AHRB Centre for British Film and Television Studies

F I L M S   B E G E T   F I L M S

Royal College of Art - 22-23 November 2002

The practice of compilation film and film citation has a long history
in cinema that is often overlooked. This event intends to draw
attention to the significance of this tradition for film history,
film aesthetics and for new ways of thinking about the power of
history and images.

This event takes its name from Jay Leyda's _Films Beget Films_ (1964)
which surveyed the use of archival footage until then. Found footage
and archive material today feature prominently in a range of
contexts, from the avant-garde to advertising. Gallery artists such
as Douglas Gordon and Matthias Muller explore historic footage for
new meaning, while filmmakers like Ken Jacobs, Martin Arnold and
Bruce Conner re-cut early and archive material to find new forms and
rhythms.

Archivists too have taken to making films from this seductive
material, Peter Delpeut's _Lyrical Nitrate_ (1994) for example. The
seductiveness of the archive itself was the subject of Bill
Morrison's _Film of Her_ (1997) and his recent _Decasia_.

The event includes contributions from Patrick Keiller, AL Rees,
Rachel Moore, Michael Witt and Laura Mulvey and should be of interest
to artists, curators and historians as well as students of film and
related media.

To reserve a place at Films Beget Films contact Ann Jones at the AHRB
Centre for British Film and Television Studies at [log in to unmask]
or 020 7631 6137


PROGRAMME

Friday, 22 November 2002
6:00 -- Introduction by Laura Mulvey, Director AHRB Centre for
British Film and Television Studies, Professor of Film and Media
Studies, Birkbeck, University of London.
6:15 -- Patrick Keiller, AHRB Fellow in the Creative and Performing
Arts, Royal College of Art: The City of the Future
'The City of the Future is a project that sets out to explore
contrasts between the familiarity of old city fabric, the strangeness
of the past, and the newness of present-day experience. Using archive
film of the past century and other documents of urban experience in
literature and so on, it will develop a critique of present-day and
possible future spatial experience. Its artefacts are anticipated to
include a database of selected footage, compilations of archive film
for gallery exhibition, and a single screen work with fictional
narration, that develops the questions and ideas outlined above.' PK
7:45-9.00 -- Reception

Saturday, 23 November 2002
10:00 -- AL Rees, Senior Research Fellow, Royal College of Art:
  -- Sampling the Archive:  a survey of found footage in Avant-garde film
11:15 -- Break
11:30 -- Screening:  _Mother Dao the Turtle-like_, Vincent Monnikendam 1994.
1:00 -- Break for lunch
2:00 -- Dr Rachel Moore, Lecturer, Birkbeck, University of London:
Re-enchanted Enchantment: watching movies in the movies.
2:45 -- Screening of an episode from _Histoire(s) du Cinema_,
Jean-Luc Godard (1988-98), and rare compilation film from France.
3:30 -- Break
3:45 -- Dr Michael Witt, Senior Lecturer in Film and Television
Studies, University of Surrey Roehampton: The Pillage of the
Archives: _Histoire(s) du Cinema_ and the audio-visual history
tradition.
4:45 -- Round table discussion: Patrick Keiller, AL Rees, Rachel
Moore, Michael Witt, chaired by Laura Mulvey

LECTURE THEATRE ONE
ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART
(JAY MEWS ENTRANCE)
KENSINGTON GORE
LONDON    SW7 2EU

Films Beget Films is organised by the AHRB Centre for British Film
and Television Studies and The Research Methods Course, Royal College
of Art.

http://www.bftv.ac.uk