Adynata
(1983),
Leslie Thornton’s experimental film inspired by a mid-19th century Western photograph of a Chinese couple
(2007 Federal Grants).
After the Earthquake/Después del Terremoto
(1979),
fiction short on the experiences of Nicaraguan refugees in San Francisco, made by Lourdes Portillo and Nina Serrano
(2022 Federal Grants).
Alexander Black Films
(1923-28),
five films by Alexander Black, the amateur magic lanternist and “picture play” innovator
(2007 Partnership Grants).
Alexander Black: Grandfather of Picture Plays
(1946),
compilation incorporating footage from a 1919 Paramount Screen Magazine celebrating the 25th anniversary of the motion picture
(2007 Partnership Grants).
Bop Scotch
(1952),
early experimental short by Jordan Belson, featuring animated close-ups of San Francisco sidewalks and byways
(2021 Federal Grants).
The Brink
(1960),
lyrical love story by Beat poet ruth weiss
(2017 Federal Grants).
Cabbage
(1972),
Dorothy Wiley’s experimental depiction of food preparation
(2020 Federal Grants).
Coffee
(1977),
silent, meditative film of an everyday object by Dorothy Wiley
(2020 Federal Grants).
The Devil’s Cleavage
(1973),
George Kuchar’s camp feature made with his students at the San Francisco Art Institute
(2004 Federal Grants).
Dime Store
(1949),
Dorsey Alexander’s abstract exploration of found objects
(2009 Partnership Grants).
Dream Sphinx Opera
(1973),
Roger Jacoby’s parody of heterosexual romance using found footage from costume dramas and stag films
(2021 Avant-Garde Masters Grants).
Fake Fruit Factory
(1986),
Chick Strand's documentary about women who make papier-mâché fruits in a small family-run factory in Mexico
(Treasures of American Film Archives).
Play film
Father's Day
(1974),
Lenny Lipton's Super8 sound short, showing James Broughton opening a Father's Day gift amid friends from the Canyon Cinema
(2001 Federal Grants).
Five Films by Dion Vigne
(1957–64),
fragments and footage by a recently rediscovered member of the Bay Area underground film scene
(2005 Federal Grants).
Fool’s Spring: Two Personal Gifts
(1966-67),
Nathaniel Dorsky’s and Jerome Hiler’s mutually inspired films, made as birthday gifts for one another
(2024 Avant-Garde Masters Grants).
Four Films by E.S. Taylor
(1958–68),
films created with the “lucitron,” the specialized optical projector invented by Taylor, as well as documentation of the North Beach art scene
(2005 Federal Grants).
Hours for Jerome
(1982),
experimental film by Nathaniel Dorsky, inspired by the medieval Book of Hours
(2003 Federal Grants).
How to Be a Homosexual Part I
(1980),
film diary by Roger Jacoby documenting his family, friends, and community
(2021 Avant-Garde Masters Grants).
How to Be a Homosexual Part II
(1982),
Roger Jacoby’s intimate portrayal of his struggle with AIDS and of his partner and fellow filmmaker Jim Hubbard
(2021 Avant-Garde Masters Grants).
I Change I Am the Same
(1969),
Alice Anne Parker’s playful take on gender roles and wardrobe
(2020 Avant-Garde Masters Grants).
L’Amico Fried’s Glamorous Friends
(1976),
hand-processed film by Roger Jacoby resembling an Abstract Expressionist painting in motion
(2021 Avant-Garde Masters Grants).
Letters
(1972),
abstract series of multi-dimensional letters created and filmed by Dorothy Wiley
(2020 Federal Grants).
Life and Death of a Sphere
(1948),
geometric animation by Dorsey Alexander
(2009 Partnership Grants).
Light Years
(1987),
meditation on distance, memory and change by Gunvor Nelson
(2000 Federal Grants).
Miss Jesus Fries on Grill
(1972),
Dorothy Wiley’s meditation on fate and human suffering
(2005 Partnership Grants).
North Beach
(1958),
Dion Vigné’s kinetic, super-condensed portrait of the San Francisco neighborhood
(2009 Partnership Grants).
Notes on the Port of St. Francis
(1951),
Frank Stauffacher’s poetic portrait of San Francisco, narrated by Vincent Price
(2006 Avant-Garde Masters Grants).
OffOn
(1967),
a seminal work by San Francisco filmmaker Scott Bartlett considered by many scholars to be the first experimental film to merge film and video technologies
(Treasures of American Film Archives).
Play film
Peggy and Fred in Hell: Prologue
(1984),
first avant-garde film in Leslie Thornton’s series about two children raised by television in a post-apocalyptic world
(2007 Federal Grants).
Plastic Blag
(1968),
Judith Wardwell’s satirical critique of America’s obsession with sanitation
(2020 Avant-Garde Masters Grants).
Promise Her Anything But Give Her the Kitchen Sink
(1969),
lyrical depiction of domestic life by Freude
(2020 Avant-Garde Masters Grants).
Scenes from the Tap City Circus
(1960),
mixed-media artist Paul Beattie’s experimental portrait of assemblage-sculptor George Herms at work
(2017 Federal Grants).
Shooting Star
(1970),
depiction of the melding of the artistic and domestic life by Freude
(2020 Avant-Garde Masters Grants).
Sparkles Tavern
(1984),
independent feature by Bay Area filmmaker Curt McDowell
(2014 Federal Grants).
Stand Up and Be Counted
(1969),
Scott Bartlett and Freude’s affirmation of love and equality expressed through a series of couples
(2020 Avant-Garde Masters Grants).
The Weeny Worm or the Fat Inkeeper
(1972),
Dorothy Wiley’s experimental film of spoon worm studies at the UC Davis Bodega Bay Marine Laboratory
(2020 Federal Grants).
Zane Forbidden
(1972),
Dorothy Wiley’s film portrait of her mischievous son Zane, with soundtrack by William T. Wiley and Jim Hockenhull
(2020 Federal Grants).