Flickering with lively energy

The 27th Schmalfilmtage (small format days) took place in Dresden. Once again, there were numerous events centered around Super 8 and 16 mm. Many aspects of the program have improved significantly compared to previous years: The selection of films for the international competition featured more documentaries, more narrative stories, and fewer experimental works. The mix was just right. And the event moderators were also much more professional than in previous years. 

On Thursday, the spotlight was on the Found Footage Competition, to which Super 8 Magazine also contributed a prize. The jury prize of €500 went to Argentine filmmaker Delfina Carlota Vazquez for her 16mm work WATER DISSOLVES ITS IMAGE, THE LANDSCAPE DISAPPEARS. The audience prize of €300 for research work, as well as an honorable mention from the jury, went to Céline Berger from Germany for her 16mm project OVERWORK.

On Friday, Edmund Ward from the British company on8mil demonstrated a newly developed, reloadable metal Super 8 cartridge. But, as is always the case, the problems lie in the details. Light leakage is still visible at the edges of the film stock. Edmund is confident that the cartridge will be ready for production in the coming months. He then plans to offer a subscription service for self-loading Super 8 film that includes a metal cartridge. Initial discussions with raw film supplier Kodak on this topic have reportedly been promising. This is also evident from the fact that Kodak employee Holger Schwärzel was present at this presentation. For the rest of Europe, the subscription model seems less appealing due to Brexit…

Also on Friday, Martin Ježek from the Czech Republic staged an installation using several Super 8 projectors with holes burned live into the film stock, various film speeds, and material running without a sector shutter, which was accompanied live by a soundscape created by Martin Klapper (also from the Czech Republic). Things got even more abstract on Saturday when Jan Kulka from Prague presented his Archeoscope: a homemade projector that blurs the boundaries between perception and film by projecting different formats and frame rates simultaneously. Kulka works with analog and handmade techniques as well as unusual materials. “Patterns” is an audiovisual battle between chaos and order and a challenge for eyes seeking sharpness and structure. The impressive result is hard to describe, though a bit long and exhausting. Let’s put it this way: a lingering high for the eyes.

Back to Friday, when the popular Live Dubbing Competition took place that evening. Old educational and documentary films are muted and imbued with new soundscapes by musicians. This time, the sounds were less focused on individual movements and more on the overall narrative. The jury found Ekkehard Meister’s virtuoso scoring of the nature documentary “Die Wildkatze” (wildcat) particularly outstanding. The Audience Award went to Philipp Gottesleben, who breathed new life into the film “Arbeitskollektiv” (workgroup) with his cello.

The International Competition Super 8/16 mm presented a cross-section of current work from around the world on Saturday evening. As on Friday, the Motorenhalle (motor hall) was sold out on Saturday, and the audience was able to make their own decision alongside the jury. The jury prize of €500 went to French filmmaker Florencia Aliberti for her Super 8 film M DE MERCURIO. The Audience Award went—with plenty of local support—to Britta Sommermeyer for the photo film ERIKA WAR KEINE SCHREIBMASCHINE (Erika was not a typewriter), shot on Super 8.

As always, the loving attention to detail behind the scenes is worth mentioning, especially regarding the technical aspects, catering, and organization. The hosting has improved and become more professional. See you next year!

More reports about Super 8 in our bilingual printed magazine: www.super8mag.de