Photophobia 7

Film has traditionally been a tough sell in the city. Until the opening of The Movie Palace on Concession last year, the only venues for rep and avant-garde cinema in the city had been the AGH film series and a few screenings at the (now highly missed) Staircase Café. Adding insult to injury, the major theatre chains in the area have tended to avoid Canadian and foreign films, and even refused to exhibit many of the more interesting higher-profile films coming from America. Cinephiles in Hamilton have been relegated to other theatres in other towns, usually springing for Guelph or Toronto for their fix.

Out of this cinematic void sprung the idea for an outdoor screening festival highlighting short-length work by regional film producers, as well as challenging short work from the rest of the country and elsewhere. With the help of the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton Artists Inc., and the Hamilton and Region Arts Council, Chris and Paul Shannon launched Photophobia in 1999. Over the years, Photophobia has grown in both audience numbers and national and international visibility.

This year’s outing is a three day event beginning with an August 8 screening of the fascinating documentary In the Realms of the Unreal at The Movie Palace. This richly textured film examines the phantasmagoric work of legendary outsider artist Henry Darger, a reclusive janitor who over the course of his life produced a fantasy world in painting and text that rivals the works of Blake or Bosch for its hallucinatory shamanism.

The short film and video screenings will be done August 11 at Photophobia’s traditional location, the newly-renovated Irving Zucker Sculpture Garden at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. Both the open-air concept and the open-admission (pay what you can) policy should appeal to both die hard Photophobes and casual passers-by equally. Fifteen films were selected among 270 submissions from around the world. Open-air venues for cinema tend to encourage a more relaxed and social atmosphere than the darkly incubating confines of the indoor theatre. As a further and somewhat unconscious endeavour, events like Photophobia serve to demystify the downtown core, which has traditionally been seen as a dangerous and drug-filled place at night. Community events and art-driven activity are among the most reliable factors which could dispel that fear and bring Hamilton residents back to the core from their suburban somnambulism.

This year’s musical element has been expanded to encompass its own night on August 12 at Hamilton Artists Inc. Beginning with a screening of video work at 7 pm, local musicians including Battleship Ethel and Cadillac Bill will then integrate their audio explorations with film and video work presented by a number of south-western Ontario artists who work in collaboration with The Factory, Hamilton’s most prominent video and film collective.

Claire Meldrum, artistic co-ordinator at The Factory and member of the selection committee for this year’s festival, talked about how many of this year’s selections concern themselves with the degree to which humanity has interpollinated itself with technology. “Many of the films express a feeling of disconnection felt by individuals living with the challenges of an increasingly technological society. Some of the artists embrace technology, and others deconstruct or critique, say, the environmental or identity issues that come with living with technology.”

Arguably, film and video work signify the interdependence of humans with technology better than most media forms. Not only is the cinematic process highly dependent on technological developments, which frequently dictate not only aesthetic concerns but thematic ones as well, but the process of consuming media is dependent on the technologies of presentation. Ironically, “people can be more comfortable with new media,” Meldrum admits. “New media is an inherently social phenomenon, and watching is almost “easy”, so you can get away with tougher subjects” than you can in painting or sculpture. “I think the public thinks that it’s about time for new venues for this kind of thing in the city. Media arts are quickly reaching a critical mass in this city. There’s more awareness, more festivals and screenings. And I think that Hamilton has a highly educated and interested audience community which is key to the success of things like [Photophobia].”

Ian Jarvis, one of the Factory’s directors as well as a member of the Photophobia selection committee, agrees, adding that film festivals such as this meet the social needs of local residents. “With Photophobia, we’ve focusing on a diverse selection of films, representing different classes, races, orientations, and ages. All of the films are struggling to come to terms with the alienating aspects of technology. Film and video kind of bridges that gap, using high-tech to get people to meet again” to watch the films.

With declining box-office sales, it seems that the avant-garde community is not alone in trying to get people out of the comfort of their home theatres. “I think more and more people are getting bored with the blockbusters,” Jarvis quips. Fewer and fewer filmgoers are finding satisfaction with the traditional theatrical experience, preferring the couch-and-fridge convenience of home viewing. As well, the formulaic nature of such commercial films tends to downplay any sense of authenticity or connection that an audience may feel toward the film or its subjects. Instead, many commercial films attempt to blind the viewer’s senses and discourage active interpretation with an overpowering sense of awe: big explosions, big melodrama, big dialog. Photophobia is an attempt to encourage a different model for community within film audiences. “We’re trying to shop at home, looking at regional artists and local cultural stuff. And that gives you a personal touch that I feel lacking in most commercial films. I mean, it’s always nicer when someone bakes you cookies than when they bring home a fast-food meal.”

Let the technology of the home-baked Photophobic goods seduce you, beginning at dusk in the open-air of downtown Hamilton.