June 12, 2003
Step Across The Border
Thursday September 18th Doors 7.30pm
kinoKULTURE in conjunction with Harmonia Mundi UK and Ian Fenton present
STEP ACROSS THE BORDER
A 90 minute celluloid improvisation by Werner Penzel and Nicolas Humbert, featuring music and appearance by Fred Frith.
Step Across the Border
Awards:
European Film Award 1990
Hessischer Filmpreis 1990
Bundesfilmpreis 1991
Nomination Grand Prix International "Images&Documents" Figuera da Foz 1990
Uppsala Filmkaja - Best Documentary Film: Uppsala 1990
Innovative Cinema Prize 1991
Golden Gate Award - Special Jury Award: San Francisco 1991
Qualitätsprämie EDI: Switzerland 1990
Prädikat Besonders Wertvoll
Goldene Filmspule 1991: Kommunales Kino Weingarten
Selected under the 100 most important movies in film-history by the critics of Cahiers du Cinema , Paris 2000
Film Festivals:
Solothurn, Berlin, Strasbourg, Salzburg, München, Sydney, Wien, Warschau, Locarno, Toronto, Figuera da Foz, Uppsala, Montreal, Trient, Viareggio, Florenz, London, New York, Leningrad, Göteborg, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Marseille, Jerusalem, Tampere, Minneapolis, Dublin, Triest, Kopenhagen
Short synopsis
In "Step Across the Border" two forms of artistic expression, improvised music and cinema direct, are interrelated. In both forms it is the moment that counts, the intuitive sense for what is happening in a space. Music and film come into existence out of an intense perception of the moment, not from the transformation of a preordained plan. In improvisation the plan is revealed only at the end. One finds it. The other connection concerns the work method: the film team as band. Much as musicians communicate via the music, our work, too, was realized within a very small and flexible team of equals. What mattered was exchange. And movement. Sometimes we started filming in the middle of the night, responding to a new idea that had arisen only minutes before. We had a fundamental feeling for what we wanted to do, for what kind of film this should be. And we followed that feeling. It was all very instinctive...
Do you know a white rabbit who, playing trumpet, circles the world on his flying carpet? May be you have met him somewhere already, in Zurich, London, Leipzig, Tokyo or New York. That at least was about the route we took and what resulted from it was the black-and-white wink of an eye at the symphonic connection between subways, storms and electric guitars. An American critic wrote: 'Fred Frith's music makes your jaw drop, your feet dance, and your neighbours move.'
Also starring: several telephones, puddles, scarecrows, saxophones, orchestrated cities and motors.
A music film.
Press:
Rock's greatest moment is, well, jazzy
"Step Across the Border" the most important mix of music and film since the early '70s
Before MTV unplugged Nirvana or the stage plugged in Tommy, before MuchMusic, or the rest of rock video, before there was such a thing as the "rockumentary" or the sycophantic concert flick - before all that came to pass, the very idea of rock - of popular music of any kind - coupled with something else, caused a stir. Especially film. Rock and film. It was the mating of two alien life-forms - no, maybe it was more like cats coupling at midnight; a pretty loud, nasty and memorable business for the listeners as well as, one presumes, for the cats themselves. Renaldo & Clara, with and by Bob Dylan, was the last rock flick that mattered, and that was in the early 70s. Until Step Across the Border, that is. And, not to mince words, it's arguably the greatest sustained bit of popular music on film since Shall We Dance, with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in 1937 - and that includes Gene Kelly's heartbreak final ballet in An American in Paris, Jazz On A Summer's Day or Dylan in Don't Look Back. No question. As Frith connects primal rock with everything from North African Pop to traditional Japanese percussion music to techno art-band stuff from New York in the late '80s when the film was shot, we're given one enormously imaginative extension of the potential of North American pop music. This, he shows, is where the roots-connected pop of the 21st century has to go. Or, with this film, it has already gone...
- Peter Goddard, New York Times
Biography / Filmography:
Werner Penzel was born 1950 and grew up on the country-side in southern Germany. In the late 60s he played music and wrote poetry before turning to moviemaking in the early 70s. He worked with the Brazilian theatre company Oficina, studied at Munich Film School and traveled through South America, North Africa, India and Japan. After Vagabunden Karawane (198O), Adios Al Odio (1986) and other movies he founded Cine Nomad together with Nicolas Humbert in 1987 which resulted among other movies in two works for cinema Step Across The Border (1990) and Middle Of The Moment (1995), as well as the film triptych Three Windows (1999).
Nicolas Humbert, born in 1958. Early writings, pictures and Super-8 films influenced by French Surrealism. Co-founded the 'Groupe Macsom'. 1980-82 paintings. 1982-87 studied at School for Film in Munich. Since then has worked as a freelance writer and film director. Founded the film production Cine Nomad together with Werner Penzel. Films include the feature film Nebel Jagen (1985), the documentary Wolfsgrub (1986) and two films in collaboration with Werner Penzel, Step Across The Border (1990) and Middle Of The Moment (1995). Followed by the experimental film Vagabonding Images (1998) together with Simone Fürbringer and the film triptych Three Windows - Hommage à Robert Lax (1999) in collaboration with Werner Penzel.
Werner Penzel: 1969 "hiebfest" (with Hartmut Lerch and Ingo Schütze) 16mm/60Min 1971 "Nellies Laden" 16mm/30Min 1972 "Heisse Luft" 35mm/14Min 1973 "Haiku" 16mm/11Min 1974 "Tamfez" 35mm/9Min "Umbanda Magic Theatre" 35mm/10Min 1975 "Brot & Zirkus" 16mm/60Min 1976 "Babaji & Dokri Maa" 16mm/20Min 1979 "Vagabunden Karawane" 16mm/90Min 1981 "Dein Kopf ist ein schlafendes Auto" (with Fritz Baumann) 16mm/100Min 1982 "Krampus" 16mm/30Min 1983 "Piraten der Stille" 16mm/50Min 1984 "Sterben zu Füssen der Brüder" 16mm/30Min 1986 "Abschied vom Hass" 16mm/72Min 1988 "Lani und die Seinen" (with Nicolas Humbert) 16mm/45Min 1987-1990 "Step across the Border" (with Nicolas Humbert) 35mm/90Min 1990-1995 "Middle of the Moment" (with Nicolas Humbert) 35mm/80Min 1997 "Null Sonne.No Point" (with Nicolas Humbert) Video/35Min 1998 "One last Glimpse" (with Doris Dörrie) Video/60Min 1999 "Why should I buy a bed when all that I want is sleep" (with Nicolas Humbert) Video/60Min 1993-1999 "Three Windows" (with Nicolas Humbert) film triptych-videoinstallation/45Min-loop
Nicolas Humbert: 1982/83 "Krampus" (Regie:Werner Penzel) 16mm/30Min 1983/84 "Nebel Jagen" 16mm/70Min 1985/86 "Wolfsgrub" 16mm/70Min 1988/89 "Lani und die Seinen" (with Werner Penzel) 16mm/45Min 1987-1990 "Step across the Border" (with Werner Penzel) 35mm/90Min 1990-1995 "Middle of the Moment" (with Werner Penzel) 35mm/80Min 1997 "Null Sonne. No Point" (with Werner Penzel) Video/35Min 1996-1998 "Vagabonding Images" (with Simone Fürbringer) 16mm/45Min 1999 "Why should I buy a bed when all that I want is sleep" (with Werner Penzel) Video/60Min 1993-1999 "Three Windows"(with Werner Penzel) film triptych-videoinstallation/45Min-loop
cinenomad.de/filme/Step.htm
Tickets in advance £7 / £5 members
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posted by James on June 12, 2003 06:59 PM