We invite you to another lovely evening of short film screenings combining strange and beautiful vintage films from B & T’s and the Enoch Pratt library’s collections.

Free!

Films start at dark (around 8), but the Current Space Garden Bar is open starting at 5, with happy hour from 5-7pm. Two sets of about 45 minutes each with a garden bar break at intermission.

The films -

Cecily:
In the tradition of weird old European folktales and forgotten children's stories, this animation from the former Czechoslovakia brings us the tale of a little girl, her annoying grandmother, and her enormous ears. From village ridicule to soaring heights of silliness and an elephant orchestra. Kratky Film, 1974.

Superman - The Mechanical Monsters:
X-ray vision. Dastardly jewel thieves. Giant robots in a secret lair! This cartoon is the first Superman story in which Clark Kent changes into his Superman costume inside a phone booth. Miyazaki credited it as an inspiration. Animation by Dave Fleischer, 1941.

Sentences with Ralph and Stanley:
Today, Grammarly takes care of our subjects and predicates with out us even knowing what they are. In the 70’s, it required ace grammarians like Ralph and Stanley. From this film, you’ll learn all the pieces needed for your next sentences. Loch Ness Monster you also about learn. Norman and Marjorie Bean, 1978.

Jazzoo:
The late sixties brought several films about zoo animals and the humans that visit them. The visuals in Jazzoo are better than most, but what really stands out here is the amazing soundtrack by St. Louis Black Artists Group musicians led by Oliver Lake (uncredited!). The improvised jazz music is what makes this film fly. 1967.

Make me Psychic:
Every Sally Cruikshank animation is a smile maker. We’ve screened a couple of her other strange, hilarious, and wonderfully psychedelic films at Current, but this is our favorite. Here Anita visits a futuristic joke shop and buys a "Mesmerama" machine to increase her psychic abilities, and surreality ensues. Sally Cruikshank, 1982.

Turned On! *
Set to a churning, high tempo soundtrack by the Safaris, this manic quick-cut montage of dune buggies, speed boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles, skiing, sailing, surfing, and half a dozen other wild sports is what the Pratt Library film catalog describes as “the Greatest Turn On of all”. Way-out mod titles are a bonus. 1969.

Yantra: *
James Whitney made Yantra over many years starting in 1950, a mesmerizing abstract film of mandala-like dot patterns made from holes punched into thousands of 5x7 cards with a pin. Whitney used complex methods like solarization, color filters, mask techniques, optical printers, hand painting, multiple exposure, and mirroring effects. The title refers to a Sanskrit word meaning 'implement' or 'machine'. For the electronic soundtrack, Jordan Belson synchronized it to an excerpt by Dutch composer Henk Badings. 1957.

Sky Above:
This one is a bit of a film mystery that the internet does not give much help on. A young boy wanders through a cityscape while imagining wandering through a field of wildflowers, while imagining wandering through a redwood forest, while imaging bird nests, street painters, pigeons and running, and escaping and pondering the ever-present sky above. 1970.

And as always: fun trailers, film fragments, and other shorties are subject to appear without notice.

* Warning to photosensitive viewers: much of Yantra, and the beginning and ending credits for Turned On! have rapidly changing light effects.

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This outdoor event will be held in our rear courtyard. Enter through the alley at 421 Tyson Street. Rain or shine.