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Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? (Stuart Hamisch, 1958)
Feb
24
technology
Straight after dinner, the child returns to his teevee while his mother stands silently in the doorway.
A film about technology on what would've been Steve Jobs' 70th birthday
“The most precious thing that we all have with us, is time.”
– Steve Jobs
A nuclear family goes about their machine-driven day while slowly forgetting to communicate.
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Trash (Paul Morrissey, 1970)
Feb
23
freebie: Paul Morrissey born
Freebie: Paul Morrissey born (1938 – 2024)
“Just because people throw it out and don't have any use for it, doesn't mean it's garbage.”
– Holly
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Unsere Afrikareise [Our Trip to Africa] (Peter Kubelka, 1966)
Feb
22
National Wildlife Day
Wild animals for this year's first National Wildlife Day (USA). A second one is on September 4.
“For me, Afrikareise is, in its own genre, the most intense sound film that exists. Sound and images are in synch like in nature (even if it isn’t about the natural sound of something). The sound becomes the acoustic portrait of the visual action.”
– Peter Kubelka, via
Commissioned to film a rich Austrian couple's hunting trip, Kubelka sat on the material for several years before editing it in something more than the sum of its parts.
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Laukaus tehtaalla [A Shot in the Factory] (Erkko Kivikoski, 1973)
Feb
21
Nixon goes to China
Workers and bosses negotiate the situation. DP: Esko Nevalainen.
The killing of the factory's boss by one of the workers leads to endless negotiations between the two parties.
Shot in cinéma vérité style, with a mostly amateur cast, Laukaus tehtaalla mirrors the working classes' insecurity caused by the 1973 energy crisis in more ways than one.
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猫と庄造と二人のをんな [Neko to Shōzō to futari no onna / A Cat, Shozo, and Two Women] (Shirō Toyoda, 1956)
Feb
20
Love Your Pet Day
Shōzō (Hisaya Morishige) on the beach with his beloved cat Lily. DP: Mitsuo Miura.
“I'm sharing my husband with a cat. This is humiliating!”
– Nakajima
Shōzō is torn between his ex-wife and his current spouse, but really just wants to spend time with Lily, his cat.
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Der große Verhau [The Big Mess] (Alexander Kluge, 1971)
Feb
19
Copernicus born
Space ships made out of all sorts of junk pass a moon. DPs: Thomas Mauch & Alfred Tichawsky.
A film about outer space for Nicolaus Copernicus' birthday (1473).
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Sebastiane (Paul Humfress + Derek Jarman, 1976)
Feb
18
Pluto Day
Sebastian (Leonardo Treviglio) sits on a rock in a barren landscape. Two men in the distance, and a sheep, all have their backs turned to him. DP: Peter Middleton.
“His body is golden like molten gold. This hand of his… will smooth away these wounds. Justin, he is as beautiful as the sun. This sun which caresses me… is his burning desire. He is Phoebus Apollo. The sun… is his… burning kiss.”
– Sebastian
Sebastian, member of the Emperor's personal guard, is exiled after an incident. He finds himself on a rocky outpost, and the object of the other men's lust. One of them – a centurion rejected by the Christian boy – subjects Sebastian to torture and eventually lifts him up martyrdom.
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Assalto ao Trem Pagador [Assault on the Pay Train] (Roberto Farias, 1962)
Feb
17
WH helicopter incident – 1974
The favelados-turned-train-robbers. DP: Amleto Daissé.
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Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie [The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie] (Luis Buñuel, 1972)
Feb
16
No One Eats Alone Day
The diners at a long table. DP: Edmond Richard.
“My God. What am I doing in this place?”
– Henri Sénéchal
The bourgeoisie meet for dinner in various settings, but never consume.
* this event takes place on the Friday of the second full week in February, which makes the 2025 date February 14.
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Der Riese [The Giant] (Michael Klier, 1983/1984)
Feb
15
freebie: a movie from 1984
A woman, we only see her hands, waits at a counter while clutching her purse. Her handbag is next to her. The camera focusses on the small space reserved to count out money. DP: n/a.
January 21 redux: a film from 1984 on the date Orwell died (1950).
“The film is about observing, about glances that see without being seen, a dubious art of light and visibility.”
– Michael Klier, via