The Academy and the Avant-garde
Film Restorations from the Academy Film Archive
May 30 to June 1, 2018
Filmmaker, curator and restorer Mark Toscano, born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1976, has been considered the specialist for restorations of independent and avant-garde films at the Academy Film Archive since 2003. In this Hollywood institution, which is primarily focused on industrial film and in charge of events such as the annual Oscar award ceremony, Toscano plays an exceptional role. But his realm of activity does not end there: in recent years, Toscano has been responsible for achieving a new visibility of American avant-garde cinema through multiple strands of work. These include his restorations of Stan Brakhage, Bruce Bailie or Chick Strand as well as international film programs made up of examples from his restoration work that he has curated and conveyed his passion and knowledge in an inimitable way.
The film series organized by the Austrian Film Museum together with VIS Vienna Shorts film festival and the Slovenian Cinematheque presents three programs selected by Mark Toscano that offer an insight into the activities of the collection and the new role of avant-garde films in the Academy. A program devoted to filmmaker Chick Strand (1931–2009) will present the works of this pioneer of experimental ethnographic documentary cinema for the first time in Vienna. The second part brings together independent animation films, while the third program follows a dominant thread in the US avant-garde: the West Coast psychedelia. The Academy and the Avant-garde will show all films in analogue film prints, most of them new restorations.
In cooperation with VIS Vienna Shorts and the Slovenian Cinematheque, Ljubljana
With Mark Toscano in person
Filmmaker, curator and restorer Mark Toscano, born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1976, has been considered the specialist for restorations of independent and avant-garde films at the Academy Film Archive since 2003. In this Hollywood institution, which is primarily focused on industrial film and in charge of events such as the annual Oscar award ceremony, Toscano plays an exceptional role. But his realm of activity does not end there: in recent years, Toscano has been responsible for achieving a new visibility of American avant-garde cinema through multiple strands of work. These include his restorations of Stan Brakhage, Bruce Bailie or Chick Strand as well as international film programs made up of examples from his restoration work that he has curated and conveyed his passion and knowledge in an inimitable way.
The film series organized by the Austrian Film Museum together with VIS Vienna Shorts film festival and the Slovenian Cinematheque presents three programs selected by Mark Toscano that offer an insight into the activities of the collection and the new role of avant-garde films in the Academy. A program devoted to filmmaker Chick Strand (1931–2009) will present the works of this pioneer of experimental ethnographic documentary cinema for the first time in Vienna. The second part brings together independent animation films, while the third program follows a dominant thread in the US avant-garde: the West Coast psychedelia. The Academy and the Avant-garde will show all films in analogue film prints, most of them new restorations.
In cooperation with VIS Vienna Shorts and the Slovenian Cinematheque, Ljubljana
With Mark Toscano in person
Related materials
Photos 2018 - Mark Toscano
