cinema 16

In an era when film has been reduced to the tiny screens of our laptops and ipods, oftentimes viewed alone, Cinema 16 resurrects communal performance experience. Melding the worlds of art, music, and film, curator Molly Surno aims to recreate the silent film era. She programs obscure vintage films and pairs them with contemporary musicians. Bands are invited to compose a musical score in order to modernize the tradition of an live music accompanying films during the 1920s.

Cinema 16 initially began in 1947 as a New York based avant-garde film society. Inspired by Maya Deren’s Greenwich Village exhibition of experimental films, Amos and Marcia Vogel decided to create a community based on this type of film making. Now over four decades later Surno is bringing the spirit of experimental cinema back to New York and other cities including Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland. In 2011 she will bring take the programs to International art communities such as Mexico City.

Works by filmmakers such as Wlaydslaw Starewicz, Man Ray, Maya Deren, Lotte Reiniger, Shirley Clarke, and Jan Svankmajer, each program takes a unique look at these beautiful shorts. Postmodern and edgy each score give these films a new identity making each event distinctive. Cinema 16’s programs use a wide variety of film expressions. Surno curates silent and talking films, commercials, PSA’s and other cinematic ephemera. These selections are bound together with musical performances ranging from big brass, opera, to punk rock.

Location: The Kitchen

Curator: Molly Surno