Guy Maddin on the set of the Hauntings | 2010 | Toy Camera->Super 8mm->DV | 1:24

Synopsis

Guy Maddin conjuring the spirits of Cinema’s past to sculpt narratives out of light.

Artist Statement

In 2010, Guy Maddin invited a group of emerging filmmakers to participate in a collective filmmaking experiment. During the shooting Keyhole (2011) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, these filmmakers were invited to use all of the actors, props and sets that were on “standby,” creating a utopian Warhol-esque factory set-up. Following a visual manifesto prepared by Maddin, these filmmakers were to embark on a filmmaking journey to produce a 130 “lost” films. While the project was officially a failure, not to mention a violation of every union rule in the book, none of the filmmakers involved are likely to forget the experience.

During my time on set, I produce this homage to Guy, a number of production stills, and four experimental films including: Gleem (2010), a remake of a lost James Benning film from 1974; Rhythmus 25 (2010), a remake of a lost Hans Richter film from 1925; Walking from Sals to Tims, a contemporary re-imagining of Oskar Fischinger’s Munchen-Berlin Wanderung (1927); and The Flickerer (2010), a behind the scenes look at how Tony Conrad’s The Flicker (1966) was made.