Discussing RISK-y Business

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:07

With the spring debut of RISK cinema tonight, we sat down with local experimental filmmaker and UF film professor Roger Beebe to discuss his impressions of the upcoming season.

By Allison Griner

Not only is Beebe a contributor to RISK cinema, he is also the director of FLEX, a local film festival that is collaborating with RISK this season. On Feb. 21, Beebe will also introduce director Helga Fanderl’s short films, as part of the FLEX/RISK partnership. We talk to Beebe about teaming up with RISK and about what he looks forward to this season.

How are RISK cinema and FLEX, the experimental film festival, coordinating?
Two of the nights, the ones on Feb. 21 and 23, are co-presentations of RISK and FLEX. We hoped to bring in some people, but alone we didn’t have quite the budget or the space, so it’s actually a really nice convergence that we’ve arranged. We’ve got two European filmmakers coming, and it fits in well with the Project Europa [a Harn exhibition about European art and democracy].

Are there any particular themes that unite this season of RISK cinema?
There are some broad general themes, but I also like to insist on the differences of each film and how they represent the real range of different responses to the same set of questions. I think the works are wildly divergent, even if they all are thinking about different ways of representing Europe more or less since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Some of them trace things back further. [Filmmaker] Johan Grimonprez, for example, goes back to the Nixon/Khrushchev kitchen debates and the history of the Cold War.

Is there anything that RISK is doing differently this season?
A closer collaboration with FLEX [film festival] is new. We’ve occasionally piggy-backed one screening, but now essentially half of FLEX is happening in conjunction with RISK. That’s the biggest change. Also the focus on shows with the filmmakers present has been something that’s been relatively rare in the past.

What are some misconceptions about experimental films?
There’s this vision that experimental film is an enormously difficult thing that’s very austere and incredibly boring. In fact, [director] Johan [Grimonprez]’s videos are actually incredibly funny. I think there will be a lot of people laughing out loud.[Director] Helga Fanderl has made about 400 films, and they’re all these pretty little observational films about the world around her. Anyone who likes to stroll through Kanapaha Gardens or just sit there and look at the color of the light coming through the curtains can access these films. It doesn’t require some kind of specialized training.

Is there any particular screening you’re looking forward to?
I go to all of them. I get pretty fired up about all of this stuff. For me, since it’s a screening I initiated, I have a personal bias [for director Helga Fanderl]. All of her films are shot on Super 8, and we’re projecting them from Super 8 prints. Super 8 prints have very limited life, and they’re not reproducible any longer. So this is a super, super rare chance to see these films before they die. Hopefully we won’t be responsible for killing any of them. I think her films are really special, so for me that’s the one I’m most looking forward to, but I’ll be in the front row for all of them.

Why should the average spectator go see these films?
Because it’s cheaper than Avatar. I do actually think, if you want to endorse a world where you have to spend $400 million to make a movie, then feel free to line up for Avatar. That’s one reason for endorsing [RISK cinema]: to vote for this other world that might be possible. I think these are the most consistently interesting film programs that are happening in town. RISK really needs people’s support. If the [Harn] museum gets the sense this is something we really value, then they’ll stay around for a long time. It’s had a good run, but nothing guarantees it’ll stick around forever unless we make sure to show our support.