Celebrate ten years of cinematic bliss with your friendly neighborhood microcinema! EPFC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Sell your TV and come to the cinema.

Tweet

SCREENINGS
Come watch beautiful images dance upon a screen in your own neighborhood!
Shows begin promptly @ 8 PM and are $5 suggested donation (unless otherwise noted).

EPFC’s microcinema is supported in part by grants from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.

Thursday, May 23 – PXL THIS 22 – 8 PM
PXL THIS 22, the 22nd annual toy camera film festival featuring Pixelvision films made with the Fisher-Price PXL-2000 camcorder and the second oldest film festival in LA, celebrates visionary moving image artists from 4-years-olds to professionals. All genres are here: avant-garde, comedy, documentary, abstract, music, art, narrative & films words cannot describe. "PXL is the ultimate people's video." - J. Hoberman. "If movies offer an escape from everyday life, Pixelvision is the Houdini of the film world." - SF Weekly. Director Gerry Fialka will be present for discussion!

Friday, May 24 – DOUBLE FEATURE: WITNESS: LIBYA AT 8 PM / WITNESS: RIO – 9:30 PM
Drug trafficking, poverty, gang violence, corruption and ethnic warfare have created some of the most dangerous hot spots on Earth. In WITNESS,the four-part HBO Documentary Films series executive produced by Michael Mann and David Frankham, our current generation of war photojournalists carry us into the heart of the human drama of the people in the action on the ground. We see what compels the photojournalist and experience why, when everyone else seeks cover, the photojournalist stands and moves closer. WITNESS: LIBYA–Michael Christopher Brown has been to Libya five times during the conflicts that brought down Gaddafi’s rule. Now, the revolution is over, but the chaos has only begun; the current situation in Libya is even more complicated. On an earlier trip, in April 2011, Brown was in Misrata with veteran photojournalists Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros. He remembers having an uneasy feeling, saying, “The city was like a shooting gallery that day.” Then a mortar round struck nearby, Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros were killed, and Brown was wounded. In WITNESS: LIBYA, Brown is in the extreme moments of present-day chaos and reliving the loss of his friends and mentors. Directed by Abdallah Omeish; produced by Julie Herrin and Josiah Hooper. WITNESS: RIO–Though Rio de Janeiro will host the Summer Olympics in 2016, the city currently remains crippled by a war raging between police and powerful drug gangs. Over 2,000 Brazilian military have taken to the streets in a largest offensive in decades. They are taking on the Red Command and Amigos de Amigos, two powerful gangs, in an attempt to regain control of the city’s hilltop favelas before the world’s eyes focus on Brazil as it hosts the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. The powerful drug gangs have fought back with a series of urban terror attacks on cars, buses and police stations. Several journalists have been murdered. Photographer Eros Hoagland is one of only a few willing to venture into the dangerous favelas like Mangueira, which overlooks the Olympic stadium. Rio’s murder rate is said to be falling, yet missing persons cases are dramatically on the rise. “Is this ‘social cleansing’?,” Hoagland asks. “Where are the bodies?” As he journeys deeper into the dangerous streets he finds some of the answers – disturbing images of bodies in alleys, buried in wells or burned beyond recognition. Directed by David Frankham; produced by Julie Herrin and Josiah Hooper.

Saturday, May 25 – NEW WORKS SALON – 8 PM
Several local and visiting artists will present in-progress or recently completed works in an informal screening with brief introductions by the artists and time for discussion between each work. Amy Halpern will show her film By Halves, an appropriation piece. John Cannizzaro will show his work Trance, an impromptu “energy transfer ceremony” filmed in Death Valley. Cosmo Segurson will show a new 16mm film. A selection of new 16mm films by current Calarts MFA students, including Indabaabasaan, Soda Lake, and Boozhoo Jiibayag by Eve LaFountain, The Surface of Perfection by Heather Trawick, With Pluses and Minuses by Mike Stoltz, and Untitled Laser Movie by Andrew Kim. Perhaps more!

Thursday, May 30 – LA AIR: MADISON BROOKSHIRE – 8 PM
LA AIR is a new artist-in-residence program that invites Los Angeles filmmakers to utilize EPFC resources in creating a new work over a four-week period. Madison Brookshire is a Los Angeles-based artist and filmmaker. He is currently working on a hand-made film by soaking lengths of 16mm acetate in paint and allowing evaporation, dust, crystallization, mold, and more to inform the image. In addition to this work in progress, Brookshire will present a program of works detailing his relationship to music, including OPENING (2007), an elliptical landscape film with a live soundtrack of indeterminate music; and Five Lines (2012), a digital video that is also a musical score. Brookshire will be in attendance and Ezra Buchla, Mark So, and more will perform. Free event!

Saturday, June 1 – NOMADIC ARCHIVE: ABRAHAM RAVETT PRESENTS TWO WORKS BY TOM JOSLIN – 8 PM
Hampshire college alumna and EPFC staffer Eve LaFountain and her professor Abraham Ravett will present two of Tom Joslin’s works:  Blackstar: Autobiography of a Close Friend from 1976, and the posthumously assembled work The Architecture of Mountains (2010). Ravett writes the following about the project: “Before he left for LA in 1981 to pursue a career in Hollywood, documentary filmmaker Tom Joslin completed an innovative and, to this day, historically significant film called Blackstar: Autobiography of a Close Friend (1976, 85 minutes, color, sound, 16mm). It was one of the first autobiographical, diary format films that addressed the issue of gay identity and coming out to one’s family. It’s a beautifully made film, formally inventive, and still resonates on many fronts.” When Tom passed away from AIDS, he left all his video tapes from another autobiographical project he had been shooting in LA to a former student named Peter Friedman who in turn, found the resources to construct the much acclaimed film, Silverlake Life: the View from Here. Prior to leaving Hampshire College in 1980, Tom was working on another film inspired by Jose Argüelles book, The Transformative Vision: Reflections on the Nature and History of Human Expression. Shot in sync and MOS on 16mm, the footage reflects Tom’s interest in perception, human consciousness, and signaled his evolving interest in fusing non-fiction, experimental and dramatic genres. All the original materials for this unfinished film were stored at the LA home of Ken Levin another former Hampshire College student who, along with several other students, worked with Tom on this project, which he called The Architecture of Mountains (62 minutes). Ravett asked Ken Levin if we could use the footage as part of a class project. For the last two years, a small group of students and Ravett have shaped the material into a 62 minute film that is based on Tom’s production notes, conversations with Tom’s former students about the Architecture of Mountains project, and the Argüelles text. The primary editor is Ben Balcom. The version which would be screened tonight “is an attempt to construct what Tom may have wanted to do with this material as well as our own engagement and fascination with this footage.” Following the sceerning, Ravett will discuss the consequences of creating such a “nomadic archive,” as he calls this project. (text from UnionDocs) ABRAHAM RAVETT IN ATTENDANCE!

Thursday, June 6 – OPEN SCREEN – 8 PM
Our cinematic free-for-all dares you to share your film with the feisty EPFC audience. Any genre! Any style! New, old, work-in-progress! First come, first screened; one film per filmmaker; 10-minute maximum. DVD, VHS, mini-DV, DV-CAM, Super 8, standard 8mm, 16mm.

Saturday, June 8 – KISSED BY THE SUN: A night of films by DAGIE BRUNDERT – 8PM
We are honored, excited and just plain happy that one of our favorite filmmakers in the world is spending the month of June in Los Angeles as an EPFC Artist-in-Residence. Join for this very special evening of SUPER 8 Films that celebrate the beauty of life and living! Preceded by a WELCOME RECEPTION at 7PM that will entail delicious food, libations and joy for everyone! FILMMAKER DAGIE BRUNDERT in ATTENDANCE!

Thursday, June 13 – AROUND CRAB ORCHARD by SARAH KANOUSE – 8 PM
Crab Orchard calls itself a unique place to experience nature. As the only wildlife refuge in the United States whose mission includes industry and agriculture alongside conservation and recreation, Crab Orchard claims a harmonious balance between past and present, nature and culture. Assembled from documents, found footage, and conversations with activists, writers, and local residents, Around Crab Orchard questions the ideal of natural harmony while meditating on the persistence of history, the creation of knowledge, the limits of representation, and the commonplace of environmental hazard. Around Crab Orchard ultimately argues for forms of storytelling, image-making, and action that respond to the full complexity of the social and ecological landscape. Also showing will be Phoebe Brush's Yucca Mtn Tally. For more information visit: www.readysubjects.org/aco Filmmakers Sarah Kanouse in person!

Saturday June 15 – NEW WORKS SALON – 8 PM
Mike Stoltz will project two 16mm films: his recent Pluses and Minuses—“Real morning with pluses and minuses, my symbols for truth.” –D. Boon, and the in-progress Half Human Half Vapor, a collection of artifacts left by Lewis Vandercar, Floridian sculptor and warlock. Rick Bahto will project the camera original Super 8 films of two works made to accompany songs by Julia Holter—Finale from her album Tragedy and World from her upcoming release Loud City Song. Sarah Rara will show an excerpt from her in-progress 16mm film Ukiah, which examines the goings-on during a gathering of artists and builders at a ranch in Ukiah, California. The film gathers together an array of materials from plant studies and landscapes to the activities of artists surrounding the building of a house to serve as a center for learning and think tank for the upcoming exhibition The Possible curated by David WIlson at the Berkeley Art Museum. Silkscreened onto the film are landscapes drawn by David Wilson, as well as notes and haikus assembled by the group during the gathering. The film serves as a document of the place, the people, and the process of making an exhibition. Other artists TBA!

Thursday, June 20 – ROBERT NELSON RETROSPECTIVE PROGRAM #4: BOAT GAME & ENTERTAINMENTS – 8 PM
The fourth in a series of tribute screenings to the late, great Robert Nelson (1930-2012). After Chris Langdon’s introductory Picasso anti-tribute (starring Bob as Pablo), we’ll see Nelson’s earliest mature work, and a damn bold debut, Plastic Haircut, which also features Steve Reich’s first tape piece, made specifically for this movie. Three of Nelson’s lesser-known and very rarely seen shorts make up the center of the program, including an unusual collaborative work made with artist Mike Henderson. The program will conclude with what is thought by many to be one of the great American avant-garde films in cinema history—and simply one of the funniest and finest works of art I’ve ever experienced—the one and only Bleu Shut. Picasso (1973)by Chris Langdon; Plastic Haircut (1963), Limitations (1988), Worldly Woman (1973, with Mike Henderson), More (1971/1998), Bleu Shut (1970) by Robert Nelson. All works projected from 16mm.

Saturday, June 22 – THE IPFF PRESENTS: LOOK BACK IN BATTER – 10 AM
Founded in Chicago, Illinois back in the bygone year of 2007, the International Pancake Film Festival is now the world's oldest film fest dedicated exclusively to the pancake. Since its inception, the IPFF has put on five original and different programs, each one showcasing wild and diverse short films made by flapjack enthusiasts from all corners of the globe. For their first trip to the West Coast, IPFF organizers have assembled a program from some of the past pancake shorts that have tickled, thrilled, or just plain confused them the most. This was certainly no easy task—the Video Vaults at IPFF headquarters are absolutely brimming with the most wonderful, oddball paeans to the flapjack that have ever been filmed. As the IPFF enters its sixth year, we extend an invitation to join us in fluffy reflection and enjoy a complimentary stack of hotcakes as we screen a selection of shorts celebrating the first five years of the IPFF. http://internationalpancakefilmfest.tumblr.com / https://www.facebook.com/internationalpancakefilmfest
Pancake breakfast included with show!

Saturday, June 22 – ARMCHAIR ADVENTURES – 8 PM
Cosmo Segurson and John Cannizzaro return to Echo Park Film Center for an all-new episode of Armchair Adventures.  Presenting a new program of amazing, bizarre, surreal, and wonderful animation from around the globe in glorious 16mm from the archives of Smokehouse Films. Including films by Norman McLaren, Ladislas Starevich, Jiri Trnka, and the late, great Ray Harryhausen; come watch magical insects, frogs, horses, angels, and more dance across the screen from the far corners of the globe. All works projected on 16mm! Curators and refreshments will be present.

Thursday, June 27 – LA AIR: ERICH BURCI – 8 PM
LA AIR is a new artist-in-residence program that invites Los Angeles filmmakers to utilize EPFC resources in creating a new work over a four-week period. Erich Burci will present works from his Re-edit series, including his residency project titled Deconstructable. Using educational and other selected 16mm found footage, the artist attempts to reject their original narrative by skewing sound bites to create a non-sensical narrative visual essay. Two projectors are used to layer multiple images on top of each other to deform any image from its original sense. By breaking down the material in this fashion, the artist explores how the deconstruction of old ideas can be ultimately be used to express new visual structures. The work will have sound composed by Patrick Rylands. Other works include the dual projector 16mm / 8mm Butch Travesty, which leads the viewer on a subtle and nostalgic trip into a city that is ever changing; Farewell to Lucy, a 16mm film inspired by Matisse, the piece explores camera movement and the connection between two models: a woman and a fish; and Island Woman, a dual projection 16mm film inspired by Cuban avant-garde photography, the work creates dynamic compositions through the use of zooms and hand-painted film material. Free event!

Friday, June 28 – BLACK BOOT PRESENTS SPIRAL BOUND BROTHER – 8 PM
SPIRAL BOUND BROTHER  (click the title for official book trailer) A novel by Ryan Elliot Wilson
Craft, 47, is the eccentric English teacher at Earhart High in the suburbs of St. Louis. But now he finds himself in the school’s library, suffering a mysterious mental paralysis that won’t allow him to stop reading “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” Lila, 21, has a holiday-break rendezvous planned with her old mentor, Craft. Actually, Lila has many plans—and they’re not all nice. She’s feeling betrayed and bewildered after discovering that her father is not the man her mother always said. In fact, he kills people. Duke, 17, is a high-school dropout working in the bowels of Disney World, and now preparing to leave home for the first time. It’s news to him, but he has this (disturbed?) sister, Lila, and she wants him to come to L.A. to meet her. Craft and these lost-and-found embark on separate journeys across America, and in a landscape of angels and mirrors, allies and adversaries, they converge to expose the man whose life of violence connects them. Will they find wholeness, justice, and love? Or is it all an invitation to unleash demons best left asleep? Come celebrate the June 28th release (from Perfect Edge Books) with selected readings from the novel performed by the acting troupe at Lab Twenty6. With guest readers Dennis Cruz (MOTH WING TEA), Ben Loory (STORIES FOR NIGHTTIME AND SOME FOR THE DAY), and PEN/Faulkner nominee Amelia Gray (THREATS, AM/PM)! Refresh yourself! Buy a book! Embrace great company!

Saturday, June 29 – DIRECTING DISSENT by SOPHIE HAMACHER– 8 PM
Directing Dissent is a documentary about John Roemer, teacher and social activist, and his decisions to either live within the law, or have a sound basis for civil disobedience. Set in Baltimore, a city with a turbulent history of charged race relations, Roemer's story takes us through the heated battles of the civil rights movement and involves dramatic experiences in the fight to desegregate Maryland. As an activist and teacher, John Roemer not only shaped public discourse on matters of equal rights before the eyes of the law, but also took it upon himself to foster principles of equality and freedom in the many students he taught at two of Baltimore city’s prominent educational institutions—the Friends School and the Park School. Through Roemer’s experiences, we look at the junctions between civil rights and civil liberties, integration, and the peace and justice movements of the 20th and 21st century. This film shows the continued relevance of causes such as civil rights and social justice in today's world and how one can apply an activist philosophy to everyday life. Directing Dissent intends to engage Marylanders in an intergenerational dialogue about the legacy and impact of the Civil Rights movement and the Anti-Vietnam War movement, and the state of civil liberties and political activism in today’s climate. http://www.directingdissent.com/ Filmmaker Sophie Hamacher in person from Germany!

EPFC WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE MONTH OF JULY—NO EVENTS

Thursday, August 1 – THE OPEN COLLOQUIUM – 8 PM
The August edition of EPFC's monthly Open Colloquium will feature a presentation by visiting artist Kristin Bedford, in discussion of her newest work Field Notes, Durham Noir. As always, our cinematic symposium dares you to share your film with the feisty EPFC audience. Any genre! Any style! New, old, work-in-progress! First come, first screened; one film per filmmaker; 10-minute maximum. DVD, VHS, mini-DV, DV-CAM, Super 8, standard 8mm, and 16mm are all welcome in this freewheeling conference of moving image artists and singer songwriters.

********

CLASSES: MAKE YOUR OWN MOVIE THIS YEAR AT EPFC!

Saturday, May 25 – INTRO TO 16MM FILMMAKING & HAND-PROCESSING – 12:30 – 5:30 PM CLASS FULL!!!!
An introduction to 16mm film mechanics using Bolex reflex and Canon Scoopic cameras. In this one-day workshop, students will learn basic camera operation, lighting, and hand-processing technique. No previous filmmaking experience necessary. All equipment and materials provided by EPFC. As an added bonus, workshop includes admission to the New Works Salon that night, featuring many brand-new 16mm films, including several by the workshop instructor Eve LaFountain! Class limited to 9 students; Fee: $75/$60 members. Instructor: Eve LaFountain CLASS FULL!!!!

Saturday, June 8 – INTRO TO SUPER 8 FILMMAKING & HAND-PROCESSING – Noon – 5:30 PM
Join us for this very special rendition of one of our most popular classes! Using the classic home-movie Super 8 camera, students will explore the history, application and tender sophistication of small format filmmaking. This one-day workshop includes basic camera operation, shooting techniques and hand-processing. Our guest instructor will be the one and only "Queen of Super 8" Ms. Dagie Brundert (doing a residency from Berlin Germany)—Not to be missed! She will be using "non-traditional" recipes such as Red Wine, Coffee and Vitamin C to process the film! No previous filmmaking experience necessary. All equipment and materials provided by EPFC. Class is limited to 9 students. Fee: $75/$60 members. Instructor: Dagie Brundert

Saturday, June 15– INTRO TO FINAL CUT PRO 7 – 1 – 5 PM
Calling all interested adults (ages 20+) looking to learn the beauty and grace of digital editing on Final Cut 7! All equipment and materials provided by EPFC. Class limited to 6 students; Fee: $60/$50 members.  Instructor: Will O’Loughlen

Saturday, June 22 - THE AMBASSADORS OF COINCIDENCE WORKSHOP (ALL DAY) 
The Ambassadors Of Coincidence is a cinematic city game to be played worldwide around summer solstice this June 2013. We believe that chance has creative potential. It occurs very happily where playing and a casual attitude come together. We have made several experiments and always ended up in a better mood than before! We've seen places and things that we have never consciously noticed before. We have discovered beauty and humor in the banal. What if we let ourselves be guided by chance and challenge it to play with us, like some sort of scavenger hunt throughout our city? In cooperation with our own personal interpretations, we collect everything and have a good day, which in the end will become a photo, novel, or a movie? Thus, "The Ambassadors Of Coincidence" was born!" (text by Dagie Brundert) The results will be presented on www.ambassadorsofcoincidence.com and at special film events to come. Currently playing the game are Lisa and her Mom in Paris, Sergey in Izhevsk, Russia and several friends in Berlin, Hanoi, Rotterdam, Moscow, London so come join Dagie and Paolo in Los Angeles and be part of the Echo Park contingent! All Ages welcome... more details to follow!!! Free workshop with limited enrollment.

********

MEMBERSHIP: NEW PERKS! As of September 1, your annual EPFC membership not only gets you fantastic discounts on classes and equipment rental but also FREE loans from our gigantic film and video library AND discounts on telecine and venue rentals! And don’t forget those two free passes to the Thursday night cinema series and a very stylish EPFC T! It’s the best deal in town! Sign up or renew today!

STORE HOURS: THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS 2 – 7 PM, SATURDAYS 12 – 5 PM
SCREENING NIGHTS: THURSDAYS – SATURDAYS 8PM
NEW EQUIPMENT AND VENUE RENTAL PRICES AND POLICIES! ASK FOR MORE DETAILS!

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/EPFCFilmmobile
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/echoparkfilmcenter
                                                         http://www.facebook.com/filmmobile