Listen with your eyes is an ongoing series of screenings for children of all ages and their grown-up companions. It’s a space where curious minds and open hearts can come together to drift through the worlds of experimental cinema. 

Shown on 16mm and 35mm, the films in this programme span a period of 70 years, from the hand-painted and stencilled imagery of Len Lye (Colour Flight, 1938), to the stroboscopic study on the history of weaving patterns of Jodie Mack (Persian Pickles, 2012). Showcasing a large variety of techniques (painting, animation, flicker, etc.), the program is also a journey through vastly different worlds, ranging from the magical realm invented by Anita Thacher (Loose Corner, 1986) to the cosmogonic trip created by J.A. Sistiaga (Impressions en haute atmosphère, 1989), and taking in uncanny observations of the animal world (R. Breer, G. Rey, and J. Smith) along the way. All the films are selected from the collection of Light Cone, a non-profit distributor of experimental films based in Paris, among the 7,500 films of their catalogue. 

Ticket holders are welcome to join us early for a free 16mm direct animation activity between 10am and 11am.

Please note that this is a relaxed screening, open to children of all ages.

Programme:

Abstronic
Mary Ellen Bute & Ted Nemeth I 1952 I Digital I colour I  sound I 6 min

“Beautiful Lissajous, curves can be put through a choreography that inspires – and startles – the imagination.” – Mary Ellen Bute

Bread
Deborah Phillips I 1994 I 16mm I colour I sound I  3 min

Loosely based on Lewis Caroll’s Through the looking glass, Bread is a series of metamorphoses.

Colour Flight
Len Lye I 1938 I 16mm I colour I sound I 4 min 

This film is a riot of colour and a showcase for Lye’s hand-painted and stencilled imagery.

Gargantuan
John Smith I 1992 I 16mm I coloir I sound I 1 min

“A wonderful and witty example of what it can be to have a pillowtalk with a small amphibian.” – Elaine Paterson

Impressions en haute atmosphère
José Antonio Sistiaga I 1989 I 35mm I colour I sound I 7 min

“The colors don’t appear randomly but elaborate a logic of dynamics, continual movement of energy-matter.” – Claira Janes

Loose Corner
Anitha Thacher I 1986 I 16mm I color I sound I 10 min

In the film we accompany a man and a woman, a child and a dog, as well as objects, to an impossible place: a corner (…) The surprises in the corner… surprise and satisfy us too.

A Man and His Dog Out For Air
Robert Breer I 1957 I 16mm I b&w I sound I 3 min

“I can describe [the film] as a stew: something recognizable comes to the surface and disappears immediately.” – Robert Breer

Persian Pickles
Jodie Mack I 2012 I 16mm I color I sound I 2 min

A swimming study of paisley patterns traces this decorative motif from its origins in Persian weavings to appearances Irish quilting and American Counterculture.

La vache qui rumine
George Rey I 1969 / 16mm I b&w I silent I 3 min

First she cows, then she cows. Standing shot of a laughing cow which plays with the filmmaker and so with the audience.

Listen with your eyes is organised by Open City Documentary Festival and co-programmed by Hyun Jin Cho and Oliver Wright.

With thanks to Emmanuel Lefrant and Eleni Gioti (Light Cone).