Taking his own surroundings as a starting point--his life, and the everyday events of his family--Willie Varela has created a personal cinema that is visually rich and sensual. Most of his films were shot in and around El Paso, Texas, where he lived for many years; the newer films in tonight's program were shot in San Francisco, his home for the past two years. Working primarily in Super-8, Varela has also been a leading advocate of the art of 8mm and Super-8 filmmaking through his articles and lectures, and as director of the Southwestern Alternate Media Project in El Paso.
Light Journals 6-10 (1981, 15 mins, Silent, 16mm, Color): A series of catalogs of light, ‘light journals' if you will, dealing with everyday, ordinary realities in such a way that the surrounding light becomes tactile and intimately expressive. Father's Day, a document of a family celebration in a suburban backyard; Romance Novel, which restricts itself to material shot in a San Antonio motel room and an apartment in El Paso; and Untitled, a light study of surfaces, shapes and colors, ending with a silhouette shot of a woman's mouth (all 1982, ca. 10 mins, Silent, Super-8, Color). Recuerdos de Flores Muertas (1982, 7 mins, Super-8, Color): A sync-sound study of Concordia Cemetery in El Paso. George Kuchar (1984, 7 mins, Super-8, Color): Filmmaker George Kuchar relates various childhood traumas, including his obsession with the ‘lean people'. Struggle in Futility (1984, 3-1/2 mins, Super-8, Color): Life in a goldfish bowl.
New Films in Bay Area Premieres:
Voladores de Papantla (1984, 3-1/2 mins, Super-8, Color): A straightforward documentation of a performance by the Voladores given in Dolores Park, San Francisco, in June of 1984. Passing Through (1984, 6 mins, Silent, Super-8, Color): Glimpses of life on the run. Shot in Juarez, Mexico, Austin and El Paso. Juntos en la Vida, Unidos en la Muerte (1984, 12 mins, Silent, Super-8, Color): Literally, ‘Together in Life, United in Death.' Writing found on a gravestone in a cemetery in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. Death's shadow everywhere. Program notes by Willie Varela.