LIGHT CONE: Distribution, Exhibition and Conversion of Experimental Film

Spectrums: International Arthouse Showcase

LIGHT CONE: Distribution, Exhibition and Conversion of Experimental Film

Curator : Emmanuel LEFRANT

LIGHT CONE is a nonprofit organization whose aim is the distribution, promotion and preservation of experimental cinema in France and around the world.

LIGHT CONE’s primary mission is the distribution of the works in its collection, in their original format whenever possible, to cultural organizations such as nonprofits, cinemas, museums, universities, galleries and festivals. To fulfill this mission, LIGHT CONE operates as a filmmakers’ cooperative, guaranteeing to the authors (or the rights- holders) the ownership of both the physical copies and the moral rights of the distributed works.

In addition to distributing films from its catalog, LIGHT CONE’s main activities include L’atelier 105, an artist residency dedicated to video post-production, film screening initiatives (Scratch Projection, Scratch Expanded, and Scratch Collection), and a publishing entity for books on filmmakers distributed by Light Cone (Light Cone Editions).

Curator’s Notes

According to research by film historian Richard Abel, half of the films produced by Gaumont between 1900 and 1902 were dance films: the Lumière brothers’ cameramen were fascinated by Tyrolean, Javanese, Egyptian, and other types of dance. The same appetite for the moving body spread to America, where dance occupied a special place in the cinematic landscape throughout the century.

The links between dance and traditional cinema are well established, and the same is true of experimental cinema, which were quickly embraced by its avant-garde movements. The program offers a journey through the 20th century (from 1900 to 1970), shedding light on this special connection between two kinetic art forms. Almost exclusively in black and white (with the exception of the explosion of color taking place in the last film, made in 2006), in the second part we will have the opportunity to see the works in their original format, in 16mm.

—Emmanuel LEFRANT