Artificial Paradise
1986 · 13 min · ★ 4.0 · Documentary
Aztec romance and the dream of love. The anthropologist’s most human desire, the ultimate contact with the informant. The denial of intellectualism and the acceptance of the romantic heart, and a soul without innocence. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2011.
Directed by Chick Strand
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Woman of a Thousand Fires · 1976Woman of a Thousand Fires
★ 10.01976
MovieDrama
An expressionistic, surrealistic portrait of a Latin American woman.
Kristallnacht · 1979Kristallnacht
★ 9.01979
MovieDocumentary
A bewitching, mysterious work of enveloping beauty, the film’s ominous title and a dedication to Anne Frank deeply inform our reading of its haunting subtext. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with the National Film Preservation Foundation, in 2009.
Soft Fiction · 1979Soft Fiction
★ 8.01979
MovieDocumentary
Chick Strand's SOFT FICTION is a personal documentary that brilliantly portrays the survival power of female sensuality. It combines the documentary approach with a sensuous lyrical expressionism. Strand focuses her camera on people talking about their own experience, capturing subtle nuances in facial expressions and gestures that are rarely seen in cinema. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 2015.
Angel Blue Sweet Wings · 1966Angel Blue Sweet Wings
★ 6.01966
MovieDocumentary
An experimental film poem in celebration of life and visions. Techniques include live action, animation, montage and found images. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2011.
Cosas de mi vida · 1976Cosas de mi vida
★ 6.01976
MovieDocumentary
Strand spent over twenty years documenting her friend Anselmo Aguascalientes’ life, eventually creating a stunning trilogy of films—Anselmo, Cosas de mi vida, and Anselmo and the Women—tender portraits that are also glimpses into poverty, resourcefulness, perseverance and patriarchy.
Fake Fruit Factory · 1986Fake Fruit Factory
★ 5.51986
MovieDocumentary
Intimate documentary about young women who make papier mache fruit and vegetables in a small factory in Mexico. They have a gringo boss, but the factory is owned by his Mexican wife. The focus of the film is on the color, music and movement involved, and the gossip which goes on constantly, revealing what the young women think about men.
Elasticity · 1975Elasticity
★ 4.51975
MovieFantasy
Impressionistic surrealism in three acts. The approach is literary experimental with optical effects. There are three mental states that are interesting: amnesia, euphoria and ecstasy. Amnesia is not knowing who you are and wanting desperately to know. I call this the White Night. Euphoria is not knowing who you are and not caring. This is the Dream of Meditation. Ecstasy is knowing exactly who you are and still not caring. I call this the Memory of the Future. This is an autobiographical film funded by the American Film Institute.
Sears Sox · 1968Sears Sox
1968
Movie
A short piece of commercial work done by three legendary L.A. artists. This piece was shown on loop projectors in Sears stores to promote an exciting and new young ladies' clothing line. 16mm print preserved by the Academy Film Archive.
Loose Ends · 1979Loose Ends
1979
Movie
Loose Ends is a collage film about the process of internalizing the information that bombards us through a combination of personal experience and media in all forms. Speeding through our senses in ever-increasing numbers and complicated mixtures of fantasy, dream and reality from both outside and in, these fragmented images of life, sometimes shared by all, sometimes isolated and obscure, but with common threads, lead us to a state of psychological entropy tending toward a uniform inertness… an insensitive un-involvement in the human condition and our own humanity. —Chick Strand
Guacamole · 1975Guacamole
1975
Movie
Poetic surrealism. Approach is experimental in relationship of image and sound. A film about the loss of innocence and the search for the essence of the human spirit. Funded by a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Woman with Flowers · 2011Woman with Flowers
2011
MovieDocumentary
A Mexican flower seller’s story of personal tragedy is delicately illuminated in an intimate and moving act of portraiture that is both unsettling and liberating. In her final film, Chick Strand mixes brutal heartbreak and palpable joy into a transformative vision of dignity and vitality.
Mosori Monika · 1970Mosori Monika
1970
Movie
Filmed at Mission San Francisco de Guayo on the Orinoco River Delta in Venezuela, in 1965. A Franciscan nun and an Indian woman describe the Indian way of life before and after the arrival of the mission 20 years prior to the making of the film; their words are translated to English voice-over. They discuss marriage ceremonies, fishing, gender roles in work distribution and family responsibilities, shamanism and death rituals. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with National Film Preservation Foundation in 2011.
Children Are Our First Priority: Title 1 · 1971Children Are Our First Priority: Title 1
1971
Movie
An educational film in which the positive benefits of Title 1 funded schooling are illustrated. Though a commissioned work, this film fully exhibits close-up camera work and remarkable, fluid editing.
Waterfall · 1968Waterfall
1968
MovieDocumentary
A film poem using found film and stock footage altered by printing, home development and solarization. It is a film using visual relationships to invoke a feeling of flow and movement. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with National Film Preservation Foundation in 2011.
By the Lake · 1986By the Lake
1986
Movie
"A sort of collage film, using images shot for other films that somehow never were finished. The sound comes from various sound gathering adventures. An Anglo woman's interpretation of magic realism." Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.
Eric and the Monsters · 1965Eric and the Monsters
1965
Movie
Chick Strand's first film, made while living in the Bay Area, features her young son Eric as a little boy traipsing through a mysterious landscape, perhaps pursued by the titular monsters. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with the National Film Preservation Foundation and Pacific Film Archive in 2009.
More Like This
The Corporation · 2003The Corporation
★ 7.62003
MovieDocumentary
Since the late 18th century American legal decision that the business corporation organizational model is legally a person, it has become a dominant economic, political and social force around the globe. This film takes an in-depth psychological examination of the organization model through various case studies. What the study illustrates is that in the its behaviour, this type of "person" typically acts like a dangerously destructive psychopath without conscience. Furthermore, we see the profound threat this psychopath has for our world and our future, but also how the people with courage, intelligence and determination can do to stop it.
The 11th Hour · 2007The 11th Hour
★ 6.82007
MovieDocumentaryDrama
A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse
