Falling Lessons: The Films of Amy Halpern 2

Introduced by Kathryn Siegel

Injury on a Theme
Amy Halpern, 2010, 7 min, 16mm

For Lynda Gudde. “A short sweet film concerning torture.” – Amy Halpern

Falling Lessons
Amy Halpern, 1992, 64 min, 16mm

With Michael Snow, Shirley Clarke, Julie Dash, Chick Strand, Pat O’Neill, and many others.

“Falling Lessons is a film about eye-contact and fear, and about how nourishment can be gained from a look. It takes the form of a series of encounters between the individual in the audience and the individuals on the screen. The film uses faces as an alphabet. The eyes of almost 200 adults, children and animals are composed, word-like, into sentences and paragraphs, by look, expression, and tone. These images seem to fall or to ascend, caught with us in a slow maelstrom. One by one they look us in the eye, and sometimes comment as they pass. We are caught in a complex tapestry of gestures, sounds and voices. Off-screen dramas are suggested. Plot-lines form in the mind.” – Amy Halpern

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Presented as part of Open City Documentary Festival