Phil Solomon, Programme 3

Sonic Cinema and The Phil Solomon Project present part three of a three programme retrospective of Phil Solomon’s films.

Internationally acclaimed American filmmaker Phil Solomon (1954-2019) created a body of cinematic virtuosity and poetic resonance that profoundly expanded the found footage genre. Presented by Sonic Cinema and The Phil Solomon Project, the series has been curated by Mark McElhatten and will be introduced by Eve Heller.

This programme brings together six of Phil Solomon’s most personal works, in an oeuvre which is marked by its private poetry. Yes, I Said Yes, I Will, Yes (1999) is a film Solomon made for his wife on the occasion of their marriage, turning to Ulysses’ for inspiration; The Exquisite Hour (1989/94) is based on the song by Reynaldo Hahn and Paul Verlaine, partly a lullaby for the dying, partly a lament at the dusk of cinema; The Snowman (1995) is a kaddish for the filmmaker’s father – meditation on memory, burial and decay; The Emblazoned Apparitions (2013) is an alchemically treated lullaby to the end of cinema, featuring Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton; Twilight Psalm III: Night Of The Meek (2002) is a highly personal interpretation of the Jewish legend of The Golem. The programme will end with a very special screening of an unreleased film, The Summit, which was made in the 80s and recently restored.

PROGRAMME

Yes, I Said Yes, I Will, Yes (1999, 3 min, 16mm)

The Exquisite Hour (1989/94, 14 min, 16mm)

The Snowman (1995, 8 min, 16mm)

The Emblazoned Apparitions (2013, 6 min, digital)

Twilight Psalm III: Night Of The Meek (2002, 23 min, 16mm)

The Summit (1980s, 16 min, Super-8mm-to-digital)

Total running time: ca. 75 min

With thanks to Eve Heller and Mark McElhatten. Very special thanks to Mark Toscano (Academy Film Archive).

Eve Heller initiated the founding of the Phil Solomon Project together with Mark McElhatten in the wake of Phil’s passing in 2019. The PSP is dedicated to sustaining the preservation, distribution, screening, exhibition, and publication of Phil Solomon’s artwork and thought.