Reflections from a Cinematic Cesspool: George’s Sphere @ SFMOMA
Co-presented by Canyon Cinema
Join us for two screenings from the prodigal twin brothers of underground cinema, George and Mike Kuchar. Marked by a delight for the absurd, a sardonic wit, an admiration for the act of moviemaking, and a true interest in people, the Kuchars’ work is both one of a kind and two of a kind. For decades, both taught at the San Francisco Art Institute, where their influence on generations of students was as outsized as their own staggering output. In the films created directly with students, we see them shaping the school into a crucible for fearless, personal, and provocative filmmaking.
Program Two: George’s Sphere brings together four films across two distinct periods, pairing an SFAI class film with personal work by George Kuchar. The result is a double portrait of a filmmaker and his students. Together, the pairings reveal George’s fused relationship between teaching and creating and how his well-honed sensibilities radiated into the work of those around him. Curated by Andrew Lampert, who will be in attendance.
Recommended for mature audiences! Thank you to Anthology Film Archives, Video Data Bank, and Michelle Silva.
Program Details
One Night a Week (George Kuchar, 1978, 27 minutes, 16mm, B&W) Harvard Film Archive Preservation Print!
The story, written for a radio workshop in 1947, is about parents who make their teenagers stay in one night a week.
The Mongreloid (George Kuchar, 1978, 10 minutes, 16mm-on-digital, color)
A man, his dog, and the regions they inhabited, with each leaving a distinctive mark on the landscape. Not even time can wash away the residue of what they left behind.
Motel Capri (George Kuchar, 1986, 18 minutes, 16mm, color/B&W) Harvard Film Archive Preservation Print!
Calling Dr. Petrov (George Kuchar, 1986, 19:41 minutes, video)
Made the same year as Motel Capri, Calling Dr. Petrov may very well be George’s first completed Studio 8A class production.
Total runtime: 75 minutes