Visionaries

Director: Chuck Workman
(2010)

The neglected genre of experimental film has been acknowledged in Visionaries, a documentary that recently saw its debut at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. This retrospective, directed by Oscar winning director Chuck Workman, showcases many of the icons of the movement and features over 100 clips of influential films.

Workman, who has made a career out of creating the montages seen during the Academy Awards, brings the mystifying genre to life by weaving together film excerpts and interviews with various filmmakers, including; Kenneth Anger (donning a NY Rangers jersey); Hollywood patriarch Robert Downey Sr. (a clip from Pound, featuring a 5-year-old Robert Jr., was a crowd pleasing moment); Austrian filmmaker Peter Kubelka; prominent critic Amy Taubin; Ken Jacobs (who started the experimentally-focused Cinema department at then Harpur College (now Binghamton University) in 1969); avant-garde cinema historian P. Adams Sitney; surrealist Palme d’Or winner David Lynch (briefly); and American filmmaker Su Friedrich (who was in attendance for the Q&A following the screening). Brilliant vintage interviews of the late, great Stan Brakhage, Andy Warhol, and Norman Mailer were some of the most compelling moments in the film.



Following the screening, Workman talked about how grateful he was that the featured filmmakers gave him permission to use clips of their films, despite the fact that they would be taken out of their context. Workman did a great job of delving into some of the techniques and motivations of the filmmakers, which all shared a common anti-Hollywood sentiment and style.

"The godfather of American avant-garde cinema," Jonas Mekas, was highlighted in the second half of the film. His work in founding the New York-based Anthology Film Archives has been indispensable in the conservation of experimental films. Preservation is a concern within this art form, particularly considering how unprofitable experimental films tend to be. However, while the early portion of the film was a balanced retrospective, this final portion feels like a standalone short film dedicated to Mekas. This may have been better suited as a much shorter epilogue at the end of the film rather than the focus of the last chunky chapter, which only ended up throwing the film off balance.

While the content of Visionaries was incredibly inspirational, the documentary itself was flawed. Workman frequently employed a scrolling text across the top of the screen that fought for the audience’s attention. A voice-over would’ve been more appropriate, rather than forcing the audience to decide between watching Meshes of the Afternoon and reading a racing Maya Deren quote.

Su Friedrich, Chuck Workman, and Jon Gartenberg speaking after the screening

In the end, the content of Visionaries is inspiring. Workman should be praised for introducing this widely unknown movement to a wider audience. However, the construction of the film itself leaves something to be desired. Visionaries may be likened to a mundane book on the Dadaist Art Movement – after skimming the book, praise would be given to the artists, not the editors or even the book itself.

Trivial Tidbits:

• Avant-garde icon Stan Brakhage was professor to Matt Stone and Trey Parker (of South Park fame) during his tenure at the University of Colorado
• Andy Warhol's Sleep (1963) is a film which consists of a long take of his close friend sleeping for over 5 hours