Brigitte Cornand’s THE RED BIRDS opens at Anthology Film Archives

Brigitte Cornand’s THE RED BIRDS opens at Anthology Film Archives

Anthology Film Archives

April 20, 2010

U.S. THEATRICAL PREMIERE RUN!
Brigitte Cornand’s new film
THE RED BIRDS / LES OISEAUX ROUGES

April 21 – 27, 2010

32 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10003

http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org

Opens Wednesday, April 21, and runs through Tuesday, April 27 at 7:30 & 9:15 nightly.
Additional screenings on Saturday and Sunday at 5:45.

Anthology Film Archives presents artist and filmmaker Brigitte Cornand’s new film THE RED BIRDS, a portrait of her female artist friends in which each artist has been paired with a particular species of bird.

With, in the order of their appearance:
Louise Bourgeois – Cardinal; Kiki Smith – Dove; Genevieve Cadieux – Blue Jay; Annette Messager – House Sparrow; Carolee Schneemann – Robin; June Leaf – Song Sparrow; Nicola L – Blackbird; Pat Steir – Mallard; Nancy Holt – Catbird; Mary Miss – Towhee; Gloria Friedmann – Swallow; Joan Jonas – White Throated Sparrow; Gwenn Thomas – Chickadee; Martha Rosler – Wood Pigeon.

“I’ve been looking at and filming birds obsessively and with great passion for a number of years. Since I’ve lived in New York, I’ve been dazzled by the splendid species I see during my visits in Central Park, as well as on the island of Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts – the magnificent cardinal being the foremost example. Thus, the title of my new film: THE RED BIRDS (which has inspired Louise Bourgeois to create a work on paper specifically for the film).

“This new work is a very personal portrayal of the relationships I’ve developed with my female artist friends, whom I imagined had one day ‘magically’ transformed themselves into birds. It is a vehicle for a direct expression of who these artists are and is primarily based on their voices. The issue I set out to explore when I began the project was how best to present these artists whose work and lives I’ve documented in film and audio for a number of years, in order to introduce their work and their universe in an engaging manner, regardless of their age or the generation they belong to.

“Initially, the ‘working title’ I used for the project was ‘My Beautiful Women’, since all the artists featured in the film have become friends whom I love and respect. And since I had in mind one day to make a film solely with and about animals, I combined the two projects into one. Thus the birds would have equal billing with the beautiful women, each artist lending her voice to a bird that I had selected specifically for her.

“Like an artist, a bird represents a symbol of freedom, independence, and beauty – ever elusive, birds are essentially flights of fancy for us humans, providing us with the ultimate metaphor for what an artist is and does. I tried to compose my film as a tapestry wherein imagery of flowers and birds abound, and where the human (female) activity never loses its vibrancy.” –B.C.

About Anthology Film Archives: Founded in 1970, Anthology’s mission is to preserve, exhibit, and promote public and scholarly understanding of independent, classic, and avant-garde cinema. Anthology screens more than 900 film and video programs per year, publishes books and catalogs annually, and has preserved more than 800 films to date.

Directions: 32 Second Avenue (at 2nd St.) Subway: F or V to 2nd Ave; 6 to Bleecker.

Image above:
THE RED BIRDS
Brigitte Cornand, 2009
75 minutes, video
© Les Films du Siamois/Centre Pompidou, 2009

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April 20, 2010

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