Owen Land am Set von

The films of Owen Land (formerly known as George Landow)

January 25 and 26, 2005
 

As George Landow, Owen Land was one of the most original American filmmakers of the 1960s and 1970s. His early materialist works anticipated “structural film”, the definition of which provoked his rejection of film theory and convention. The uniqueness of Land’s mature work lies in the skilful fusion of reason and, significantly, the humour that distances it from the supposedly “boring” world of experimental film. His characters are often the antithesis of those we might expect to see, such as podgy middle aged men and radical Christians, and the rationality of his approach - with its complex web of cultural references and irreverent wit - is exactly that which makes the films seem so enigmatic to the viewer. Landow has exposed the material of film and deconstructed the process and the effect, while covering the ‘big topics’ of religion, psychoanalysis, commerce and pandas making avant-garde movies. (Mark Webber)
 
On the initiative of curator Mark Webber, the Austrian Film Museum, whose Collection contains much original Landow material, has restored and preserved the artist's works. After the premiere in Vienna, the films will go on an international tour organised by LUX in London. The project will be presented at the Tate Gallery, the Whitney Museum and the International Film Festival in Rotterdam, among other venues.
 
A new book, TWO FILMS BY OWEN LAND (edited by Mark Webber and including two scripts as well as material on Land’s complete oeuvre) will be published by LUX and the Film Museum in January 2005 to coincide with the tour.

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