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SAW Video presents the work of Pierre Hébert, including Triptych-2 (pictured). |
Fans of alternative
cinema should reserve February 15th and 16th on their
calendars. Coming to Ottawa’s SAW Video those days is Surface Tensions,
a programme of films and videos by acclaimed
Canadian filmmaker Pierre Hébert. The Montréal-born Hébert is being fêted by
SAW in a retrospective of some of his canonical works, as well as some of his
latest films. Included among the programme is Triptych-2, which was recently honoured with a nomination for Best Animated Film at Quebec’s Jutra Awards.
Also among the diverse line-up are films made during Hébert’s tenure at the
National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and films produced
independently. A contemporary of Canadian filmmaker Norman McLaren, Hébert’s
films display an innovative experimentation with form and animation. Moving
from formal abstraction to grander, more evocative works, SAW’s Surface Tensions offers
a wide range of pieces by one of Canada’s most influential film artists.
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Tropismes |
The programme also emphasizes
Hébert’s fusion of film and live performance. The second day of Surface Tensions offers a live enactment of
Hébert’s performance piece Tropismes, which SAW
describes as a film that “explores the gray area between abstraction and
representation, looking at how the human impulse to anthropomorphize the
inanimate can transform an assembly of lines, colours and shapes into a
‘face.’” This exploration of abstraction takes form and interactivity to a new
level, as Hébert’s animation will be performed with live
music by contemporary clarinetist Lori Freedman. Hébert will also be on
hand to present his work Friday.
Surface Tensions: The Films & Videos of Pierre Hébert
Friday, February 15th 2013
Screening: 8pm sharp (doors: 7:30pm)
Presented by SAW Video Media Art Centre
(Seating is limited; groups looking to sit together should
come as early as possible)
$5 dollars, advance tickets available at SAW Video and The Manx Pub
Screening list:
-Histoire verte /
Story in Green (1962, 16mm, 3 min.)
-Opus 1 (1964, 16mm, 4 min.)
-Notions élémentaires de génétques / Elementary Notions of Genetics (1971, 35mm, 7 min.)
-Songs and Dances of the Inanimate World: The Subway (1984, 35mm, 14 min.)
-Adieu bipède (1987, 35mm, 16 min.)
-The Statue of Giordano Bruno (co-directed with Bob Ostertag, 2005, SD video, 12 min.)
-Herqueville (2007, HD video, 22 min.)
-Thunder River (2011, HD video, 8 min.)
-Triptych-2 (2012, HD video, 10 min.)
-Opus 1 (1964, 16mm, 4 min.)
-Notions élémentaires de génétques / Elementary Notions of Genetics (1971, 35mm, 7 min.)
-Songs and Dances of the Inanimate World: The Subway (1984, 35mm, 14 min.)
-Adieu bipède (1987, 35mm, 16 min.)
-The Statue of Giordano Bruno (co-directed with Bob Ostertag, 2005, SD video, 12 min.)
-Herqueville (2007, HD video, 22 min.)
-Thunder River (2011, HD video, 8 min.)
-Triptych-2 (2012, HD video, 10 min.)
For more details and film synopses, please visit:
Tropismes: A Live Performance by Pierre Hébert & Lori Freedman
Saturday, February 16th 2013, 7:30pm
Arts Court Theatre, 2nd floor, 2 Daly Avenue
Admission $5
Admission $5
Produced in partnership with Winterlude, the Downtown Rideau
BIA, the OIAF (Ottawa International Animation Festival) and IMOO (Improvising
Musicians of Ottawa/Outaouais).
For more details on Saturday’s event, please visit: