Wednesday October 26, 6-7:30pm: The Five Obstructions (2003) by Jørgen Leth and
Lars von Trier
Wednesday November 2, 6-7:30pm: Response in film by SJ Chiro and Charles Mudede
Join us for a two-part program featuring this thought-provoking film and a response in film by writer and filmmaker Charles Mudede and filmmaker SJ Chiro.
Part I: Screening of The Five Obstructions on October 26; snacks provided- early birds can claim the comfy red chairs!
Part II: The Response by Charles Mudede and SJ Chiro on November 2, 6-7:30pm
In response to The Five Obstructions, both filmmakers will be showing new works that relate to this film and the theme of Authorship. The audience will be treated to new work shown to the public for the first time, and will be encouraged to participate in the discussion with the filmmakers about choices they make in their work, why they make what they make, and what authorship means to them.
Both events are free and open to the public.
We’re screening The Five Obstructions during the Authorship series because it’s about remaking what you’ve made, why you might do such a thing, who controls what you make, and where creavity comes from. In other words, it addresses our theme “Why Do We Make Things?” perfectly. It’s also about friendship among many other topics, but I’ll let presenters Charles Mudede and SJ Chiro take you on that journey…
About the presenters:
SJ Chiro graduated from Bennington College in 1987 with a degree in theater and French lit. Upon graduation she moved to Seattle and joined forces with the then nascent Annex Theatre where she acted, directed and championed new work, eventually becoming Artistic Director. Work in the theater lead naturally to work in film. In 1994 she was accepted to USC film school, but opted to stay in Seattle, continuing her studies with Lynn Shelton, and Deco Dawson, among others. Her 2006 short film, Little Red Riding Hood, has been shown at festivals internationally, garnering the awards for Best Live Action Short at Cinema K (Children’s Film Festival Seattle), and Best Cinematography at The San Francisco Woman’s Film Festival. Her film Third Days Child has screened at the Seattle International Film Festival, One Reel Festival of short films and Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films 2008, among others. At SIFF it was named one of the top 20 short films of the festival. It also screened at the SRO Sci-Fi Festival in 2009. 2009 also saw the completion of A Water Tale, an environmental fairy tale commissioned by Seattle Public Utilities. In 2011 she made The Epiphany, a film based on a Jonathan Lethem short story, commissioned by Washington Film Works and SIFF. Howard From Ohio, also completed in 2011, was awarded a special jury prize at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival as well as Best Short Film at Local Sightings Film Festival 2011. SJ Chiro is fascinated by men and women and how they got that way.
Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory of this birth, but he does remember noticing himself in the mirror for this first time—it happened on May 3, 1972. Mudede is also a filmmaker: Two of his films, Police Beat andZoo, premiered at Sundance, and Zoo was screened at Cannes. Mudede has written for the New York Times, Cinema Scope, Ars Electronica, C Theory, and academic journals. He also wrote the liner notes for Best of Del Tha Funkee Homosapien: Elektra Years. Mudede has lived in Seattle since 1989.