All Films

Metamorphoses I

1978 • 7 min • East Germany

For the multimedia exhibition Tangenten I (Tangents I), Dammbeck and co-organizer, sculptor and painter Frieder Heinze had planned to collaborate on a film that would combine non-camera animation with 35mm footage of a train ride between the two Dresden districts of Radebeul and Pieschen. When the exhibition was banned in 1978, Heinze turned to other projects, but Dammbeck continued working on the film by himself. Metamorphoses I—the first experimental film ever to be shown publicly in East Germany—marks the filmic beginning of Dammbeck’s long-term art project the Herakles-Konzept (Hercules Concept).

J'aime

1978 • 32 min • France

Intermezzo

1978 • 8 min • Yugoslavia

We begin with a fragmented portrait of Činča, between the stories she tells and the thoughts of those surrounding her. In The Head, a girl is confronted with the possibility of dying. Intermezzo focusses on the moments of abstraction amid the hustle and bustle of a city. In Our Stock Exchange, unemployed people seek work. Second Floor, Basement shows us a hospital where only two floors separate birth and death.

Cylinder Sphere and Solid

1978 • 12 min

Cylinder, Sphere and Solid opens with a white screen. A performer enters from the right side and draws a black circle. He continues to draw and finally, after drawing and erasing, the circle becomes a cylinder. While continuing to draw and erase the cylinder becomes two intersecting circles. After drawing some more the drawing becomes two spheres.

Dream

1978 • 23 min • Soviet Union

In the spring and summer of 1977, the musical television film "Miracle Story" was filmed on Toomemäe in Tartu. Despite the fact that all the shots in the film are documentary, you may not see a documentary in "Dream". It is not a reportage about making a film, but rather a vision, an echo that has disappeared but has been.

Root Hog or Die

1978 • 57 min

Root Hog or Die is a portrait of a living remnant of this once pervasive but rapidly vanishing way of life. Filmed in 1973 in hilltowns across Western Massachusetts and Southern Vermont, it follows the cycle of the farming year from spring to winter. In its course we visit with an array of elders, who reflect on farming's deep natural patterns, share their family histories and personal memories, and ponder the inevitable forces of technological and social change they have endured. The bittersweet nature of their challenges is manifest, as is the quiet pride they take in their lives as farmers.

Miners

1978 • 11 min • Yugoslavia

In the constant and cruel struggle of man to master nature, he will begin by destroying his greatest ally. An authentic story about a lesser-known profession that begins where the asphalt ends. In a mountainous setting, decorated with a variety of plants and home to numerous insects, birds and animals, man comes to bring unrest to the long-tamed bowels of the earth and disturbs the primordial peace of nature with the roar of explosives and the roar of machines.

Doctor Woman: The Life and Times of Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw

1978 • 29 min • Canada

Elizabeth Bagshaw was a forerunner of the women's movement. As one of the first women to practise medicine in Canada, she had to overcome society's bias against women in medicine. During her seventy-year career she helped to instigate change in public opinion on that issue, as well as the issue of birth control. The film captures the personality of this remarkable woman through a contemporary interview and re-enactments of episodes from her youth. The sepia tones of the re-enactments are in keeping with the film techniques of the time, giving the viewer a strong sense of the period. The film is of special interest to persons interested in the evolution of women's roles in Canadian society.

The Collector

1978 • 4 min

A man with a vast Mickey Mouse collection gets ready for work

Level 7 + α

1978 • 2 min • Japan

Early work of the celebrated director.

Zerda's Children

1978 • 52 min • Argentina

Ethnographic film documents a family of woodcutters living in isolation in the mountains of Calden, at the geographic center of Argentina. Through his narration, Sixto Ramon Zerda explains his wish for his children to be educated and to avoid the punishing work and exploitation he has suffered. Introduction narrated by Henry Fonda.

Hamper McBee: Raw Mash

1978 • 29 min • United States of America

A candid portrait of the late Tennessee ballad singer, story-teller, and part-time moonshiner Hamper McBee.

Panic

1978 • 25 min • United Kingdom

After being harassed by a couple of punks, a young woman picks up an old lady standing at the roadside in the rain.

The Snow Queen

1978 • 19 min • Japan

Gerda and Kai were close friends. But one day, a shard from a mirror that distorts everything it reflects entered Kai's eye. Drawn in by the Snow Queen, he disappeared beyond the icy plains. Gerda set out on a journey to find him, and eventually reunited with Kai in the Snow Queen's castle.

The Hands of Time

1978 • 30 min • United Kingdom

A BBC special with Jodie Foster's directing debut.

Myshonok Pik

1978 • 17 min • Soviet Union

Idyll

1978 • 11 min • Yugoslavia

Short documentary.

Holstein

1978 • 28 min • Canada

A portrait of a small Ontario town, this film introduces its audience to the people of Holstein by filming them in the old-fashioned general store, the blacksmith's shop and the town granary. Old-time residents reminisce, while old-fashioned sleighs travel down the main road bordered by beautiful old frame houses.

Der Graf von Rü

1978 • 3 min • Netherlands

Senior Year

1978 • 56 min • United States of America

One of the most widely seen youth films of the late 70's, this dramatic motion picture follows the life of Steve and Angie during their senior year of high school. They each try to live for Christ and reach out to others around them. But, as they deal with their own struggles to share the Lord, a fellow classmate makes things very difficult for them.

Kasper geht nach Hohenstein

1978 • 37 min • East Germany

The devil sits grumpily in hell. His grandmother advises him to take a woman. He is reluctant at first, but suddenly decides on Gretel because she can cook such beautiful dumplings. But Kasper, whose bride she is, is not to be trifled with. After many adventures, he once again defeats the prince of the underworld.

The Island of Nevawuz

1978 • 48 min • Australia

An unknown, tucked-away, medieval island is threatened by the advent of big business. A wealthy business man wants to develop the untouched island, which could then be ruined by the subsequent pollution.

No Foe Can Scare Us

1978 • 11 min • Soviet Union

The people of Samogitian village are preparing to participate in civil protection competitions. Exercises are held in the village. The most important thing is to be prepared for an nuclear attack. All instructions are carefully executed. And it does not matter at all that the exercise looks funny for bystanders. Samogitians are also happy to be together.

Testimonio de un obrero petrolero

1978 • 34 min • Venezuela

Trade union leader Manuel Taborda, a pioneer of workers' organisations in the oil industry, recounts his experiences and those of his colleagues from 1920 to 1936, with an emphasis on the struggles against foreign companies and the government.