A series of screenings for Ism, Ism, Ism: Experimental Cinema in Latin America presented by the Block Museum
Many filmmakers have maintained a fascination with the city, as Latin American cities were transformed by unfettered growth, industrialization, and massive rural to urban migrations. This program offers a range of urban visions—some more celebratory, others more critical—of the architecture, daily life, public spaces, and transportation of cities such as Buenos Aires, Havana, Lima, Bogotá, Los Angeles, Santiago, and London.
WORKS SHOWN:
Program:
Habana Solo
Juan Carlos Alom, 2000, 15 min, 16 mm transferred to digital, black and white, Cuba.
At Your Heels
Azucena Losana, 2017, 2 min 36 s, 16 mm transferred to digital, color, sound, Argentina / Czech Republic
Machinery no. 1
Luis Soldevilla, 2011, 3 min, video, color, sound, Peru.
Inùtil Paisagem
Louise Botkay, 2010, 6 min, 16 mm transferred to digital, black and white, sound, Brazil.
Constitution
Melisa Aller, 2013, 4 min, Super 8 transferred to digital, black and white, sound, Argentina.
Farewell
Alexandra Cuesta, 2013, 10 min, 16 mm transferred to digital, color, sound, Ecuador / United States.
La Poubelle
Felipe Ehrenberg, 1970, 16 min, 16 mm transferred to digital, color, sound, Mexico.
Incredible Cali
Luis Ospina and Carlos Mayolo, 1973, 13 min, 16 mm transferred to digital, color, sound, Colombia.
ABOUT ISM, ISM, ISM:
Presented in conjunction with the Block’s exhibition Pop América:1965-1975, Block Cinema screens selected programs from Ism, Ism, Ism, a groundbreaking touring film series that offers the first comprehensive survey of Latin America’s vibrant experimental film history. Organized by filmmakers and curators/critics Jesse Lerner and Luciano Piazza as part of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time II: LA/LA initiative, these programs feature key works made between the 1930s and the 2000s across the Americas. The Block will host five programs from the series, and will co-present another six programs at venues around Chicago.
Ism, Ism, Ism: Experimental Cinema in Latin America (Ismo, Ismo, Ismo: Cine experimental en América Latina) was organized by Los Angeles Filmforum as part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles. Ism, Ism, Ism surveys Latin America’s vibrant experimental production from the 1930s through today. www.ismismism.org
Ism, Ism, Ism is accompanied by a bilingual publication, Ism, Ism, Ism / Ismo, Ismo, Ismo: Experimental Cinema in Latin America (Jesse Lerner and Luciano Piazza, editors, University of California Press, 2017) placing Latino and Latin American experimental cinema within a broader dialogue that explores different periods, cultural contexts, image-making models, and considerations of these filmmakers within international cinema. Available worldwide, https://www.ucpress.edu/.
Lead support for Ism, Ism, Ism is provided through grants from the Getty Foundation. Significant additional support comes from the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts. Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.