The Death Film

Vital Signs, by Barbara Hammer

The Death Film

Sunday, May 15, 7:30 pm

At the Spielberg Theatre at the Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90028

For more event information: www.lafilmforum.org, or 323-377-7238         

Tickets: $10 general, $6 students/seniors; free for Filmforum members.  Available by credit card in advance from Brown Paper Tickets at

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2548701 or at the door.

As a companion/sequel to Los Angeles Filmforum’s May 8 program The Birth Film, The Death Film will feature a selection of American experimental films dealing in various modes and moods with the subject of death and dying, including films by Barbara Hammer, Martha Colburn, Stan Brakhage, Vanessa Renwick, Gus Van Sant, and more.

Perhaps the bottom-line absolute most unifying factor in our disparate lives, the subject of death has also been handled by countless artists in countless media since the dawn of humanity.  Death provokes such a radical multiplicity of feelings across contexts that a grouping of films on the subject should perhaps do the same.  The films in this program range from irreverent celebration to sober confrontation, from empathic projection to abstract rumination, and many points in between. 

Mike Henderson, Barbara Hammer, and Dorothy Wiley approach death with gestures of confusion and empathy, while Standish Lawder and Martha Colburn deliver playful yet ominous entries on the subject.  Vanessa Renwick and Gunvor Nelson confront death and dying head-on, with poetry and unflinching sobriety, Gus Van Sant and Robert Nelson pay loving and humorous tribute, and Stan Brakhage suggests a sad but sweet memorializing form of expression.

Program approximately 75 minutes.

Program curated by Mark Toscano.  Special thanks to: Antonella Bonfanti & Seth Mitter (Canyon Cinema), May Haduong & Cassie Blake (Academy Film Archive), Vanessa Renwick, and Gus Van Sant.