Filmforum 50: Embodied Filmmaking: 8 Films by Shirley Clarke + Book Launch and Discussion

Shirley Clarke

Dance Camera West, 7^th House Screenings at the Philosophical Research Society, and Los Angeles Filmforum present

Embodied Filmmaking: 8 Films by Shirley Clarke + Book Launch and Discussion

Sunday January 25, 2026, 7:00 pm

At the Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90027

Please email events@prs.org or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.

In person: Author Karen Pearlman, dancer-filmmaker Clare Schweitzer

Tickets: $15 general + fees, free for Filmforum members

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/embodied-filmmaking-8-films-by-shirley-clarke-book-launch-discussion-tickets-1979555475716?aff=oddtdtcreator

As part of Dance Camera West, an evening of pioneering experimental filmmaker Shirley Clarke’s dance films in celebration of Karen Pearlman’s new book on her work!

“I’ve realized that all my films are dance films. Every film of mine is dance.

Every one. It’s clear in the way I use the camera, my editing, my sense of rhythm.

I learned so much from being a dancer. I could not have been as good a film-maker had I not danced.” — Shirley Clarke, quoted in Karen Pearlman, Thinking Through Movement (Edinburgh University Press)

On the occasion of the publication of Shirley Clarke: Thinking Through Movement (2025; Edinburgh University Press), Dance Camera West, Los Angeles Filmforum, 7th House Screenings at The Philosophical Research Society, and Clare Schweitzer welcome writer/director Karen Pearlman, who will appear in person to discuss this book and present a screening of films by pioneering filmmaker Shirley Clarke.

Shirley Clarke (1919-1997) was a trained dancer who became a pioneer of independent and experimental film. Clarke’s early work in dance film radically expanded the notion of onscreen choreography, first with explorations of the choreographic potential of camera and editing with filmic reworks of dance performance to highlighting the performative elements of the interaction of bodies, surfaces, space and light in films such as “Bridges Go Round” & “In Paris Parks.” Clarke also challenged the structures of filmmaking away from the camera and co-founded the New York Film-Makers’ Cooperative (with Jonas Mekas) and then the New York Film-Makers’ Distribution Center (with Louis Brigante). In 1975, Shirley Clarke became a professor at UCLA, inspiring a younger generation of film artists to defy convention and make socially meaningful films.

Writer/Director Karen Pearlman’s latest book, Shirley Clarke: Thinking Through Movement is the first film-philosophy book on filmmaker Shirley Clarke and the films she edited and directed. The book draws on film analysis, archival research, dance and film theory, and creative practice expertise, to think through Clarke's work as a dancer turned multi-award-winning editor and director of dance film, fiction, documentary, and video art. This account of Clarke's creative oeuvre offers the reader insight into a too long overlooked filmmaker and offers a novel method for analysis of films, filmmaking practices and cultures of film production.

Following the screening, Karen will join us to discuss the singular artistry of Clarke's choreographed cinema, in conversation with dancer-filmmaker Clare Schweitzer. Copies of Shirley Clarke: Thinking Through Movement will be available for purchase, with a book signing by the author to follow.

Special thanks to George Schmalz and Kino Lorber.

DANCE CAMERA WEST

Dance Camera West aims to foster ground-breaking creation of dance film, by supporting teaching, production, distribution of dance films. DCW presents an annual international festival held at renowned arts venues throughout Los Angeles, along with informative and educational events throughout the year, to bring dance off the stage and onto the screen, utilizing the language of film to reach a wider audience. 

DCW creates spaces for learning, funding for production, and audiences and revenue for screening films. DCW is a community organization that believes in affordable access to the arts and thus keeps ticket prices affordable as well as offering free events. Established presenters range from performing arts centers like The Getty Center, REDCAT/Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hammer Museum, Skirball Center, John Anson Ford Amphitheater, The Autry Museum, Theater Raymond Kabbaz, Track 16 / Bergamot Station; cinemas such as American Cinematheque’s Egyptian and Aero Theaters and the Laemmle Theaters have all presented Dance Camera West; and alternative spaces include city parks, pop up drive ins, and mobile film screen parades.  Visit Dance Camera West's website for full lineup, info, tickets, and passes for the DCW2026 Festival.  https://www.dancecamerawest.org/