Make it a double feature
1h 14m together
A close match in mood and era.
More from JoAnn ElamSee all →
Pup BirthPup Birth
★ 8.0
Movie
"Pup Birth" captures the excitement, chaos, and tenderness between a dog and her newly-born litter of puppies. In intimate close-up, the puppies crawl around and nuzzle with their mother, mirroring JoAnn Elam's own affection for dogs and animals in general. The date of production remains unknown.
Shirley & Bruce · 1979Shirley & Bruce
1979
Movie
Portraits of Chuck’s cats and friends, as well as a self-portrait.
Rape · 1975Rape
1975
MovieDocumentary
Rape has three victims discussing their emotional, physical and intellectual responses, then and now, highlighted and commented upon by a series of visual interpolations.
Moving · 1981Moving
1981
MovieDocumentary
Elam records several men moving boxes and furniture as they track across her backyard.
Light LeakLight Leak
Movie
In this footage by JoAnn Elam, almost nothing is discernible, with the exception of buildings sometimes emerging in the dark and stripes of orange light invading the black screen near the end. Like other elements from this collection, Light Leak exemplifies the type of cinematic experimentations that Elam was interested in her work.
PopcornPopcorn
Movie
"Popcorn" begins with a teenaged boy reading from an unknown text inside a living room. JoAnn Elam is seen knitting, presumably nearby, before entering the kitchen and proceeding to cook popcorn on the stovetop. Each step is filmed in extreme close-up, with an emphasis on hands and tactility. This attention to process is similar to other films from Elam, notably " Chocolate Cake " (F.2011-01-0166). At the end of "Popcorn," following a flurry of light leak and mis-aligned optical printing, the boy happily eats the popped and seasoned kernels. The exact date of production remains unknown.
Chocolate Cake · 1973Chocolate Cake
1973
Movie
The film was made in response to an evening during which a number of male members of Chicago's experimental film scene gathered at JoAnn's house and proceeded to ignore both her and the chocolate cake she made for the occasion. The film consists of a series of shots documenting the making of a chocolate cake, followed by a shot of JoAnn's sandaled foot stepping in the middle of the cake. When JoAnn screened the film in homes or loft spaces in Chicago, she would always serve chocolate cake as an accompaniment. Date of production unknown (likely 1973).
Windows · 1984Windows
1984
MovieDocumentary
Contrasting environments, in and outside.
Michigan · 1976Michigan
1976
MovieDocumentary
Farm work and nature.
Bowl · 1976Bowl
1976
MovieDocumentary
USPS workers go bowling.
Backyard WinterBackyard Winter
MovieDocumentary
Consists of frantic and (mostly) uninformative pans sprinting across Elam's lawn.
Landscape · 1973Landscape
1973
MovieDocumentary
Chicago streets.
Monterey '84 · 1984Monterey '84
1984
MovieDocumentary
Two women gardening on a sunny day.
Soap + FireSoap + Fire
MovieDocumentary
Cleaning supplies and flames.
![[Garden & Joe]](https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w342/yQ7OmoOPqjD3gIC6hRehYBFnKYl.jpg)
[Garden & Joe] · 1980[Garden & Joe]
1980
Movie
Gardening was an essential part of Elam’s life; she not only tended to her own, quite impressive, backyard garden, she also attained the status of Master Gardener and then helped Chicago communities develop gardens and landscape neighborhoods. Elam’s garden features prominently in many of her films, and here is captured with devotion and blended beautifully, through use of double exposure, with other elements of her home.
Going Places · 1980Going Places
1980
Movie
Joann Elam captures urban residents on the go in various seasons. The film begins in winter, as JoAnn captures sleepy neighborhood scenes from her snowy Logan Square windowsill. This is followed by manipulated summer scenes of a fast paced marathon. Through light flares and in-camera editing, marathon runners deconstruct into colorful forms.
More Like This
The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat · 1896The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat
★ 7.11896
MovieHistoryDocumentary
A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City · 1927Berlin: Symphony of a Great City
★ 7.51927
MovieDocumentary
A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.
