16mm: The Colours of Carbon Arc

David Landolf and Brigitte Paulowitz (Lichtspiel/Kinemathek Bern)

In this programme of short subjects from the collection of the Lichtspiel, we combine colour with carbon arc: a selection of films with a special colour aspect will be presented on one of our 16mm carbon arc projectors. For about 60 years, early motion-picture projectors relied on carbon arcs for illumination. These arcs, created between two carbon rods by passing electricity through a gap, produced the intense light necessary for screening films. The opening of the programme will be with an all-time classic on works of art: Works of Calder shot by the Swiss American photographer Herbert Matter. It will be followed by other sponsored films, as the 16mm Cinemascope reduction print of L’uomo il fuoco il ferro by the renowned Swiss photographer and filmmaker Kurt Blum and abstract painter Eugenio Carmi. The film was shot in different Italian factories, including Fiat in Torino among them. Another film from Technicolor is an advertisement film about their process specifically for industrial films, followed by the British Petroleum film Giuseppina, yes, in Technicolor. But we are also showing an early film by Fredi M. Murer, where colour is dictated by content – the larger part of the film is actually in black-and-white. In an animated film that touches the soul of football with its amazing clay figures, Hans Haldenwang shows us that amateurs can be as technically and aesthetically advanced as any professional filmmaker.

Brigitte Paulowitz

Projection in 16mm with carbon lantern

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In this screening

GIUSEPPINA

Cast and Credits

Scen.: James Hill. Mus.: Jack Beaver. F.: Václav Vích. Int.: Antonia Scalari (Giuseppina), Giulio Marchetti (Rossi). Prod.: James Hill Production per British Petroleum. 16mm (reduced from 35mm). D.: 31’. Col.

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