Thanks to the Quebec Government Office, London and the National Film Board of Canada.
Theodore Ushev – animator, graphic designer, illustrator and multimedia artist, from Quebec, Canada will be joining us to present his astonishing 15 minute film ‘Lipsett Diaries’, one of the most highly acclaimed short films of the last 12 months and winner of multiple awards and plaudits from audiences worldwide.
Theodore will give a talk about his film and the subject matter behind it – the unsung genius experimental filmmaker Arthur Lipsett who tragically took his own life aged 49, after years of suffering from mental illness and depression. Lipsett’s 1961 film ‘Very Nice Very Nice’ was nominated for an Oscar and won praise from Stanley Kubrick, among others.
This will be the UK’s first ever comprehensive Theodore Ushev and Arthur Lipsett retrospective.
‘The Man Who Waited’ (Theodore Ushev, 2006)
For his entire life, a man has waited outside a closed door. What lies behind? The truth he seeks or another door? Based on a parable by Franz Kafka.
Canada, 7’25
‘Drux Flux’ (Theodore Ushev, 2008)
Part figurative, part abstract, fast-flowing images show modern people crushed by industry. Inspired by ‘One-Dimensional Man’ by philosopher Herbert Marcuse.
Canada, 5’00
‘Tower Bawher’ (Theodore Ushev, 2006)
A whirlwind tour of Russian constructivist art filled with visual references to artists of the era, including Vertov, Stenberg, Rodchenko, Lissitsky and Popova.
Canada, 3’45
‘Tzaritza’ (Theodore Ushev, 2006)
When Lili finds a tzaritza (magic shell) along the seashore, she hatches a plan to bring her Grandma from Bulgaria to Montreal to make her father happy.
Canada, 7’00
‘Yannick Nezet-Seguin – No Intermission’ (Theodore Ushev, 2010)
A documentary about conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin – an optimist drawn to dark music and the themes of death and suffering.
Canada, 6’00
‘Lipsett Diaries’ (Theodore Ushev, 2010)
The descent into depression and madness of Arthur Lipsett, a troubled Canadian experimental filmmaker, depicted in an absorbing diorama with skillfully interwoven words from his diary and sound from his films.
Canada, 14’00
‘Very Nice, Very Nice’ (Arthur Lipsett, 1961)
‘Academy Award’ Nominee
An avant-garde blend of photography and sound looking at the business-as-usual face we put on life and the anxieties we want to forget.
Canada, 7’00
‘Free Fall’ (Arthur Lipsett, 1964)
A surrealist dream of our fall from grace into banality.
Canada, 9’15
’21-87′ (Arthur Lipsett, 1964)
Cited as an influence on George Lucas’s ‘Star Wars’, this is a startling and visionary commentary on a machine-dominated society.
Canada, 9’40
‘A Trip down Memory Lane’ (Arthur Lipsett, 1965)
Lipsett’s own personal time capsule compiled from explosive and peculiar newsreel items of the last 50 years. An incisive look at human might, majesty and mayhem.
Canada, 12’40
