Exzess pur. Experimentelle Melodramen

As in the great melos of feature film, this programme is also about spectacular impressions and an atmosphere of concentrated or clearly suppressed emotion. The focus is on the creation of an atmospheric space that can be compared to the subconscious, the sphere of our fundamental desires, prohibitions and fears. I dare say that experimental film has an easier time of it, because it very often omits language. The music, the song, the sound or the silence are usually enough. And stylistic excess by means of colours, material processing, staging or the selection of opulent images is also a means of direct affect. (bbu)

LIVING COLLECTION sixpackfilm

After 25 years of mediation work, sixpackfilm's collection brings together a rich selection of all genres, represented by more than 1,500 cinematic works that call out to be shown regularly in Vienna in various contexts. One focus of our collection is on the classics of Austrian experimental film, almost all of which are represented. Many of the historical works are now part of the canon of international film or art history and have a permanent place in international cinemas and museums. The reopening of the Metro Kinokulturhaus and the intimate atmosphere of the Eric Pleskow Hall inspired sixpackfilm to enter into this long-term co-operation with the Filmarchiv Austria.

Short fiction films, avant-garde films, animations, cinematic essays, documentaries and much more that oscillates between these categories will be brought together in individual programmes in the Living Collection sixpackfilm series, not neatly separated according to the usual categorisations. Rather, the focus is on the search for thematic connections, developments, different perspectives and connecting lines, sometimes also in the context of international filmmaking. Historical and contemporary "classics" meet works by filmmakers who have not yet or no longer received the attention they deserve. Socio-political, social and aesthetic issues interact with purely formal experiments. Radical or actionist performances are combined with surreal stories, commissioned works for trailers or TV with abstract beauties. A lively montage, not a fixed history of masterpieces. The unifying element in all the films and videos is their unmistakable, idiosyncratic visual grammar. When we offer a personal screening of works by a filmmaker, a mediating discussion with the artist will bring their themes and cinematic realisation closer to the audience. Otherwise, the film event is accompanied by a short introduction on the first Monday of every month. 

(Brigitta Burger-Utzer)

Program
The Heart of the World (Guy Maddin, CAN 2000, 35mm, 6 min.)
The French Road (Arthur Summereder, AT 2016, 35mm, 7 min.)
NabelFabel (Mara Mattuschka, AT 1984, 16mm, 4 min.)
Parasympathica (Mara Mattuschka, AT 1986, 16mm, 4 min.)
Alpsee (Matthias Müller, DE 1994, 16mm, 15 min.)
Ich bin traurig (Didi Bruckmayr, AT 2004, video, 5 min.)
Kristall (Christoph Girardet/Matthias Müller, AT 2006, 35mm, 15 min.)
Outer Space (Peter Tscherkassky, AT 1999, 35mm, sw, 10 min.)