Free Owsley Sunday Film: First Films from Aspiring Auteurs

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4X3 FilmKlub

In the early 2000s, with the transition to digital formats, thousands of media departments deaccessioned their 16mm film libraries. Films were either given away, or literally dumped in landfills, believing that the format was dead. As a student at Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Ryan Daly worked on the behalf of the school salvaging eighty-thousand 16mm prints from Allegheny County media department. The task proved too expensive for the school and the films were offered up to Ryan Daly who established Cinemanonymous Film Archive in 2003.

Specializing in rare and often unseen amateur, experimental, industrial, sponsored and educational films, Cinemanonymous Film Archive is a vast collection of 16mm film prints. Drawing from this collection, Ryan Daly has organized several film programs under the moniker 4×3 FilmKlub since that time. Presenting a variety of thematic programs–all screening in the original 16mm format–4×3 FilmKlub is showcase of rarely-screened short films.

The themes range from dance films, screen tests, animated oddities, corporate comedies, first time filmmakers, silent films, commercial advertisements, educational films, experimental films, home movies, cartoons, and newsreels. These rare, forgotten, forbidden, and amazing short 16mm films are a must-see-to-believe cinematic experience with each program introduced by Daly.

First Films from Aspiring Auteurs
Various Directors

Sunday, April 1, 1 pm

Free

The line between professional and amateur is demarcated by a paycheck. Before Mickey Mouse became an international mascot and rodent royalty, Walt Disney was a

struggling illustrator in Kansas City. Prior to Citizen Kane establishing modernism in cinema, Orson Wells was a radio dabbling theater actor. Francois Truffaut was a film critic and cinephile before a single puff of The 400 Blows. Everyone must start somewhere, as great artists are not just born. This program of first films, from film school theses to fledgling commercial attempts, can trace the origins of auteur legend to their first attempts behind a camera. 1921–1965, running time: 64 minutes.

 

  1. Newman Laugh-O-Grams – Walt Disney (3 min) 1921
  2. The Heart of Age – Orson Wells (8 min) 1934
  3. Les Mistons – Francois Truffaut (26 min) 1958
  4. What’s a Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? – Martin Scorsese (9 min) 1963
  5. That’s Me – Alan Arkin, Albert Maysles (9 min) 1963
  6. Time Piece – Jim Henson (9 min) 1965