Experimental, Underground, Revolutionary!

University presenting series of avant-garde films from Germany, Austria, Switzerland

Pitt’s Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, with support from the University’s School of Arts and Sciences, is presenting a free public film series titled Experimental, Underground, Revolutionary: Avant-garde Films From Germany, Austria, and Switzerland Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. through April 11 in 205 Lawrence Hall.

The series surveys the history of avant-garde films in those three countries. All films will be subtitled or otherwise easily understandable for non-German-speaking audiences.

A list of the remaining films in the series follows.

Jan. 24—A selection of works representing the re-emergence of experimental film in Germany after World War II:Madeleine—Madeleine (1963), 11 minutes, directed by Vlado Kristl; Selbstschüsse [Self Shots] (1967), 6.25 minutes, directed by Lutz Mommartz; Jüm—Jüm (1970), 11 minutes, directed by Werner Nekes and Dore O.; Adolf Winkelmann, Kassel, 9.12.1967, 11.45h (1970), 8 minutes, directed by Adolf Winkelmann; Same Player Shoots Again (1968), 12 minutes, directed by Wim Wenders; Polly (1968), 11 minutes, directed by Rolf Wiest; Kaskara (1974), 21 minutes, directed by Dore O.; Empor [Upwards] (1978), 10 minutes, directed by Bastian Clevé; Nachtwache [Night Watch] (1976), 10 minutes, directed by Bastian Clevé; Rohfilm [Raw Film] (1968), 20 minutes, directed by Wilhelm and Birgit Hein.

Jan. 31—Screening of films directed by Jean-Marie Straub and Daniel Huillet:Machorka Muff (1963), 18 minutes, and Die Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach (1967), 93 minutes.

Feb. 7—Screenings of films directed by Alexander Kluge:Brutalität in Stein [Brutality in Stone] (1960), 12 minutes;Porträt einer Bewährung [Portrait of a Probation] (1964), 11 minutes; and
Die Patriotin [The Patriotic Woman] (1979), 121 minutes.

Feb. 15—No screenings.

Feb. 21—Screenings of films by director Heinz Emigholz, TBA.

Feb. 28—Nicht der Homosexuelle ist pervers, sondern die Situation in der er lebt [Not the Homosexual Is Perverse but the Situation in Which He Lives] (1971), clip, directed by Rosa von Praunheim; Rohfilm [Raw Film] (1968), 20 minutes, directed by Birgit and Wilhelm Hein; Love Stinks (1982), clip, directed by Birgit and Wilhelm Hein; and Baby, I Will Make You Sweat (1994), 63 minutes, directed by Birgit Hein.

March 7—No screenings.

March 14—Screenings of films directed by Harun Farocki: Nicht loschbares Feuer [Inextinguishable Fire] (1969); Arbeiter verlassen die Fabrik [Workers Leaving the Factory] (1995), 36 minutes; Auge/Machine 1 [Eye Machine 1] (2001-03); Schnittstelle/Section [Interface] (1995), 25 minutes; and Ich glaubte Gefangene zu Sehen [I Thought I Was Seeing Convicts] (2000), 25 minutes.

March 21—Screenings of films directed by Christoph Schlingensief: Christoph Schlingensief and His Films (2004), excerpt; and Foreigners Out! Schlingensief’s Container (2002), 90 minutes.

March 28—Screenings of films TBA, featuring directors Matthias Müller, Bjorn Melhus, and Michael Brynntrup.

April 4—Austrian experimental films from the 1950s to the present, TBA.

April 11—Constantly Moving: Crossovers in Experimental Film and Video Art (1994-2004), a survey of various artists; and I Want to See How You See (2003), 4 minutes, directed by Pipilotti Rist.

For more information on the screenings of these films, contact Randall Halle, Klaus W. Jonas Professor of German and Film Studies, at 412-648-2614.