“Parallel Spaces: Will Oldham and Jerome Hiler” and “18 Black Girls / Boys Ages 1-18 Who Have Arrived at the Singularity and Are Thus Spiritual Machines” have been added to the popular Live & Onstage section of the 60th San Francisco International Film Festival.
Composer Will Oldham, aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy (Headlands Artist in Residence, 2008), and Chicago-based Bitchin Bajas (Drag City) present Parallel Spaces: Will Oldham and Jerome Hiler, a special program of improvised music to be performed live alongside the projection of experimental films created by Bay Area artist Jerome Hiler. Joining Oldham and the Bajas is Bay Area-based Cornelius Boots, known as both a virtuosic clarinetist, and a burgeoning master of the shakuhachi flute of Zen Buddhism. Screenings of Hiler’s 16mm films, recognized for their mastery of visual composition, is an all too rare thing, and Hiler and Oldham have selected three that will be shown: Words of Mercury (2011), Marginalia (2015), and Bagatelle II (2016). Each film displays a different approach to the poetics of moving imagery and the deceptively simple, yet powerful, practice of viewing light passing through celluloid. This program will take place Monday April 10, 8:00 pm, at the historic Castro Theatre.
Artist and filmmaker Terence Nance (Headlands Artist in Residence, 2014; An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, Festival 2012) presents his compelling, interactive dual live programs, 18 Black Girls / Boys Ages 1-18 Who Have Arrived at the Singularity and Are Thus Spiritual Machines. Accompanied by his brother, multidisciplinary artist Norvis Junior, and by local musicians and dancers, Nance investigates the predispositions of our culture and media by taking audiences through a tour of the ways in which various narratives of black youth, beginning with age one and progressing through year 18, are presented via simple internet search functions. Using Google’s autocomplete algorithms and responding to audience feedback, Nance’s project presents a virtual self-portrait of our society that reflects our biases and norms back to us. Featuring live music, personal digressions, improvisation, and chance, Nance’s unique, and at turns heartwarming, heartbreaking, and insightful presentations will unfold at the Victoria Theatre over two consecutive days. The “girls” program will be featured on Sunday, April 16 at 5:00 pm, and the “boys” program on Monday, April 17 at 6:00 pm.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Headlands Center for the Arts to bring these dynamic performers to the Festival,” said Rachel Rosen, San Francisco Film Society’s director of programming.”Artists in creative dialogue with moving images make the Live & Onstage section one of our most thrilling offerings at the Festival, and it’s especially gratifying to be able to collaborate with an organization that supports such creative exploration.”
“We’re excited to join San Francisco Film Society in sharing new work from Headlands’ Artist in Residence alumni Terence Nance and Will Oldham with Festival audiences,” says Sean Uyehara, Headlands Center for the Arts Director of Programs. “Supporting artists with opportunities for this kind of thoughtful, cross-disciplinary collaboration is what we’re all about.”