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CSIF presents Surrealism on Film
Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers
Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers
Plaza Theatre
Thursday, November 27 - Thursday, November 27 Friday, November 28 - Friday, November 28 Saturday, November 29 - Saturday, November 29

More in: Film

Surrealism would be a lot harder to describe if human beings didn't dream. Thanks to the nightly ravings of our unconscious minds, we all know exactly what it feels like to swim around in a giant billiard table while a two-headed Winnie the Pooh throws bicycles at us.

Um... right?

In any case, surrealism is all about unfettered creativity, and film has always been an excellent medium for it. One of the most famous surrealist films is Un Chien Andalou (1929), created by the pairing of famous surrealist painter Salvador Dali and film director Luis Buñuel. This silent, 16-minute film has no storyline, and a synopsis would simply be a list of its scenes. The famous shock image of an eyeball sliced by a razor comes quite early in the film, and always gets a loud reaction of disgust from the audience. Having been so thoroughly thrown off balance, we regard the rest of the film with woozy caution and bemusement. Two priests getting dragged across the floor with ropes? Hey, whatever.

Un Chien Andalou is approaching its 80th birthday, and the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers (CSIF) is celebrating by screening the non-narrative masterpiece along with 33 contemporary short films in an event it calls Surrealism on Film. Spread over three evenings and two venues, the event promises hours of unusual cinema designed to suggest the logic of dreams. Notable entries include Dali Ants (1993) by local animator Don Best, The Fever of the Western Nile (2003) by Winnipeg filmmaker Deco Dawson and the Oscar-nominated short Copy Shop (2001), created by animating 18,000 photocopies of filmed images. Oh, and if Un Chien Andalou doesn't have enough eyeball trauma for you, there's also something called Botched Eyeball Operation by Clint Enns.

The CSIF Sofa Cinema venue is a screening room filled with mismatched but comfortable furniture — just right for taking in an evening of surrealist film, but it fills up fast, so interested viewers are advised to book tickets in advance. Things shift over to the Plaza Theatre for the third and final night (Saturday), which includes the Un Chien Andalou screening as well as other shorts and a spoken word performance by University of Calgary writing professor and experimental poet Christian Bök. Go to www.csif.org/surrealism for more details.