"Free Radicals" : A Film By Pip Chodorov

“I filmed everyday. I filmed with friends…in school…There were no rules. We we’re totally free,” recounts filmmaker and curator Pip Chodorov in his new documentary. Named after the Len Lye’s landmark experimental film of dancing lines and marks scratched into the emulsion, “Free Radicals” gives an informative and accessible introduction into the world of avant-garde cinema.
In this film essay, Chodorov examines the lives and work of such experimental luminaries as Hans Richter, Michael Snow, Peter Kubelka, Stan Brakhage and the godfather of the New American Cinema, Jonas Mekas. Unlike the MTV-ADD montage barrage that characterizes so many contemporary documentaries, the film does not hesitate to show extended clips of the actual films by the artists, immersing the viewer in their unique visual worlds and perspectives. Drawing from the Dada and Surrealist movements, many of these artists formulated new film grammars to express themselves. Others used the photo-realistic power of the camera to transform objects and people into personal symbols and ideas.
Avant-garde cinema has always occupied an uncomfortable position in our culture. Traditionally, galleries have shunned it since its reproducibility makes it difficult to commodify (though Pip to his credit has started a new organization “The Film Gallery” that may cause the art world to rethink its position). Further, unlike popcorn cinema with its institutional modes of representation, experimental film frustrates uninitiated audiences with its challenging forms. In response to these desolate conditions, Jonas Mekas and others created their own grassroots network for making and showing their films in the 1960s. Many of these organizations such as the Filmmakers’ Co-op and Anthology Film Archives are still active today.
Chodorov’s film is an affectionate tribute to these influential yet struggling artists who created this often misunderstood area of filmmaking. For those unfamiliar with names like Mekas and Brakhage, the documentary provides an excellent introduction. And with those who regularly warm the seats of Anthology, it reminds us why we started watching this stuff in the first place.
About the Director:
Filmmaker and film activist Pip Chodorov studied film semiotics at the University of Paris. In 1994, he founded the distribution company Re:Voir for the edition of historical and contemporary experimental films. In 2005, he also founded The Film Gallery – the only gallery devoted exclusively to experimental film artists. He is a co-founder of L’Abominable, a cooperative do-it-yourself film lab in Paris. His own films range from animation to film diary.