All Films

Gnomes

1980 • 45 min • United States of America

A family of gnomes preparing for the wedding of their eldest son must engage in a battle of wits with an enemy family of vicious trolls.

Away from It All

1979 • 14 min • United Kingdom

Mock travelogue that was shown in cinemas before "Life of Brian."

Canada Vignettes: Moccasins

1979 • 1 min • Canada

Close-ups of fine detail of the ancient skill of quillwork embroidery--brightly coloured geometric designs on high-ankled, Seneca-type moccasins. These moccasins are over one hundred years old, from the fabled Speyer Collection that was repatriated from Germany by the National Museum of Man in 1975.

Two Space

1979 • 7 min • United States of America

Two Space systematically explores symmetries used by Islamic artists to create abstract temple decorations. The two dimensional patterns, like the tile patterns of Islamic temples, are generated by performing a set of symmetry operations (translations, rotations, and reflections) upon a basic figure or tile. Two Space consists of twelve such patterns produced using each of nine different animating figures (12 x 9 = 108 total). Rendered in stark black and white, the patterns produce optical illusions of figure-ground reversal and afterimages of color. Gamelan music from the classical tradition of Java adds to the mesmerizing effect.

Topless

1979 • 16 min • United States of America

A collaborative faux documentary by then roommates Cara Perlman and Jane Sherry, tracing Jane’s activities as a topless dancer in a New York City nightclub–where she was in fact working at the time.

The Adventures of Chip

1979 • 20 min • Soviet Union

Based on the story of the same name by L. Davydychev.

Table Scenes

1979 • 7 min • Argentina

A group of people, blindfolded and fed distorted German dialogue through headphones, sit at a table and feel their way towards the food in the centre.

Clapping Songs

1979 • 6 min

In this work Keane's daughter and a friend perform a series of playground clapping songs. The consistent audio of their singing contrasts with the intermittent images of their actions which is particular to the original slide-tape format, through which a series of projected slides are accompanied by a synchronised audiotape soundtrack.

Often During the Day

1979 • 10 min • United Kingdom

Feminist essay film.

Film Display

1979 • 5 min

Experimental short.

Chicana

1979 • 23 min • United States of America

CHICANA traces the history of Chicana and Mexican women from pre-Columbian times to the present. It covers women's role in Aztec society, their participation in the 1810 struggle for Mexican independence, their involvement in the US labor strikes in 1872, their contributions to the 1910 Mexican revolution and their leadership in contemporary civil rights causes. Using murals, engravings and historical footage, CHICANA shows how women, despite their poverty, have become an active and vocal part of the political and work life in both Mexico and the United States.

Fever Dream

1979 • 7 min

A wet hot dream about sensuality. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with the National Film Preservation Foundation and the Pacific Film Archive in 2009.

Graphic Variations on Telidon

1979 • 8 min • Canada

"In an effort to explore the flexibility of Telidon, Canada's videotex system, Pierre Moretti, animation artist from the National Film Board, used, in the graphic mode, the geometric figures which form the basis for Telidon's picture description instructions. Thus he created this short animated film."

Hexenschuss

1979 • 30 min • Germany

Berlin 1978. The film tells the story of three women who live together and build a jamming transmitter, which they use to highjack the soundtrack of TV news broadcasts. Why they do this is explained through a polemic montage of archival TV footage, which shows how men in leadership positions talk about women and what they do.

Volcán

1979 • 3 min • United States of America

Volcán captures a raised mound of earth set against a grassy riverbank. A white silhouette in the shape of a female body lies atop of the form. The same shot then cuts to a frame where the base of the white figure spontaneously starts smoking. It then quickly sets aflame. As it combusts, a deep cavity is revealed, even as it is cloaked in growing flames and smoke, evoking a volcanic eruption. Finally, the entire body is engulfed so that only ashes remain in the negative space, human remains. Mendieta short the work in 1975 at Old Man’s Creek in Sharon Center, Iowa, near where the artist was living at the time.

Electric Light Voyage

1979 • 60 min • United States of America

“This 60 minute electronic fantasy featuring computer animation can control and change your moods of elation and tranquility. To change or enhance your mood, simply play a musical selection that accompanies your present feeling - its mesmerising! The abstract colorised computer animated visuals are artfully paced with their complimentary sound track. Images explode with colour while sooting with flowing shapes and rhythms, Great for parties or individual contemplation.”

Kiss the Girls: Make them Cry

1979 • 7 min • United States of America

Constructed of footage recorded from the television game show Hollywood Squares. The bulk of the piece is made up from recorded introductory gestures of female celebrities participating in Hollywood Squares, which are synced to then-contemporary Disco songs.

Inter-Dimensional Music Through Iasos

1979 • 27 min • United States of America

This is a documentary on Iasos that was created in 1979 in California.

Colored Milk

1979 • 9 min • Soviet Union

A grandson came to the village to visit his grandmother, who rarely rests in nature, which makes him look pale and sick. The boy likes the geese, the cow, and the local nature here. He gets involved in local life, starts making friends with animals, walks with them in meadows and lawns, and doesn't even notice how his grandmother's health turns into joy. And the reason for the transformation was the mysterious colored milk.

Quiet Swamp

1979 • 10 min • Soviet Union

About the protection of nature, about the inhabitants of protected swamps.

Patria Libre

1979 • 13 min

1979 Mexican experimental film

3 Minutes 12 Seconds To End

1979 • 3 min

“3 minutes 12 seconds” is an cyberpunk apocalyptic countdown

Priory: The Only Home I've Got

1979 • 28 min • Canada

The Priory is a public extended-care hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, for people suffering from chronic geriatric illnesses. Treatment is innovative. It is based on the theory that even the ordinary activities of a patient's life contain elements of therapy. The film shows us how patients are encouraged to do as much as they can for themselves despite their confinement to wheelchairs.

After the Game

1979 • 19 min • United States of America

The touching story of two women discovering their true feelings for each other.