Thursday, March 13, 2003, 8pm
Robert Beavers in person!
Imparting ‘the serenity of a thought without words’, Robert Beavers draws upon historical and architectural sources with an acute sensitivity to site. The filmmaker’s presence, though not always visually evident, is perceived in every composition, gesture and edit. Beavers’ films demand an openness and concentration, but despite their formal rigor they retain an inherent humanity. From the Notebook Of… (1971/1999), the longest film of Beavers’ career, examines the filmmaker’s cinematic ideas as opposed to his practice, through an 1895 Valéry essay on Da Vinci. The historical imagination of the contemporary filmmaker is examined again in the lyrical portrait of Florence, Work Done (1972/1999). The Ground (2001) asks “what lives in the space between the stones, in the space cupped between my hand and my chest?” (Description courtesy of Mark Webber, London Film Festival) 1971—2001, Robert Beavers, USA, ca. 95 min, 35mm.