Kanadische 70mm-Kurzfilme im EXPO-Kontext "A Place to Stand" & "Where the North Begins"

Angesichts der in den letzten Jahren zahlreich aufkeimenden 70-mm-Retrofestivals (ob in Bradford, Krnov, Oslo, Kopenhagen, Mailand, L.A. oder Karlsruhe) schien sich eigentlich langsam die Möglichkeit zu erschöpfen, bedeutenden Wiederentdeckungen von wirklich künstlerisch interessanten Filmwerken aus der 70-mm-Epoche des Kinos zu begegnen. Jetzt ist für September 2010 das "Lost Dominion 70mm Film Festival" in Quebec (Kanada) angekündigt, wo man kanadische EXPO-Kurzfilme in 70mm sowie frühe Kurzfilm-Produktionen für das erste IMAX-Kino anscheinend in historischen Kopien besichtigen kann.

Das Festival läuft vom 24. - 26. September 2010 im Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Quebec, Kanada.
Die Kurzfilm-Show ist angesetzt für 26. September 2010 um 11 Uhr Vormittags.

Besonders interessant scheint mir dabei zu sein:
"A Place to Stand",
Kanada 1967, 18mins, Directed by Christopher Chapman, 70mm 5 perf, 6-track mag.

Aus der Ankündigung vom Mitveranstalter Paul Gordon auf der Website "in70mm.com":

"A Place to Stand" was produced and directed by Christopher Chapman for the Ontario Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal. The film premiered on April 28, 1967 in a 70mm print by Technicolor, on a screen 66 feet wide by 30 feet high, with six-channel stereo surround sound. Using images, music and sound effects without spoken narration or titles, the film tells about life in Ontario, presenting about an hour-and-a-half of footage in its 18-minute running time. This is accomplished by what Chapman calls his multi-dynamic image technique, a groundbreaking multiple screen, variable picture presentation that allows viewers to see many images within different panels, up to 15 scenes simultaneously on one screen.

"At Expo, "A Place to Stand" was an instant hit. It played continually before packed audiences; as many as 6000 people daily, 2 million in total," until the end of the six-month long exposition on October 27. "A Place to Stand" - closed on 29 October 1967; originally scheduled to close on the 27th (which was a Friday) but when it was so successful they decided to stretch it to the Sunday. "The title song from the film became so popular a record was produced and has sold over 50,000 copies to date. Since Expo, "A Place to Stand" has been distributed to movie houses throughout Ontario and Canada and is soon to tour theatres in the U.S.A. and Europe. It is expected that over 100 million people will see the film."

Nearly every major Hollywood studio purchased prints of Chapman's film to screen for executives, producers and directors. Columbia Pictures distributed the film to movie theatres throughout the United States and Canada. "A Place to Stand" clearly influenced the composition of subsequent film images. An early prominent example of this influence was Norman Jewison's 1968 film "The Thomas Crown Affair", which featured Chapman's multi-dynamic image process in key scenes of the story. Jewison publicly acknowledged Chapman as creator of the technique.


Da bekommt die Innovationsbedeutung von "Thomas Crown Affair", was Splitscreen-Storytelling angeht, plötzlich eine ganz andere Note, bis hin zu acht Jahren "24".

Auch die anderen vier Kurzfilme würden mich brennend interessieren:

"Multiple Man/L’Homme Multiplie",
Kanada 1968, 16mins, directed by Georges Dufaux
"Where the North Begins"
Kanada 1971, 22mins, Directed by David MacKay, 70mm- 5 perf, 6-track mag.
"Festival"
Kanada 1971, 24mins, Directed by Chris Chapman, 70mm- 5 perf, 6-track mag.
"Seasons in the Mind"
Kanada 1971, 22 min, Directed by Peter Pearson, 70mm- 5 perf, 6-track mag

Paul Gordon dabei mit Details zu "Where the North Begins":

“Where the North Begins” was one of the 4 original regional portrait films commissioned for the first season of Ontario Place (the others being "North of Superior" (IMAX), "Seasons in the Mind" (70mm), and "Home By The Waters" (35mm anamorphic). The film was directed by David MacKay who was the producer for "A Place to Stand" and then directed "Ontario-oh!". The Ontario Place Cinesphere in Toronto was the first permanent IMAX screen in the world with a screen 80ft by 60ft that still projects IMAX and 70mm-5perf films.

Man kann nur hoffen, dass man diese kostbaren und seltenen Artefakte bald auch einmal in der deutschen Hauptstadt zu sehen bekommen kann! CINERAMA, übernehmen Sie!

ATRIUM

[Picture linked from in70mm.com]