Botched Eyeball Operation | Collaboration with Denys Gareau | 2007 | DV | 1:00

Synopsis

A voyeuristic gaze at a common operation gone awry. Music by Sea Wizard.

Critical Discourse

Deemed “unviewable and exploitative” by the Winnipeg Short Film Massacre.

“Bunuel called Un Chien Andalou ‘a despairing, passionate call to murder.’ I felt assaulted in the same way when I saw Botched Eyeball Operation. Science film or horror film? Is there any difference? At its premiere in 1929, Un Chien Andalou was preceded by a science film about astronomy, pointing our eyes up to the peaceful heavens before placing us under the surrealist blade. Chien and Botched Eyeball Operation are just two of the films in this program that attack with such surgical precision.” – Charles Tepperman, Surrealism on Film Catalogue (2008).

“Oh, and if Un Chien Andalou doesn’t have enough eyeball trauma for you, there’s also something called Botched Eyeball Operation by Clint Enns.” – John Tebbutt, “Hello, Dali!,” TheYYSCENE (November 27, 2008).

“The entire series of Columbo is a greater tribute to Bunuel than this.” – Fuzzy, Karagarga (2009).

Screenings/Exhibitions

September 13, 2009. Cinexperiment, Sydney Underground Film Festival, Sydney, Australia.

May 9, 2009. Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

March 7, 2009. SloMo Horror, Artists’ Television Access, San Francisco, California. Organized by Ryan Junell. 

January 20, 2009. 10th Annual TromaDance, Salt Lake City, Utah.

December 19, 2008. 10th Annual Nihilist Film Festival, Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica, California. Organized by Elisha Shapiro.

November 29, 2008. Surrealism on Film, CSIF, Calgary, Alberta.

August 11, 2007. Winnipeg: Sounds like A Cheap Contest for A Pirate, Fabulous Festival of Fringe Film, Durham, Ontario. Curated by Mike Maryniuk.