Markopoulos/ Beavers: Film as Film

Gregory J. Markopoulos (1928-92) was one of the most original filmmakers to emerge in post-war American cinema. His films, which often translated literary or mythological sources to a contemporary context, are celebrated for the sensuous use of colour and innovations in cinematic form. A contemporary of Maya Deren, Kenneth Anger and Jonas Mekas, Markopoulos was amongst those at the forefront of a generation that liberated cinema by developing new modes of expression. Having made his first 16mm film (Psyche) in 1947, he went on to produce several key works of the avant-garde such as Twice a Man (1963) and The Illiac Passion (1964-67).At the end of the 1960s, he moved to Europe to pursue a very individual path, withdrawing his films from distribution and making them almost impossible to see. Firmly believing that a filmmaker should be responsible for all aspects of his work, he conceived Temenos, a monographic archive for the presentation, preservation and study of his films that would be located close to his ancestral home in Greece.Screenings of early works by Markopoulos and his partner Robert Beavers were held at this remote site in the Peloponnese from 1980-86. Inspired by the experience, Markopoulos subsequently re-edited his entire oeuvre into Eniaios, an 80-hour long film to be shown only at this location. He died without seeing a single reel of this extraordinary achievement printed or projected, but this speculative project is now being realised by Robert Beavers and Temenos Archive. Every four years since 2004, an open-air screening event attended by hundreds of international spectators has presented premieres of the on-going preservation of this monumental works.Markopoulos” films encompass mythic themes, portraiture and studies of landscape and architecture. By employing complex editing techniques and spontaneous in-camera superimposition, he sought to unlock the mystery and energy contained within the single frame. This rare opportunity to experience the work of a true pioneer of independent filmmaking celebrates the publication of Film as Film: The Collected Writings of Gregory J. Markopoulos, and will be introduced by the book”s editor Mark Webber.Film as Film: The Collected Writings of Gregory J. Markopoulos gathers together almost 100 texts dating from 1950 to 1992. In these essays, Markopoulos chronicles the New American Cinema movement, responds to auteurs such as Dreyer, Bresson and Mitzoguchi, and writes in detail on his own filmmaking and the early work of his partner Robert Beavers. The most individualistic and poetic texts are devoted to his aspirations for the medium of film, the role of the spectator and his vision for Temenos. For more details see www.thevisiblepress.comPlease note: double bill with The Illiac Passion. Price (discounted): € 16. Double-bill tickets only available from the box office. The screenings can also be attended separately, admission then amounts to € 10.