EXPMTL 16mm film from Montreal

February 28, 2023

We are delighted to host a screening of Montreal experimental films on 16mm, presented by Ben R. Taylor (Montreal/Adelaide), artist, creative director of VISIONS and co-director of la lumière collective in Montréal. See below for program notes.

When: Saturday 1st April

Time: Doors open at 7.30pm show starts 8pm

Tickets: $15 on the door (reserve your place on Eventbrite)

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/expmtl-16mm-work-from-montreal-tickets-565830974677

The EXPMTL 16mm tour program is visiting AFW shores in Melbourne, Canberra’s Hair Antic’s micro-cinema, and  Brisbane’s The Elizabeth Picture Theatre as well as Adelaide’s Flinders University and Mercury CX in February, March and April. Be a part of history and reserve your seat at the Workshop For Potential Cinema’s screening.

Lunar-Almanac, Malena-Szlam, 16mm, 2013

The Program

Traces – Erin Weisgerber (2014, 5mins, b&w, digital sound, 16mm)

Trace – 

1 –  a) A visible mark, such as a footprint, made or left by the passage of a person, animal, or thing. 

b) Evidence or an indication of the former presence or existence of something; a vestige.

2 –  A barely perceivable indication.

Kick That Habit Man! – Francois Miron (1989, 3mins, colour, sound, 16mm)

The phrase “kick that habit man”, which is also a poem by Brion Gysin, is re-arranged in every possible order in this clever blend of sound, image, and optical printing. – CFMDC.

All That Rises – Daïchi Saïto (2007, 7mins, colour, sound, 16mm)

Juxtaposition of seeing and sounding, sky and stone and all that’s in between. A short walk in an alleyway, to hear vision sounding images, blessed with light and darkness. – CFMDC.

Microform – Émilie Serri (2010, 6mins, colour, sound, 16mm)

The quotidian object as macrocosm. – Émilie Serri. 

Just Words – Louise Bourque (1991, 10mins, colour, sound, 16mm)

Using as its text Samuel Beckett’s NOT I, this shocking gift incorporates optically printed home movie footage and an eerily slick close-up of actress Patricia MacGeachy as she rants at lightning speed Beckett’s words about home, family and the confines and alienation associated with being a woman. – Madcat Film Festival.

A Film About A Man Of A Certain Age – Benjamin R. Taylor (2023, 6mins, b&w,  live sound, 16mm)

Man and machine find synchronicity. A thread is weaved from one side to the other. Holding each other tight.

Lunar Almanac – Malena Szlam (2013, 4mins, colour, silent, 16mm)

Lunar Almanac initiates a journey through magnetic spheres with its staccato layering of single-frame, long exposures of a multiplied moon. Shot in 16mm Ektachrome and hand processed, the film’s artisanal touches are imbued with nocturnal mystery. – Andréa Picard.

Plein air étude – Richard Kerr (1991, 6mins, colour, silent, 16mm)

An ecstatic, kinetic formal study of light, colour, and movement shot in the region of the Montreal River which so inspired members of the Group of Seven. – CFMDC.

H2T – Charles-André Coderre (2014, 6mins, colour, digital sound, 16mm)

Shot on several types of film (16 mm and Super 8 format), ranging from handmade film emulsion to expired films, H2T takes place in the mighty Hotel2Tango Montreal recording studio. Filming of the recording session of Land of Kush during the making of their latest album, The Big Mango (2013), the picture is just as ephemeral as the musicians’ movements. H2T reflects on the performative aspect specific to experimental film and musical performance. – CFMDC.

Didre Novo – Steven Woloshen (1983, 2mins, colour, sound, 16mm)

Juju African Sacred music provides the trip through the handmade graphic jungle of hand lettering.

Total runtime: 57 minutes

More info about Ben and Visions here:

 http://benjaminrtaylor.com  http://visionsmtl.com

VISIONS is a monthly screening series presenting non-fiction cinema and artists’ moving image. Curated by Benjamin R. Taylor in Montreal since 2014. We exhibit non-fiction cinema and artists’ moving image at local venues and festivals including la Cinémathèque québécoise, la lumière collective, Cinéma public, RIDM, FNC, POP Montréal and Cinéma moderne. Presentations are dedicated to a single artist. Artists are always present. Original formats are projected.


By night, la lumière collective is a microcinema exhibiting film, video & expanded cinema by local and international artists. We are one of the only venues in Montréal presenting 16mm, 35mm and expanded cinema. Every event features an artist in person and is followed by a Q&A and audience discussion. By day la lumière collective is an artists’ studio and residency space with production resources for working on various moving-image media. The collective is run by local artists and curators who believe in creating cinema and cinema spaces on a human scale. We facilitate events in order to bring people together. We create connections to expand and enliven cinema.

B&W film processing and Safety Induction, 2nd April 2023

February 28, 2023

Learn how to process 16mm B&W film negative and how the lab works to safely enjoy the use of the space as a member.

THE B&W PROCESS

Participants will learn how to load LOMO processing spiral, mix chemistry and safely process B&W 16mm film. 

The workshop will be held from 2pm – 5pm on Sunday 2nd April. The event is limited to 12 people.

Reserve your at eventbrite ticket here:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/bw-processing-and-safety-induction-for-new-members-tickets-556399314327

What we will do:

~ Load a LOMO tank (similar to a Paterson tank but for Super 8, 8mm and 16mm film processing)

~ Discuss the theory of mixing dry chemistry

~ Discuss safety procedures in the lab

Theory covered:

  1. ~ How the artist run lab Artist Film Workshop works
  2. ~ Introduction to theory of processing B&W film

What is included:

  1. ~ Development and fixer chemicals
  2. ~ Equipment for processing (LOMO tank etc)
  3. ~ Safety induction license (if you pass!)

What to wear:

  1. ~ Closed toe shoes
  2. ~ Regular clothing

Cost: $80 (full fee) $60 (lower waged) 

Address: We are situated in archway 4 facing Jubilee Park Oval (near the Tramsheds food hall) in Glebe. We share the space with Big Fag Press, another artist run initiative you may be familiar with.

January 29, 2023

Learn how to shoot & process your own Super 8 color negative film and get great images!

Participants will learn how to use a LOMO processing spiral and temperature control their chemistry using a standard domestic soup boiler.

Our southern friends in film, Artist Film Workshop (AFW) are visiting for a colour workshop. Sebastian and Paddy from AFW will run a part-theory, part-practical workshop on colour film processing. AFW is an artist collective which provides access to knowledge and resources for filmmakers and artists in Melbourne. On Saturday night before they will screen a program of their films. Read more about AFW here: http://www.artistfilmworkshop.org

THE COLOUR PROCESS

This workshop will film processing workshop on mixing colour chemicals, as well as using Lomo tanks to process 16mm and Super8 film. 

The workshop will be held from 12pm – 5pm on Sunday 19th of February. The event is limited to 12 people.

Reserve your ticket here by emailing: rowenacrowe@gmail.com or get an eventbrite ticket here:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/soup-boiler-super-8-color-negative-hand-processing-workshop-tickets-527673675167

What we will do:

  • ~ Shoot some Super8 film
  • ~ Load a LOMO tank (similar to a Paterson tank but for Super 8, 8mm and 16mm film processing)
  • ~ Discuss the theory of mixing ECN developer
  • ~ Develop the film we shoot on the day

Theory covered:

  1. ~ How the artist run lab Artist Film Workshop works
  2. ~ Introduction to theory of processing colour film

What is included:

  1. ~ Super8 film to shoot (in pairs)
  2. ~ Super8 camera (we will shoot as a group)
  3. ~ Light meter
  4. ~ Development and fixer chemicals
  5. ~ Equipment for processing (LOMO tank etc)

What to wear:

  1. ~ Closed toe shoes
  2. ~ Regular clothing

Cost: $50 

Address: We are situated in archway 4 facing Jubilee Park Oval (near the Tramsheds food hall) in Glebe. We share the space with Big Fag Press, another artist run initiative you may be familiar with.

AFW on the road: a screening of recent works

January 29, 2023

We are delighted to host a retrospective of films from Australia’s most prolific contemporary artist-run film lab, Artist Film Workshop (AFW) presented by lab members Sebastian Vaccaris and Paddy Hay. 

When: Saturday 18th February

Time: Doors open at 7.30pm show starts 8pm

Tickets: $15 on the door and on Eventbrite

Founded in Melbourne in 2009, Artist Film Workshop is an open film collective which provides access to knowledge and resources for filmmakers and artists working in sound and vision with photochemical film. Amongst numerous features, the workshop maintains a darkroom that includes a 16mm contact printer, optical printer with custom-made electronics, 16mm and 8mm cameras, and projectors. Over the past decade or so the group has presented over one hundred 16mm film screenings throughout metropolitan Melbourne. Comprised of recent and brand new work to be screened on 16mm, this program is personally delivered from their voyage North via Canberra’s Hair Antic’s micro-cinema.

Following the screening Paddy and Sebastian will run a Soup-boiler Super 8 workshop on color negative hand processing of super 8 films on Sunday the 19th from 12pm to 5pm.

More info about AFW here: http://www.artistfilmworkshop.org

Book your ticket here on Eventbrite or email Rowena; rowenacrowe@gmail.com

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/afw-on-the-road-a-screening-of-recent-works-tickets-527675139547

Tickets on the door; $15

The Program

Tiangong-1 – Super 8 to 16mm, 8mins (Paddy Hay & Louis Marlo)

Tiangong-1 is the name of the Chinese space station that crashed to earth on 2 April 2018.

Is Anybody Coming Over To Dinner – 16mm, 9 mins (Audrey Lam)

The adventures of Yokitom around the home and across the seasons, with a supporting cast of family and friends. Commissioned by Prototype and made with the support of City of Melbourne.

Soda – 16mm, 7mins (Hanna Chetwin)

Soda explores the forms and rhythms of bubbles. the film uses cameraless techniques (including scratching and rayogramming) intercut with footage of water in progressive stages of boiling. accompanied by a soundtrack by Rohan Drape.

Fade – 16mm, 6mins (Callum Ross-Thompson)

Found footage taken from a long forgotten, badly scratched and faded 16mm educational film print on volcanoes, superimposed atop recently shot 16mm macro footage of a human skull. The skull is a similarly neglected teaching aid, once used for anatomy classes many decades ago before the use of real human remains in schools became less common in favour of more durable, socially sustainable plastic models

Internal and External Objects – 16mm, 7mins (Giles Fielke)

A solarised text describes objects beyond the frame.

Goldfish Lightbulb – 16mm, 6mins (Richard Munro)

A film focused on two unnamed characters, a boy, and a girl. It is unclear how they may or may not know each other. They go about their own lives each day, seemingly always crossing paths or seeing each other from a distanc

Sensor Lights in Flemington – 16mm, 10mins (Lucas Haynes)

Lights turn on and off in a building in the distance

My Friend Richard – 16mm, 8.40 (Sebastian Vaccaris)

The life and times of artist Richard Ellis.

China Not China – 16mm, 14mins (Dianna Barrie & Richard Tuohy)

Hong Kong marked 20 years since its handover to China; half way through the planned 40 year “one country, two systems” transition. Taiwan, once imperial China, once Formosa, now ROC (Republic of China) on the edge of the PRC (People’s Republic of China). Multiple exposures of street scenes distort space and place creating a fluid sense of impermanence and transition, of two states somewhere between China and not China.

16mm Hand Processing Workshop, Saturday 30th July 2022 TBC

June 24, 2022

A B&W film processing workshop on mixing dry chemicals to make a fixer and developer, as well as an introduction into shooting on a Bolex 16mm camera. The workshop will be held from 1.30 – 5pm on Saturday 30th of July. The event is limited to 10 people. Reserve your ticket here by emailing: rowenacrowe@gmail.com

What we will do:

  • ~ Shoot some 16mm film on a Bolex
  • ~ Load a LOMO tank (similar to a Paterson tank but for Super 8, 8mm and 16mm film processing)
  • ~ Make up B&W developer and a fixer solution from our dry chemicals
  • ~ Develop the film we shoot on the day

Theory covered:

  1. ~ How the artist run lab Workshop for Potential Cinema works
  2. ~ Introduction to theory of processing B & W film negative

What is included:

  1. ~ 16mm film to shoot
  2. ~ Bolex camera (we will shoot as a group)
  3. ~ Light meter
  4. ~ Development and fixer chemicals
  5. ~ Equipment for processing (LOMO tank etc)

What to wear:

  1. ~ Closed toe shoes
  2. ~ Regular clothing

Cost: $50 

Address: We are situated in archway 4 facing Jubilee Park Oval (near the Tramsheds food hall) in Glebe. We share the space with Big Fag Press, another artist run initiative you may be familiar with.

16mm Hand Processing Workshop, Sunday 27th MARCH 2022

February 12, 2022

A B&W film processing workshop on mixing dry chemicals to make a fixer and developer, as well as an introduction into shooting on a Bolex 16mm camera. The workshop will be held from 2 – 5pm on Sunday 27th of February. The event is limited to 15 people. Reserve your ticket here:

 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/bw-film-processing-workshop-tickets-267128868637

What we will do:

  • ~ Shoot some 16mm film on a Bolex
  • ~ Load a LOMO tank (similar to a Paterson tank but for Super 8, 8mm and 16mm film processing)
  • ~ Make up B&W developer and a fixer solution from our dry chemicals
  • ~ Develop the film we shoot on the day

Theory covered:

  1. ~ How the artist run lab Workshop for Potential Cinema works
  2. ~ Introduction to theory of processing B & W film negative

What is included:

  1. ~ 16mm film to shoot
  2. ~ Bolex camera (we will shoot as a group)
  3. ~ Light meter
  4. ~ Development and fixer chemicals
  5. ~ Equipment for processing (LOMO tank etc)

What to wear:

  1. ~ Closed toe shoes
  2. ~ Regular clothing

Cost: $50 

Address: We are situated in archway 4 facing Jubilee Park Oval (near the Tramsheds food hall) in Glebe. We share the space with Big Fag Press, another artist run initiative you may be familiar with.

DIY B&W 16mm Hand Processing Workshop, Sunday 28th March 2021

February 24, 2021

Learn how to process your own 16mm film using household ingredients such as coffee, washing powder and vitamin C. The workshop will cover the hand processing of B&W 16mm film, an introduction to the use of chemicals, loading the LOMO tank and film handling techniques.

​When:  Sunday, 28th March, 2 – 5pm

What we will do:

  1. Shoot some 16mm film on a Bolex camera
  2. Load a LOMO tank (similar to a Paterson tank but for Super 8, 8mm and 16mm film processing)
  3. Make a Caffenol developer (non-toxic recipe of instant coffee, washing powder and Vitamin C) and a fixer solution from our dry chemicals store
  4. Develop the film we shoot on the day

Theory covered:

  1. How the artist run lab Workshop for Potential Cinema works
  2. Introduction to theory of processing B & W film negative

What is included:

  1. 16mm film to shoot
  2. Access to Bolex camera (we will shoot as a group)
  3. Use of light meter
  4. Development chemicals
  5. Use of equipment for processing (LOMO tank etc)

What to wear:

  1. Closed toe shoes
  2. Regular clothing

Cost: $50

Where: “Archies”, Archway 4, Jubilee Park Oval, Chapman Road, Glebe. We are situated in archway 4 facing Jubilee Park Oval (near the Tramsheds food hall) in Glebe. We share the space with Big Fag Press, another artist run initiative you may be familiar with.

Cost: $50

To book your place, get in touch via our contact form

WPC screening #6 New Student Experimental and Handmade Cinema.

December 1, 2020

“Come celebrate sprockets, bent things, breaking conventions and all things ‘other cinema’ at The Workshop for Potential Cinema.”

Such was the triumphant call out for our only WPC screening event for 2020 held in December. COVID 19 meant much reduced activity at the lab, so we were pleased to be able to hold a celebratory screening of new student work originating (mostly) on 16mm. The students of Sydney College of Arts (SCA) and The University of Wollongong (UOW) were faced with the challenge of learning 16mm techniques over Zoom in their respective experimental cinema classes. The SCA (situated at The University of Sydney) class was run by WPC member Rowena Crowe. The students had 16mm materials mailed to them and weekly Zoom demonstrations of direct cinema techniques as well as group Zoom ‘screenings’. While the rainy night didn’t allow for 16mm projection, being able to come together, and watch the products of our semester in the glow of the digital projector light was magic.

Students also had a chance to check out the gear at the artist run film lab and find out about film processing workshops planned for next year.

DIY B&W 16mm Hand Processing Workshop*

December 1, 2018

Learn how to process your own 16mm film. The workshop will cover the hand processing of B&W 16mm film including the use of chemicals, loading the LOMO tank, B&W negative & reversal processing, drying your film and projecting.

When: Saturday 1st December, 2018 2 – 5pm

Where: “Archies, Archway 4, Jubilee Park Oval, Chapman Road   

Cost: $40.

To book your place email: info@workshopforpotentialcinema.org

* This is also the introduction workshop for those wishing to become members of WPC

Pathompon Mont Tesprateep: Three Experimental Narrative Shorts from Thailand

November 8, 2018

Thursday November 8, 2018, 7.30pm, WPC / Archway 4, Jubilee Park Oval, Glebe, Entry $8/$5 (WPC Members)

For the next WPC screening we are excited to be presenting the Sydney premiere of three recent experimental narrative film works by Thai filmmaker Pathompon Tesprateep (aka ‘Mont’)

Mont was born in Bangkok but raised in Isan (the northeastern region of Thailand). He graduated with a Master degree in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts in London and participated in Berlinale Talents. Since 2014, Mont has been working on a series of handprocessed 16mm and S8 films. His works have recently screened at Locarno Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival, Les Rencontres Internationales and Crossroads 2018 at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He is currently developing his first feature film project ‘Let There Be More Light’ (working title).

PROGRAM:

Endless, Nameless (2014) 22.39 min., S-8, 1.33:1, b&w © 2014
Endless, Nameless is a hand-processed Super 8 film, shot in the private garden of a Thai army officer. The film reconstructs the filmmaker’s memories about groups of conscripts who worked in his father’s garden. The film was created as a self-hypnosis to reinvestigate his existence.

SONG X (2017) 20.19 min., 16mm & S-8, 1.33:1, b&w © 2017
A deserter awakes to discover that his body is laying lifelessly on the ground. He embarks on this new journey where he encounters a group of teenagers who intend to give him a cremation ceremony while, at the same time, his dead body is being searched by a military patrol.

CONFUSION IS NEXT (2018) 21.59min, 16mm, 1.33:1, b&w © 2018
A portrait of a nomadic musician Thom Assajan-Jakgawan. In the film, he appears as a fictionalized version of himself living in a fragile state, a collapsed country. He solitarily confines himself in an unoccupied room, continuing the meditative rhythms of his tunes.