Elliot (Craig Jacobson, 2017)

 ☼☼☼☼☼☼☼(☼) out of 10☼

Most certainly inspired by Shin'ya Tsukamoto's cult classic Tetsuo (the official poster alone is a reason enough to make this comparison), but adorned with a lurid color palette of psychedelic proportions, Craig Jacobson's hyper-stylized debut feature provides a bizarre mixture of social commentary, parable on identity, cyberpunk horror and experimental phantasy, boasting delightfully gritty practical effects (many kudos to Cassandra Sechler), a darkly ethereal, highly expressive synth-score and a VHS (read: decidedly anti-HD) cinematography which simultaneously awakens 80s nostalgia in all of its glitchy glory, and captures the grotesque mysteries of the titular protagonist's biomechanical, reality-shattering world frequently blurred into mind-boggling abstractions.

Available for rent or purchase at Vimeo on Demand.

The Homo Sapiens Project (Rouzbeh Rashidi, 2011-2015)

Comprised of 199 installments (+ a few bonus features) which range from 1 to 120 minutes in duration, the Homo Sapiens Project by the Irish-Iranian filmmaker Rouzbeh Rashidi sets pretty high standards for the experimental films to come. A culmination of its auteur's practice, as suggested by the official synopsis, it marks a singular milestone in the history of cinema (and no, this is not an exaggeration), which makes the honor of seeing it in its impressive, often ambiguous, not to mention poetic entirety all the greater.

Inspiring in many unexplainable ways and to the point of putting you in the state of hyperproductivity, HSP evokes various associations, reaches to your subconsciousness, compels you to perceive things as if you were an alien entity, and above all, radically explores the endless possibilities of 'motion picture', simultaneously looking into the past and the future. Both beautiful and deformed in its elusiveness, this Janus-headed 'mutant' transforms on countless occasions, decomposes then rises from the ashes, and brings about a collision between multiple filmic dimensions, and between our and its own realities, pushing you down the bottomless rabbit hole.

My two-part essay on EFS Publications is an attempt to grasp its 'madness'. Follow the links provided below:

HSP Part I / HSP Part II

 

 

Still shots from HSP

(100) | (135)

(154) | (157)

(160) | (172)

(181) | (189)

Panta Rei (Dem & Seth Morley, 2016)

 ☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼ out of 10☼

Exotic, immersive and mystical, Panta Rei focuses on the ritualistic aspects of cinema, invoking strange ghosts of the past, and ‘unsettling’ the depressing present with the beautifully ascetic pagan imagery of red (blood / body), black (shadow) and white (soul). Dubbed ‘film installation’ by its creators, it puts you in a state of wonder by virtue of arcane symbolism, dialogue-free ‘narrative’ and the mouth harp score that resonates of primordial times. As it progresses, the boundaries between then and now, life and death, reality and fantasy, fiction and documentary become increasingly blurred.

Available @ Vimeo on Demand

11 Recent Artworks

Growing simultanously with my collage obsession is the amount of artworks which reached the number of three hundred a few days ago. The selection presented here includes eleven of my recent pieces some of which show clear signs of the constructivist art influence, as well as the tendency towards colored 'accents'.

Self-Portrait With an Invisible Triangle and Eszett Squared

Leaving the Scrapyard Paradise

Angelic Paranoia: Endless Possibilities of a Room

A Classic Love Triangle With a Geometric Progression

... and Then the Moon Said Let There Be Nothing Else

Maestro's Mystery Is Blue

Likewise, the Eternity Prevails

A Choreography for a Pure Reverie

Forgotten Between a Memory and the Mythical Sun

A Cantilever Ends With a Canned Forever

Cruising Across the Universe Code-Named Kazimir

(click to enlarge)

NGboo Art (Nicollage) @ Facebook

Phantom Islands in Belgrade!

I am extremely delighted and excited to announce that the audience of this year's Alternative Film/Video Festival will have an opportunity to see Phantom Islands - the latest opus by one of our time's most prominent 'cinexperimenters', Rouzbeh Rashidi - and to meet the mastermind behind EFS in person. The artist who also happens to be a dear friend of mine will be participating in a panel discussion concerning collectivism during which he will present the (exquisite!) book Luminous Void: Experimental Film Society Documents published by EFS in 2017.

The iPhone wiz from Wales Scott Barley whose fascinating feature debut Sleep Has Her House had its Belgrade premiere at Magnificent 7 this june will be taking part in the jury.

So, if you are an alternative cinema aficionado, you might want to reschedule your plans for December 12-16, and visit Serbia's capital.

'Concrete of Doom' Triptych

All our lives we are building our own tombstones.

N: The Graveyard of Beauty

Ж: Black Music

P: … Is Already Dead

(click to enlarge)

Mythomachia EX

My latest collage series titled Mythomachia EX is available for purchase at ITCH.io. Follow this link or scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the widget to find out more about it. If you enjoy my works, follow me @ Facebook. Mythomachia EX is a 'spiritual sequel' to Instructional Manual for the Superstitious which is preceeded by Glum Glamour and The Grain of Ultimate Silence.