home on GreenCine Daily. Now when I’m compiling my weekly Film Links posts, I always think back to those days. Of course, Hudson is still doing his thing, although now he’s over at The Auteurs and on Twitter, and I found it amusing that last week the link master linked to my post of links. It’s like the ultimate loop of film linkage! Thanks, David. Here’s this week’s batch:
This is a long one — and a great one! — so it’s going first: Ed Halter surveys the prolific career of filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson. I’ve only personally seen a smattering of Everson’s work at festivals and such and I’ve always enjoyed it,...
This is a long one — and a great one! — so it’s going first: Ed Halter surveys the prolific career of filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson. I’ve only personally seen a smattering of Everson’s work at festivals and such and I’ve always enjoyed it,...
- 5/2/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
So, I’m currently working on a big research project, the results of which won’t be seen unless you happen to be poring through Bad Lit’s sister site the Underground Film Guide — and the way that site is woefully under-updated, why would you?
The Ufg, as I like to call it, is a database project of underground filmmakers and films. Recently I decided to halt adding new entries and to make the old filmmaker entries I previously uploaded more comprehensive. One way I’m doing that is going through books on underground film and, if a filmmaker is written up in each book, I’ll add that book’s info to the filmmaker’s profile. If you’re interested and want an idea of what I’m talking about, go look at John Waters’ entry and scroll down to the book section.
One book that is a tremendous...
The Ufg, as I like to call it, is a database project of underground filmmakers and films. Recently I decided to halt adding new entries and to make the old filmmaker entries I previously uploaded more comprehensive. One way I’m doing that is going through books on underground film and, if a filmmaker is written up in each book, I’ll add that book’s info to the filmmaker’s profile. If you’re interested and want an idea of what I’m talking about, go look at John Waters’ entry and scroll down to the book section.
One book that is a tremendous...
- 4/17/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
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