Month: February 2017

This is one of the initial publications issued by the Harun Farocki Institut, a proposal written by Harun Farocki in 1975-76 calling for the establishment of an institution dedicated to a new mode of documentary practice. It would be forty years later, and two years following his passing, that his vision would materialize in the form of the Farocki Institut.

The publication is organized into three parts: “Document” refers to Farocki’s letter; “Commentary” refers to an accompanying essay by HaFI co-directors Tom Holert, Doreen Mende and Volker Pantenburg providing historical context for the letter; and “Material” refers to an additional letter written by filmmaker Peter Nestler in response to Farocki’s. This may not have been the intention of the publishers, but as I interpret it, this cover could be read as Farocki’s procedure for how to produce documentary work: Continue reading “What Ought To Be Done” →

Here are a few salient paragraphs from a pointed and thorough assessment of the current state of video essays by Conor Bateman for 4:3:

“Facebook video has become an all-powerful force for businesses to engage consumers, assisted tremendously by the 3-second view count. Instead of detailed video-based film analysis, social media driven video essays have become far more simplistic and didactic, bite-sized film trivia over memorable ideas or arguments. Rather than adopting the hyper-personal (and successful) approach of many didactic YouTubers, though, chasing social media views has resulted in a watering down of any essayistic voice.”

“In early 2017, Fandor Keyframe began removing older video essays from their website following advice from their in-house legal counsel. Over 200 videos have been removed so far, though some of those have since been reuploaded.”

Continue reading “Video Essays in the Age of Social Media” →

I’m progressing through my project of archiving and cataloging every video essay I’ve produced since I started making them 10 years ago. Previously I reflected on the first videos I made back in 2007. In 2008 I produced 37 video essays, all of which can be found in this album I curated on Vimeo, except for one made with Karina Longworth on the film The Draughtsman’s Contract (The video is no longer online and I don’t have the file with me in Berlin to upload). But that is just one of many video essays from 2008 that I made in collaboration with a fellow film critic or cinephile – or in the unique case and location of the video below, multiple critics at once:

31 of the 37 videos I made in 2008 were collaborations. This was a period when I was using this form to connect more closely with members of the online film criticism community whom I held in high esteem. By inviting them to work on a video essay together, I’d absorb their individual ways of looking at films, and then adapt their insights into an audiovisual form. It was a very enriching process, not unlike a self-designed series of video essay tutorials on film analysis with the best possible thinkers. Continue reading “Video Essays from 2008 – Collaborations and Aspirations” →

Dear J,

I was glad to run into you at Delphi Filmpalast (a magnificent theater) on the second to last night of Berlinale. Knowing you and your passion for cinema to the extent that I do, I wasn’t totally surprised but amazed nonetheless that you had watched close to 40 films, with one day left to go, during your first ever Berlinale. I ran into you three times during the festival and each time I could tell just how stoked you were to be here and that you wanted to make the most out of every second by seeing as much as you could.

On my first trip to Berlinale 13 years ago, I had only seen 14 films, most of which are covered in this report for Senses of Cinema, one of my first published works of film criticism. Re-reading this report today, I’m surprised I had seen so few films on my first trip; this year I watched 20, which still didn’t feel like a sufficient number. (I think the most I’ve ever seen was was in 2009, when I reviewed 30 films [part 1/part 2/part 3] for Mubi, back when it was called The Auteurs). Despite how relatively few films I saw in 2004, reading that report makes it clear that it was my favorite experience of Berlinale and will probably always be. This year was, at least until the last day or so, my least fulfilling experience, one that had me wondering what festivals mean to me at this point.

I really envy that younger version of myself in that 2004 report who threw himself fully into the experience and came away with so many rich encounters with films and filmmakers alike. With all the cultural negotiations and re-contextualizations that took place over each film discussion, it becomes clear that the social experience of analyzing movies, as reflected in my first festival coverage, was as meaningful for me as watching the films. So perhaps this first report was an unintentional blueprint for the kind of filmmaking I’ve engaged in since.

Continue reading “Letter To a Young Critic Who Watched 40 Films at Berlinale” →