Ken Jacobs (2012 Film/Video) will premiere two new films supported by Creative Capital in Carte Blanche: Ken Jacobs at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, May 2–5. The exhibition, commemorating the 80th birthday of this pioneer of American experimental cinema, includes films chosen by Jacobs from MoMA’s collection alongside selections of his own work. You can browse the Carte Blanche screening schedule and read film notes by Jacobs on the MoMA website.

After more than 50 years as a filmmaker, Jacobs remains as innovative and productive as ever. The two films premiering in Carte Blanche: Ken Jacobs, entitled Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus and A Primer in Sky Socialism, both represent Jacobs’ current exploration of digital 3-D filmmaking. Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus was shot by Jacobs over the course of several bus rides in his New York City neighborhood. Jacobs writes, “Since acquiring a small 3-D camera, I dawdle everywhere, but prolonged bus-waits allow for a continuity of images, and thus a movie.” Ken presents each 3-D still onscreen for 6 to 8 seconds, instead of the usual rapid turnover used to create the illusion of movement. The result is a dense optical event that will be presented in four 40-minute parts as the close to each day’s screenings at MoMA.  Continue reading →

Anita Chang, stills from Tongues of Heaven

Anita Chang (2008 Film/Video) will premiere her Creative Capital project, Tongues of Heaven, at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, with screenings May 4 (2:30pm, CGV Cinemas) and May 11 (12:30pm, Art Theatre of Long Beach). Set in Taiwan and Hawai’i, Tongues of Heaven focuses on the questions, desires and challenges of young indigenous peoples to learn the languages of their forebears—languages that are endangered or facing extinction. Using digital video as the primary medium of expression, four young indigenous women from divergent backgrounds collaborate and exchange ideas to consider the impact of language on identity and culture.

I connected with Anita to learn more about this new film and her experimental approach to documentary.

Jenny Gill: Your film focuses on disappearing languages in Taiwan and in Hawai’i. Does your interest in either of these areas come out of your own ancestry? How and when did you first become interested in disappearing languages?

Anita Chang: The issue of a language not being passed down to the next generation has always been a part of my life. My first language was Taiwanese or Minnanese, which is still the language my parents speak. I gradually lost my ability to speak it when I started learning English in the U.S. However, I can still understand it quite well. I recall many moments when my grandmother would complain that my brother and I did not speak Minnanese, or that my mother did not pass it down to us. In fact, as children it was my brother and I who fiercely protested against speaking it, explaining to my mother that no one else in our small town in Ohio was speaking it. Continue reading →