[Frameworks] Any report from Return to Canyon program (SF Cinematheque)?

Tue Sep 28 15:26:14 CDT 2010

Wonderful to hear about the re-staging of Canyon Cinema's birth near Moraga.  So true that Chick Strand should have seen it.  She told me that on the first night they used one of her old sheets for the screen and gave away door prizes which included a home made cake she baked for the occasion.  I'm worrying that her history will fade rapidly now that she has passed.  We are talking with her son Eric about digitizing her work in an effort to make it more widely available.
Beverly O'Neill

On Sep 28, 2010, at 9:26 AM, 40 Frames wrote:

> 
> Thanks for the report back Steve. Sounds like a fun event. If only Chick could have been there!
> 
> Best,
> Alain
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 12:50 PM, jason livingston <jasonlivingston71 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Steve
> Thanks for sharing a report for those of us who couldn't be there -- sounds great.
> JL
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ithaca, NY
> 
> http://jasontlivingston.com/
> 
> 
> 
> Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 15:31:01 -0700
> From: stevepolta at yahoo.com
> To: frameworks at jonasmekasfilms.com
> Subject: Re: [Frameworks] Any report from Return to Canyon program (SF	Cinematheque)?
> 
> 
> To elaborate on this, for any on the list who may desire more information, these two "Return to Canyon" events took place last Thursday and Friday (9/23 & 9/24) and celebrated the "early days" ('60s for the most part) of the screening and organizing events which evolved into Canyon Cinema, the film distributor, and San Francisco Cinematheque, the exhibitor/archive/advocate (with whom I have worked, doin' this 'n' that, for nearly twelve years). Short story is that "it all began" with a more-or-less spontaneous film screening shown on a sheet (or was it a blanket?) in the front yard (or was in back yard?) of Bruce Baillie's home (or his mother's home) in Canyon CA (that's a location, an unincorporated cluster of homes, a small one-room (more or less) school, post office and nothin' else), located in the wilds over the hills from Oakland CA (near Moraga, and actually surprisingly close—googlemaps showed it a 35 minute drive from San Francisco, but of course, getting lost is half the fun). This primal screening actually happened in 1961 so we jumped the gun for the 50th anniversary celebration but the occasion of PFA's publication of RADICAL LIGHT and the associated exhibitions made it all come together. (Note: the first of the two screenings to which I allude took place at SFMOMA on Thursday and is not the subject of this report).
> 
> So anyway, and first of all, this event was largely conceived of and organized by Melinda Stone of the University of San Francisco and Liz Keim of the Exploratorium, and produced by a class they teach at USF with a lot of support and collaboration from the Middle School classes in Canyon. I want to give these people a ton of credit because they deserve it and it really was a great event.
> 
> As far as the event itself, the thing was very fun, very festive and very much seemed some kind of throwback or shift into some kind of idyllic '60s fantasy world that also seemed largely like some sort of outdoor mid-summer's eve celebration in the Elven lands of LORD OF THE RINGS (or something). Party/dining area near the school, potluck with great food, kids from the school selling stuff as a fundraiser even. Local filmmaker's jug band The Goat Family (featuring filmmakers Rock Ross, Thad Povey and others) played for like an hour and even sang happy birthday to Bruce Baillie (and it really was—coincidentally—his birthday). Totally good, relaxed, summer evening picnic vibe. Maybe 100–150 people, lots of kids and families, kids running around and dancing. Very festive. Screening itself was in "the grove," a cluster of awesome redwood trees—the kinds that are like fifteen feet in diameter and hundreds of feet high. Folks laying on blankets, very nice night, moon rose during screening, during silent films cricket chirping loudly was amazing. Wandering the site, the films really held the screen, looked magical from a distance, the bright colors in the dark night (and it *was* really dark). Short docs by Canyon school kids on their school and community brought the community into it, but really the whole event was about this location, and the people who lived out there loved it; apparently there had been rumors about some things that had happened there in the '60s so many were fascinated by the whole thing. Filmwise, you can read the (partial) film list in Alain's link; largely Northern California films and filmmakers—Baillie, G. Nelson, Strand, Angerame—good show largely about NorCal light and landscape and the counter-cultural vibe that has permeated the scene out here (for better or worse, right East Coasters?). Deer on the roads on the way back to "civilization."
> 
> I hope this is an interesting report. Again, this was largely the project of Melinda Stone and Liz Keim. Stone in particular is, IMO, a really wonderful artist whose work really is the organization of such large scale public events (including the San Francisco Market Street event of 2006; The California Tour of defunct drive-ins; 2001's "Sink or Swim" event with Cinematheque; etc). Her events bring people together in magical ways, often incorporating filmmakers and a-g film, and open up locations to communities, encouraging the creative consideration of geography and history like nothing else I really know. Despite the scale of some of her events, I'm not sure she receives meaningful recognition for this (which may be as she wants it, I dunno). But let's give her (and Liz, and the kids) credit.
> 
> So there you go. I'd be interested to hear others' reactions...
> 
> Steve Polta
> reporting from Mudrakers' Cafe in Berkeley CA
> 
> 
> 
> --- On Sat, 9/25/10, 40 Frames <info at 40frames.org> wrote:
> 
> From: 40 Frames <info at 40frames.org>
> Subject: [Frameworks] Any report from Return to Canyon program (SF Cinematheque)?
> To: "Experimental Film Discussion List" <frameworks at jonasmekasfilms.com>
> Date: Saturday, September 25, 2010, 6:14 AM
> 
> http://www.sfcinematheque.org/#/archive/201009240/
> 
> The Return to Canyon program series looks wonderful. Any reports from the field? I'm particularly interested to 
> hear any anecdotes from the program that took place in Canyon, CA.   
> 
> Best, 
> Alain
> 
> 
> -- 
> 40 FRAMES
> Alain LeTourneau
> Pam Minty
> 
> 40 FRAMES
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> -- 
> 40 FRAMES
> Alain LeTourneau
> Pam Minty
> 
> 40 FRAMES
> Attention: Pam Minty
> PO Box 15207
> Portland, OR 97293
> USA
> 
> +1 503 231 6548
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