Cinema 16 Creates a ‘Silent’ Community
A still from Even — As You and I, one of the films screened Friday night.
What more effectively cures a rainy day than catching a movie? No, no, not sitting at home re- watching Annie Hall on your laptop without putting any clothes on – though that works pretty well too – but braving it through the downpour to a local cinema to enjoy something new and different on the big screen. We’ll take it a step further than new and different, in fact, and go for something nearer the realm of avant-garde (cause you’re in the mood). And to seal the deal: free beer.
Rain? What rain?
Starr Space on Starr and Knickerbocker opened their doors Friday night to Cinema 16, a film society that aims to revive the spirit of experimental filmmaking. The program consisted of three silent shorts, ranging in length from one minute to about ten, but here’s the twist: each was set to live scoring by musician Lazaro Valiente. A few tables were set up next to the movie screen for Mr. Valiente to utilize his various instruments and props, establishing a fun combination of literal (and often comic) sound effects with music and more symbolic sounds.
This worked quite well. So much of the effectiveness of this sort of exhibition seems dependent on appropriate film selection, and by this criterion the event certainly did not disappoint. Though too short in length, the first film Meat Love (Dir: Jan Svankmajer, 1989) served adequately in setting up the idea. For the sixty-second long love story between two pieces of steak, filmed in stop-motion animation, Mr. Valiente employed mostly the ambience of radio frequency and some guitar music at the end.
It was in the second film that you could see the concept take off. Even — As You And I (Dir: Roger Barlow, Harry Hay, and LeRoy Robbins, 1937) is about three artists that collaborate in a filmmaking contest, eventually discovering the joys of surrealism and experimenting with it themselves in their own creation — giving us images like a light bulb in a frying pan exploding into a fried egg, and a snail trying to outrun a steamroller. This film was a perfect selection for Mr. Valiente’s purposes. He opened with cleverly hitting a ping-pong ball up and down to provide the sound of a ticking clock, as the writers onscreen sat around the table trying to think of ideas. Then the surrealist images came in, and he raced between his tables to stay in sync.
About forty people made it out for the exhibition — $8 at the door, including the beer – which makes me think I am not alone in my prescription for a rainy day. In fact, this seems to be part of what Cinema 16 is getting at, according to their website:
In an era where watching films has become increasingly personal and downsized to ipod screens, the New York Community craves this interactive and communal film experience.
I think there’s a lot of truth to this, and hey, it’s not as if there’s a rule that says you can’t wear pajamas to it. Just make sure you bring an umbrella.
