Jon Gartenberg's Remarks from the Memorial Celebration for Anita Thatcher at the Walter Reade Theater Lincoln Center December 12, 2017

The release of Anita Thatcher's film Homage to Magritte in 1975 coincided with the start of my own professional career working in MOMA’s film archive.  Upon viewing it for the first time back then, her film left an indelible impression upon my mind, and has remained one of the main markers in my experimental film viewing experience.  

Anteroom by Anita Thatcher

This film struck me both for the graphic beauty of the imagery as well as for its simple elegance in the representation of time and space in cinema. As did her later installation Anteroom (1982), recently reinstalled at Microscope Gallery, which confirmed for me that Anita Thatcher was truly an accomplished modern artist whose multidimensional career accomplishments are only now beginning to fully sink into our collective consciousness.

A few years before Anita became aware of her illness, she discussed with me the appropriate institution that could archive her films.  I was happy to help think through the options and possibilities. I am very pleased to now announce that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has taken her films for archiving, preservation and eventual exhibition. 

Click on this link to select sections of the program you wish to view.

GME archivists assist in exhibition celebrating 125th Anniversary of the Spence School

GME's long involvement as archivists at The Spence School has led to work involving the school's 125th anniversary exhibition. The exhibition, which focuses on objects from the school's archive brings attention the school's long and rich history.

https://www.spenceschool.org/page/news-detail?pk=885273&fromId=173165

José Val Del Omar Retrospective at Anthology Film Archives, March 16-19th

WATER-MIRROR OF GRANADA (AGUAESPEJO GRANADINO) (1953-55)

Anthology Film Archives will be exhibiting the films of José Val del Omar in their programmed retrospective "Distant Touch: José Val del Omar: A Retrospective" from March 16th through March 19th. GME sells the DVD publication of the complete works of Val Del Omar for North American institutional sales.

http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/series/46998

"The Films of Dziga Vertov" at Anthology Film Archives from Saturday, February 11 through Monday, February 12

Anthology Film Archives will be showing "The Films of Dziga Vertov" as part of its Essential Cinema Repertory program from Saturday, February 11 through Monday, February 12. GME sells DVDs for all of these films for North American institutional sales, which includes KINO-EYE; FORWARD, SOVIET; A SIXTH OF THE WORLD; THE ELEVENTH YEAR; MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA; ENTHUSIASM, and THREE SONGS ABOUT LENIN.

ENTUZIAZM (1930)

“The film drama is the Opium of the people…down with Bourgeois fairy-tale scenarios…long live life as it is!” – Dziga Vertov

http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/calendar?view=list&month=2&year=2017#showing-46870

Waren Sonbert's CARRIAGE TRADE at Anthology Film Archives, February 2, 2017 at 8:30

Waren Sonbert's CARRIAGE TRADE will be playing as part of the Essential Cinema Repertory program at Anthology Film Archives. It will be screening one night only on Friday, February 3rd at 8:30pm.

“With CARRIAGE TRADE, Sonbert began to challenge the theories espoused by the great Soviet filmmakers of the 1920s; he particularly disliked the ‘knee-jerk’ reaction produced by Eisensteinian montage. In both lectures and writings about his own style of editing, Sonbert described CARRIAGE TRADE as ‘a jig-saw puzzle of postcards to produce varied displaced effects.’ This approach, according to Sonbert, ultimately affords the viewer multi-faceted readings of the connections between shots through the spectator’s assimilation of ‘the changing relations of the movement of objects, the gestures of figures, familiar worldwide icons, rituals and reactions, rhythm, spacing, and density of images.” 

– Jon Gartenberg

THE LATE MATHIAS PASCAL with live piano accompaniment at Film Forum (NYC) – January 15th

THE LATE MATHIAS PASCAL will be shown at Film Forum in New York City with a live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner on Sunday, January 15th. The Blu-ray publication of the film is available from GME for North American institutional sales.

Shoot Shoot Shoot: The London Film-Makers’ Co-op – Harvard Film Archive, November 4th

The Harvard Film Archive will be screening films from the London Film-Makers' Co-op as part of its program "Shoot Shoot Shoot" on Friday November 4th. The title for its program comes from  a telegram addressed to Jonas Mekas and the New York Coop, announcing the formation of the London Film-Maker's Cooperative in 1966. GME distributes the DVD title of the same name featuring many of the same filmmakers exhibited in this Harvard program.

From the Harvard Film Archive Website

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the London Film-Makers’ Co-operative, this screening presents a selection of work by some of innovative film artists who gathered there in its formative years: David Crosswaite, Marilyn Halford, Malcolm Le Grice, Mike Leggett, Annabel Nicolson, William Raban, Lis Rhodes and John Smith.

Inspired by the example set by Jonas Mekas and his colleagues in New York, the London Co-op was founded in 1966. In contrast to similar organizations, the LFMC’s activity was not limited to distribution; within a few years it was running a regular program in its own cinema and, most notably, had a workshop in which filmmakers could control every stage of the creative process.