William Tyler in person for a special pre-screening performance! FQ&A with filmmaker Elise Tyler to follow screening. WILLIAM TYLER: TIME INDEFINITE Join us for an intimate evening of music and film with guitarist and composer William Tyler, featuring a special screening of TIME INDEFINITE, a visual album co-directed by Elise Tyler and Aaron Anderson. Set to William Tyler’s new album “Time Indefinite”, the film weaves together found footage from his family archives into a poetic meditation on memory, decay, and the passage of time.

Celeste Rojas Mugica AN OSCILLATING SHADOW / UNA SOMBRA OSCILANTE Chile, 2024, 72 min, DCP. In Spanish with English subtitles. “A game played by two – a father and a daughter. This game, involving chemicals in a film lab, becomes a bridge between two generations who understand and experience photography in very different ways. Will they be able to understand each other? Will they reconnect after the scars of a violent national history, exile, and complex family dynamics? Artist Celeste Rojas Mugica crafts a hybrid, first-person film that reconstructs, with singular humor and a precise touch, the memory of her father amid the political violence of Chile’s dictatorship. Winner of the Jury Special Mention at FIDMarseille 2024, AN OSCILLATING SHADOW embraces the ontology of cinema to explore how images from the past can still illuminate our present selves – especially within our most intimate and sensitive circles.” –Matías Piñeiro

“Based on the short story ‘The Racer’ by Ib Melchior, DEATH RACE 2000 is set in a post-apocalyptic USA in the year 2000, where various contestants are preparing to take part in the homicidal, coast-to-coast road rally, the Transcontinental Road Race, which is watched avidly by the entire nation. Themed cars, echoing professional wrestling personas, include Frankenstein (driven by star David Carradine), Calamity Jane (Mary Woronov), Machine Gun Joe (Sylvester Stallone), Matilda the Hun, and Nero the Hero – a Roman gladiator-style vehicle. Watch for a road-kill cameo from John Landis.” –David Savage

“Paul and Mary Bland (Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov), a married couple stuck in the 1950s who sleep in twin beds, hit upon a scheme to murder classified-ad swingers in order to put a down payment on the upscale country restaurant of their dreams. Their plan is discovered by a Chicano thief (Robert Beltran), who not only wants in, but wants Mary – and wants Paul out of the way, permanently. Bartel’s exploration of race and class in Los Angeles is told in cartoon-like tones, echoing his roots in animation. Bartel’s most acclaimed film, it set the bar for his sophisticated, subversive, eccentric comic vision of American society.” –David Savage

GEORGE & MIKE KUCHAR All films in this program have been preserved by Anthology Film Archives with support from the National Film Preservation Foundation. I WAS A TEENAGE RUMPOT 1960, 10 min, 8mm-to-16mm George and Mike here stumbled upon something big: their names were Arline, Edie, and Harry. A documentary about people like you and me, people with a zest for life. PUSSY ON A HOT TIN ROOF 1961, 14 min, 8mm-to-16mm “It glows with the embers of desire! It smokes with the revelation of men and women longing for robust temptations that will make them sizzle into maturity with a furnace-blast of unrestrained animalism. A film for young and old to enjoy.” –George Kuchar SYLVIA’S PROMISE ca. 1962, 9 min, 8mm-to-16mm “Love comes in all sizes, but in this case love needs to diet! Sylvia makes a promise, but can she keep it?” –George Kuchar BORN OF THE WIND 1962, 24 min, 8mm-to-16mm “A tender and realistic story of a scientist who falls in love with a mummy he has restored to life… 2,000 years as a mummy couldn’t quench her thirst for love!” –George Kuchar TOOTSIES IN AUTUMN 1963, 15 min, 8mm-to-16mm A cautionary tale about past-their-prime thespians caught up in a typically Kucharian vortex of madness. Total running time: ca. 75 min. [I WAS A TEENAGE RUMPOT, SYLVIA’S PROMISE, and BORN OF THE WIND are not part of the Essential Cinema collection, but are included here as a special bonus.]

Ian Hugo BELLS OF ATLANTIS (1952, 10 min, 16mm. Preserved by the Library of Congress through the Avant-Garde Masters program funded by The Film Foundation and administered by the National Film Preservation Foundation.) A film poem, based on Anaïs Nin’s HOUSE OF INCEST, narrated by and featuring Nin. “[BELLS OF ATLANTIS was] inspired by the prologue to my HOUSE OF INCEST and the line: ‘I remember my first birth in water.’ The film evoked the watery depths of the lost continent of Atlantis. It is a lyrical journey into prenatal memories, the theme of birth and rebirth from the sea.” –Anaïs Nin Ken Jacobs LITTLE STABS AT HAPPINESS (1959-63, 18 min, 16mm. With Jack Smith. Preserved by Anthology Film Archives.) “Material was cut in as it came out of the camera, embarrassing moments intact. 100’ rolls timed well with music on old 78s. I was interested in immediacy, a sense of ease, and an art where suffering was acknowledged but not trivialized with dramatics. Whimsy was our achievement, as well as breaking out of step.” –Ken Jacobs Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb, and James Agee IN THE STREET (1952, 12 min, 16mm. Preserved by Anthology Film Archives.) Levitt’s short, lyrical documentary portrait of life in Spanish Harlem, shot by Levitt, Janice Loeb, and James Agee. “Informality is indeed the crucial and virtually definitive quality of IN THE STREET; it is even the guiding principle and vision. […] This is the extreme realization of a classic ‘naturalistic’ genre, the German ‘street film,’ where the street was imaged as the arena of the everyday and random, the channel in which the ‘stream of life’ conveniently became microcosmic.” –Ken Kelman, THE ESSENTIAL CINEMA Willard Maas GEOGRAPHY OF THE BODY (1943, 7 min, 16mm. Preserved by Anthology Film Archives with support from The National Film Preservation Foundation.) “The terrors and splendors of the human body as the undiscovered, mysterious continent.” –Willard Maas Total running time: ca. 55 min.

Humphrey Jennings LISTEN TO BRITAIN (1941, 19 min, 35mm) Jennings’s film is a masterpiece of sound mixing; it creates an audio landscape of Britain during the war, with images both accompanying and conflicting with the multitude of sounds. Dimitri Kirsanoff MÉNILMONTANT (1924-25, 38 min, 35mm, silent) “[T]o a remarkable degree, MÉNILMONTANT seems an autonomous creation, as sophisticated and demanding as any narrative film of the silent period, without obvious imitators. Although Richard Abel has astutely called attention to aspects the film shares with Abel Gance’s LA ROUE (1923) and Leon Moussinac’s LE BRASIER ARDENT (1923)…and with Jean Epstein’s COEUR FIDÈLE (1923)…any comparison of the film as a whole with those admirable works would have to underline the intensity, uniqueness, and exceptional rigor of Kirsanoff’s achievement.” –P. Adams Sitney, THE CINEMA OF POETRY Total running time: ca. 60 min.

DUO CONCERTANTES (1962-64, 6 min, 16mm) HAMFAT ASAR (1965, 13 min, 16mm) GYMNOPEDIES (1968, 6 min, 16mm) THE OLD HOUSE, PASSING (1966, 45 min, 16mm. Preserved by Anthology Film Archives.) OUR LADY OF THE SPHERE (1968, 9 min, 35mm) “With a taste for nostalgic romanticism…Jordan creates a magical universe of work using old steel engravings and collectable memorabilia. His 50-year pursuit into the subconscious mind gives him a place in the annals of cinema as a prolific animator on a voyage into the surreal psychology of the inner self.” –Jackie Leger Total running time: ca. 85 min.

by Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman (1927, 105 min, 35mm, silent. With Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavendar, Jim Farley, and Joseph Keaton.) “In the funniest of all silent feature comedy classics, the imperturbable Buster Keaton is cast as a daring Federal Spy with an outlandish plan to change the course of the Civil War. This sophisticated and grotesque screen farce – eloquently touching, uproariously hilarious – is a perfect example of Keaton’s art. Engulfed by switches, stolen engines, valves, and other mechanical contrivances, the immortal comedian – an engine driver literally on the wrong side of the tracks – solemnly attempts to behave normally in a world which is plainly bewitched.” –CINEMA 16 program notes, 1958 Preceded by: Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline NEIGHBORS 1920, 18 min, 16mm, silent

by Ken Jacobs (1969, 115 min, 16mm, silent) “Original 1905 film shot and probably directed by G.W. ‘Billy’ Bitzer, rescued via a paper print filed for copyright purposes with the Library of Congress. It is most reverently examined here, absolutely loved, with a new movie, almost as a side effect, coming into being.” –Ken Jacobs

The directorial debut of both Joe Dante and Allan Arkush, this deliriously entertaining pastiche of exploitation film tropes was the result of a bet between producer Jon Davison and Roger Corman that Davison could make the cheapest film yet created for Corman’s New World Pictures. Dante and Arkush pulled off this impressive feat by shooting on leftover short ends of raw stock and by freely incorporating footage from previous New World films, including NIGHT CALL NURSES, BIG BAD MAMA, and DEATH RACE 2000. Amongst its many references and homages to drive-in cinema classics, it includes a cameo by Dick Miller reprising his role as BUCKET OF BLOOD’s Walter Paisley!

The films included here were designed to promote and celebrate the still-novel technology of radio broadcasting. Most were commissioned by the Dutch company Philips Radio, which produced numerous promotional films, in various countries and by numerous different filmmakers, throughout the 1930s and beyond, many of them strikingly experimental in form. Hans Richter EUROPA RADIO 1931, 10 min, 35mm-to-DCP. Commissioned by Philips Radio. Courtesy of the Deutsche Kinemathek. Hans Richter FROM LIGHTNING TO TELEVISION / VAN BLIKSEMSCHICHT TOT TELEVISIE 1936, 29 min, 35mm-to-DCP. Commissioned by Philips Radio. Digitally restored by EYE Filmmuseum, and screened with the permission of Royal Philips / Philips Company Archives. Karel Dodal & Irena Dodalová THE WIZARD OF TONES / ČARODĚJ TÓNŮ 1936, 1.5 min, 35mm-to-DCP. Commissioned by Telefunken. Courtesy of the National Film Archive, Prague. Karel Dodal & Irena Dodalová THE SOUNDS OF OUTER SPACE / ZNĚJÍCÍ VESMÍR 1936, 2 min, 35mm-to-DCP. Commissioned by Telefunken. Courtesy of the National Film Archive, Prague. George Pal THE BALLET OF RED RADIOVALVES 1938, 2.5 min, 35mm-to-DCP. Commissioned by Philips Radio. Courtesy of EYE Filmmuseum and Royal Philips / Philips Company Archives. George Pal THE SHIP OF THE ETHER 1936, 7.5 min, 35mm-to-DCP. Commissioned by Philips Radio. Courtesy of EYE Filmmuseum and Royal Philips / Philips Company Archives. Jószef Misik KERMESSE FANTASTIQUE 1951, 10 min, 35mm-to-DCP. Commissioned by Philips Radio. Courtesy of EYE Filmmuseum and Royal Philips / Philips Company Archives. Joop Geesink THE TRAVELLING TUNE 1962, 10 min, 35mm-to-DCP. Commissioned by Philips Radio. Courtesy of EYE Filmmuseum and Royal Philips / Philips Company Archives.

These films focus mainly on then-novel communications technologies, including magnetic tape, new postal methods, and above all, computing (and its potential for creating new kinds of imagery). Reflecting the radical nature of these technologies, the sponsored films included here adopt highly experimental approaches to sound, image, and editing. Charles & Ray Eames A COMMUNICATIONS PRIMER 1953, 22 min, 35mm-to-DCP Ferdinand Khittl THE MAGIC RIBBON / DAS MAGISCHE BAND 1959, 21 min, 35mm-to-DCP Edgar Reitz COMMUNICATION / KOMMUNIKATION – TECHNIK DER VERSTÄNDIGUNG 1961, 11 min, 35mm-to-DCP. Commissioned by the German Post Office. Bernard Longpré TEST 0558 1965, 4 min, 16mm-to-DCP John Whitney, Sr. EXPERIMENTS IN MOTION GRAPHICS 1968, 12 min, 16mm Raymond Brousseau & Bernard Longpré DIMENSION SOLEILS 1970, 4 min, 16mm-to-DCP Lillian Schwartz PIXILLATION 1970, 4 min, 16mm-to-DCP. Produced at Bell Laboratories. From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Lillian Schwartz & Ken Knowlton UFOS 1971, 4 min, 16mm-to-DCP. Produced at Bell Laboratories. From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Lillian Schwartz ENIGMA 1972, 4 min, 16mm-to-DCP. Produced at Bell Laboratories. From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Steeped in irony, MADE IN HOLLYWOOD depicts the personal and cultural mediation of reality and fantasy, desire and identity, by the myths of television and cinema. Quoting from a catalogue of popular styles and sources, from TV commercials to THE WIZARD OF OZ, the Yonemotos construct a parable of the Hollywood image-making industry from a pastiche of narrative clichés: A small-town ingenue goes West to find her dream and loses her innocence; the patriarch of a Hollywood studio nears death; a New York couple seeks screenwriting fame and fortune in the movies. With deadpan humor and hyperbolic visual stylization, the Yonemotos layer artifice upon artifice, constructing an image-world where reality and representation, truth and simulation, are meaningless distinctions.

Woronov’s performing career was born in Warhol’s Factory. Becoming an integral part of the Factory scene and of Warhol’s group of “superstars” in 1966, Woronov appeared onstage as part of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable show, and on screen in several of Warhol’s “Screen Tests” and numerous of his films, including THE CHELSEA GIRLS, HEDY, RICHARD AND MARY, and others. KISS THE BOOT documents the “whip dance” that she and Gerard Malanga performed as part of EPI, while HEDY presents the adventures of Hedy Lamarr, as she receives a face-lift, is arrested for shoplifting, and goes on trial to face the accusations of her five former husbands. Mario Montez gives one of his most outstanding performances in the title role and the Velvet Underground contributes a live score, while Woronov makes a memorable appearance as the policewoman who apprehends the sticky-fingered Hedy. This program also includes the short film she made in this period with Warhol’s assistant and collaborator, Gerard Malanga: MARY FOR MARY (1966). Andy Warhol HEDY 1966, 66 min, 16mm-to-DCP Preceded by: Andy Warhol KISS THE BOOT 1966, 4 min, 16mm-to-DCP, silent Gerard Malanga MARY FOR MARY 1966, 16 min, 16mm-to-DCP

Andy Warhol QUEEN OF CHINA (HANOI HANNA) 1966, 66 min, 16mm-to-digital. Scenario by Ronald Tavel. With Mary Woronov, Susan Bottomly, Angelina “Pepper” Davis, and Ingrid Superstar. “QUEEN OF CHINA (HANOI HANNA) – which was incorporated into Warhol’s hugely successful, three-hour-plus, two-screen film, THE CHELSEA GIRLS – based on Ronald Tavel’s scenario, loosely refers to the real-life radio show host who broadcast antiwar propaganda to American soldiers in Vietnam. It is Mary Woronov’s showcase piece, in which she metes out physical and psychological abuse to Susan Bottomly, Angelina ‘Pepper’ Davis, and Ingrid Superstar in a room at the Chelsea Hotel. At first, the cast tries to accurately adhere to Tavel’s scenario, but by reel two it all falls apart—the performers begin to use their real names and exhibit a sort of residual stress disorder that permeates the rest of the film.” –MUSEUM OF MODERN ART Preceded by: Andy Warhol MARY WORONOV SCREEN TEST (ST357) 1966, 4 min, 16mm-to-DCP, silent Conrad Ventur 13 MOST BEAUTIFUL / SCREEN TESTS REVISITED: MARY WORONOV 2009-2011, 4 min, digital [Documentation of John Vaccaro’s “Conquest of the Universe”] ca. 1967, ca. 15 min, 16mm-to-DCP, silent

“As new principal Miss Togar (Mary Woronov) says, ‘The minute there’s not a teacher in the room the entire school erupts into a shameless display of adolescent abandon!’ Initially conceived by Roger Corman as DISCO HIGH SCHOOL, Alan Arkush rejiggered the project for the Ramones, who wrote ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll High School’ and ‘I Want You Around’ for the soundtrack. (Dee Dee complained that Arkush made them look ‘like Martians.’)” –Rachel Churner

“Written with LA novelist-screenwriter Bruce Wagner, SCENES is Bartel’s answer to the bed-hopping French farce, updated for the age of DYNASTY and LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS. Jacqueline Bisset stars as Clare, a TV actress with a career stuck in re-runs and a freshly buried husband who died of auto-erotic strangulation. Her next-door neighbor, Lisabeth (Mary Woronov) is recently divorced. The two women decide that what they need most at this moment in their lives is to sleep with each other’s manservants (Ray Sharkey and Robert Beltran), who, meanwhile, have made a sexual wager of their own. Complicating matters is the sudden appearance of Lisabeth’s brother (Ed Begley, Jr.) who shows up with a new bride, To-Bel von Cartier (Arnetia Walker).” –David Savage

In SILENT NIGHT, BLOODY NIGHT, a man arrives in a small town in order to sell his family mansion – a former insane asylum – only to find it occupied by an axe-wielding madman bent on revenge against the town elders. Co-produced by Lloyd Kaufman (just two years before he would launch Troma Entertainment), featuring legendary character actor John Carradine, and marking Woronov’s second collaboration with her then-husband Theodore Gershuny, SILENT NIGHT, BLOODY NIGHT is a slasher film that plays like an underground, art cinema take on the genre. And no wonder, given the involvement of Gershuny (whose first film was the 1966 experimental short AMERICAN ROULETTE) and Woronov, who were presumably responsible for casting half of the bit parts with their Warhol Factory associates, including Candy Darling, Ondine, Tally Brown, and Jack Smith!

Alta Leigh was an attractive young model with the future in her hands…until her pornographer boyfriend, George, tricked her into committing “suicide” on camera. Devastated by the incident, Alta’s lover, Camilla, hatches a bizarre plot to avenge her death: find an exact lookalike of Alta to drive George insane. Starring the iconic Mary Woronov, former Belgian beauty queen Monique van Vooren, Warhol acolyte Ondine, and produced by Oliver Stone, SUGAR COOKIES is arthouse exploitation with a heady mix of Hitchcock mystery and Paul Bartel weirdness.