[Frameworks] Ben Van Meter

[mrktosc]

I posted about his passing on Facebook in 2019, but it’s hard to know these days how best to disseminate info.  I should’ve posted here too, but don’t post here much generally, so it was an unfortunate oversight.  Here’s what I wrote then:

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Sorry to say that I just found out that filmmaker Ben Van Meter shed his mortal coil this past August 8.  I’ve worked on Ben’s films for over a decade but somehow sadly never got to meet him in person.  Because he stopped making films in the mid-late ‘70s, he unfairly fell somewhat out of notoriety (though I think he was fine with that!), but his excellent film work, pioneering light show performances, and early, significant roles at Canyon Cinema and the SF Art Institute made a major impact, particularly in the West Coast experimental film movement starting in the mid-‘60s.  He was a cool, sharp-witted dude who somehow managed to combine a chill, openhearted demeanor with a canny critical edge.  And he has a number of really great films, true Bay Area avant-garde classics - don’t hesitate to contact me if you’re interested in programming them!  Much love to you, Ben!

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Over the decade-plus I’ve worked with him, I got several of his films restored (including SF Trips Festival, Colorfilm, Some Don’t, Me & Bruce & Art, Boc Ging…) and they’ve shown here and there, sometimes in programs I’ve done, sometimes other folks have programmed them.  For years Ben was mixed on the idea of returning his films to distribution, but in the year or two before he died he did express that he was fine with it, and his daughter Lila and I spoke briefly just before the pandemic started about getting his films back to Canyon, though it got delayed for obvious reasons.  But it’s still the plan, and I’m also attempting to reconstruct his complicated semi-deconstructed magnum opus Acid Mantra this year, fingers crossed.

And yes, many of his films are really great and unjustly neglected!  I hope some folks will give ‘em a shot when they get to Canyon, but feel free to contact me if you want to show them sooner.

Mark Toscano
 

> On Sep 18, 2023, at 8:46 PM, Dominic Angerame <dominic.angerame at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I do not remember reading anything on Frameworks about Ben Van Meter and sorry if this info is a repeat of something that I missed.
> 
> It saddened me to have heard just today that  Ben Van Meter one of the Founding Fathers of Canyon Cinema passed away in 2019. Perhaps this was discussed earlier and I missed it.
> 
> Ben’s films have long been neglected. Alas there was no obituary, his website is gone, and also sadly no one knows where his prints are or who to contact.
> 
> No one seems to know the cause of his death or if there is an estate, relatives, etc. to whom we may be able to contact.
> 
> Dominic
> 
> PS I have a long story about Ben and his last relationship with Canyon Cinema back in 1981. Soon to be published.
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