Just
as the fall schedule of season and series premieres kicks off on network television, the
same holds true for KLRU-TV’s The Territory, now in its 21st season as
the longest-running showcase for independent film and video work broadcast on
public television. This fall, The Territory expands its borders both
literally and metaphorically. Beginning with this season the program — a joint
production in Austin and Houston by the Austin Museum of Art, Houston’s
Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP), and Houston Public Television
(KUHT-TV) — will begin broadcasting to PBS stations throughout the state. In
addition to showcasing the work of a number of Austin artists, this season’s
schedule of eight hour-long programs promises to continue The
Territory‘s commitment to new media that challenge traditional conceptions
of form and content.
In an interesting departure from the increasingly sophisticated and popular
field of computer animation, The Territory‘s first program (Oct. 8,
11pm) focuses on the work of three artists whose short films return to the
technical roots of animation. Entitled “Animation,” the first of The
Territory‘s eight programs showcases three films that executive producer
and commentator Judith Sims (curator of film and video, Austin Museum of Art)
describes as “mood pieces” that explore a variety of relationships. The program
begins with Canadian filmmaker Wendy Tilby’s Strings (1991), a work
whose charm and subtlety are conveyed through detailed visual narration as well
as through technique: The images are painted on a single glass plate. Maureen
Selwood’s Flying Circus (1994) and Suzan Pitt’s Joy Street (1995)
make use of animation as a means through which to explore themes of despair,
fear, and hope — concepts that commentator and co-producer Marian Luntz
(curator of film, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston) reminds viewers are not often
associated with animated film and video.
Related to this idea of eclecticism and unconventionality is The
Territory‘s mission to convert the average television into an alternative
viewing space. The program strikes a balance between innovative work by
established and new artists and insightful commentary by anchors Sims, Luntz,
Ed Hugetz (filmmaker/provost, University of Houston and Clear Lake), and Tom
Schatz (author/film professor, University of Texas at Austin). Throughout the
season these commentators will be joined by guests such as UT English professor
Mia Carter, Houston-based film critic Sam Ho, and El Paso media artist Willie
Varela. Together with The Territory‘s anchors, these guests will offer
their own expertise and insight into a diverse collection of work.
Through its Web site (http://www.swamp.org/swamp) and e-mail address
(cyberia@swamp.org), The Territory invites viewers to browse through
program information and comment on the program’s featured films and videos. The
eight-part 1996 season is broadcast in Austin on KLRU-TV (channel 18/cable 9)
on Tuesday evenings at 11pm, unless otherwise noted.
1. Animation (Oct. 8, 11pm)
Works by three female animators explore through sumptuous visuals the
emotional complications and real-world consequences of relationships. Wendy
Tilby’s Strings (Canada, 1991) reminds us of the power in details;
Maureen Selwood’s Flying Circus (Santa Monica, 1994) is “an imagined
memoir” based on the filmmaker’s childhood; and Joy Street (New York,
1995) is Suzan Pitt’s account of one woman’s journey from despair to rebirth.
2. Coming of Age (Oct. 15, 11pm)
Three Minutes on a Bus (1995) by Austin’s own Cressandra Thibodeaux is
just one of the four films in this program that centers on pivotal moments that
mark the end of childhood. Thibodeaux’s film is based on an event experienced
by the filmmaker herself. In Dangerous Waters (New York, 1995) Anniken
Fjesme comically explores a boy’s sexual awakening. Art Jones’s
Dodgeball (New York, 1995) is a mockumentary that profiles the power
plays in the public-school gym. In Tenacity (New York, 1994), filmmaker
Chris Eyre portrays Native American youths involved in a culture clash.
3. Evolving Images (Oct. 22, 11pm)
Six short works illustrate the process of evolution within families and among
mothers, women, and men. Mary Kocol’s Is This Me? (Massachusetts, 1994)
utilizes animated photographs to chronicle a family’s past as they look through
their photo album. Austin-based Sara Whiteley intercuts footage from space with
earth-bound images to reflect on her mother’s death and her estranged
grandmother’s denial in Requiem (1995). In Rose Married a Junkie (New York, 1990) filmmaker Laura Margulies visualizes one woman’s thoughts with
live-action, painted, and hand-drawn imagery. Veena Cabreros-Sud’s
Stretchmark (New York, 1996) portrays the stark realities of single
parenthood. Abductees (Great Britain, 1995) is Paul Vester’s animated
film about five Americans who believe they were abducted by extraterrestrials.
Diane Bonder’s experimental film Parol� (New Jersey, 1993)
explores the construction of sexuality through medical and psychological
discourses.
4. Love Stories (Oct. 29, 11pm)
The two films in this program recount offbeat love stories with dark humor and
realism. Austin filmmaker George Longworthy wrote the script for
Skeletons (1995) — a film about judgment, according to the
writer-director — during the first few days after he moved to town. Dan
Doyle’s Burning Love (New York, 1993) follows two teenagers in their
quest to be alone.
5. Digital Animation (Nov. 12, 11pm)
This program features a cross-section of short works that push the limits of
computer graphics. Among those films and videos featured are an excerpt from
Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s recent film The City of Lost
Children; Balls and Blocks (California, 1996), Allen Coulter’s
positive short about prejudice; Austin-based Kevin McIntyre’s
Technimation (1995) in which viewers tour a high-tech virtual world;
monster-on-the-loose fantasy, King Tex (Dallas, 1995) by John David and
Bob Tullier, featuring the famed icon of the Dallas fairground; Public
Shelter (Waxahachie, 1994-95), which presents a glimpse of the World Wide
Web, CD-ROM, and gaming extensions of Jayne Loader’s pioneering work;
Electronic Arts’ interactive movie, Psychic Detective (San Mateo, CA,
1995), developed by Jim Simmons, John Sanborn, and Michael Kaplan; and Sam Hurt
and Chan Chandler’s The Hokey Pokey (Austin, 1995), which uses cel
animation and the music of Brave Combo to introduce Hurt’s comic-strip
character Eyebeam to music video. Numerous other examples of commercial
applications of computer graphics are included in the program.
6. Video Pioneers (Nov. 19, 10pm)
Video pioneers Nam June Paik and Bill Viola are the subjects of this program.
Jud Yalkut profiles Paik in Electronic Superhighway (New York, 1995),
and Site of the Unseen (Brazil, 1994) is Carlos Nader and Marcello
Dantas’ tribute to the work of Viola.
7. Multicultural Collages (Dec. 3, 10pm)
Three groups often marginalized in the United States provide the impetus for
this program focusing on multicultural images and themes. Kip Fulbeck’s Nine
Fish (California, 1995) portrays the physical decline of the filmmaker’s
Cantonese grandmother as it explores the treatment of the elderly in the U.S.
From Brooklyn comes Reiko Tahara’s Remnants (1994), an exploration of
the fragmented reality of Japanese life and its depiction in Western media. In
Videobook (New York, 1994), Native-American videomaker Beverly Singer
shares her thoughts through voiceover narration and audio imagery.
8. Video Essay (Dec. 17, 11pm)
The eighth and final program in the series concludes with a video entitled
Conversations Across the Bosphorous (San Francisco, 1995) by Jeanne C.
Finley. This work provides both a past and a present representation of life in
modern Turkey as it incorporates the narratives of two Muslim women.
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This article appears in October 4 • 1996 and October 4 • 1996 (Cover).