This long-awaited presentation of Robert Beavers’ film cycle has been organized by the Pacific Film Archive in partnership with San Francisco Cinematheque and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and is presented with the generous support of the San Francisco Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Consulate General of Switzerland.

“The films of Robert Beavers are exceptional for their visual beauty, aural texture and depth of emotional expression. Born in 1949 in Brookline, Massachusetts, Beavers began to make films in the mid-sixties in New York City. By the end of that decade, he had relocated to Europe with fellow American filmmaker Gregory J. Markopoulos, who would be his lifelong companion until Markopoulos’ death in 1992. The majority of Beavers’ films were shot in the 1970s and 1980s in Italy, Switzerland and Greece. Between 1994 and 2002, the artist involved himself in re-editing the images and creating new soundtracks for his eighteen-film cycle, entitled My Hand Outstretched to the Winged Distance and Sightless Measure. Beavers’ films occupy a noble place within the history of avant-garde film, positioned at the intersection of structural and lyrical filmmaking traditions. They seem to embody the ideals of the Renaissance in their fascination with perception, psychology, literature, the natural world, architectural space, musical phrasing and aesthetic beauty. The act of making things by hand is central to Beavers’ cinema, as are the notions of self-reflexivity and portraiture.” (Susan Oxtoby)

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 Third Street
San Francisco, CA, 94103

*Robert Beavers will be in attendance

Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009

Program I – 7:00 pm

- AMOR (Italy/Austria, 1980, 15 mins, Color, 35mm)
- Work Done (Italy/Switzerland, 1972/1999, 22 mins, Color, 35mm)
- The Hedge Theater (Italy, 1986–90/2002, 19 mins, Color, 35mm)
- Pitcher of Colored Light (2007, 23 mins, 35mm)

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street (at Third Street)
San Francisco, CA, 94103

*Robert Beavers will be in attendance

Friday, Oct. 9, 2009

Program II - 7:00 pm

- Early Month Segments (Switzerland/Germany/Greece, 1968–70/2002, 33 mins, Silent, 35mm)
- From the Notebook Of… (Italy, 1971/1998, 48 mins, Color, 35mm)
- Efpsychi (Greece, 1983/1996, 20 mins, Color, 35mm)
- Sotiros (Greece/Austria/Switzerland, 1976–78/1996, 25 mins, Color, 35mm)
- The Stoas (Greece, 1991–97, 22 mins, Color, 35mm)

Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009

Program III - 12:30 pm

- Palinode (Switzerland, 1970/2001, 21 mins, 16mm)
- Diminished Frame (Germany, 1970/2001, 24 mins, B&W/Color, 16mm)
- The Painting (Switzerland/U.S., 1972/1999, 13 mins, Color, 16mm)
- Winged Dialogue (Greece, 1967/2000, 3 mins, 16mm)
- Plan of Brussels (Belgium, 1968/2000, 18 mins, 16mm)
- Still Light (Greece, 1970/2001, 25 mins, Color, 16mm)
- Wingseed (Greece, 1985, 15 mins, Color, 35mm)

Program IV - 3:30 pm

Ruskin (Italy/Switzerland/U.K., 1975/1997, 45 mins, B&W/Color, 35mm)
The Ground (Greece, 1993–2001, 20 mins, Color, 35mm)

* P. Adams Sitney will be lecturing on Beavers, Brakhage and Sonbert at 5:30 pm on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009 at the California College of the Arts

Pacific Film Archive
2575 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA, 94720
* Robert Beavers will be in attendance

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009

Program I - 7:30 pm
* P. Adams Sitney will join Robert Beavers in discussion

- Early Months Segments (Switzerland/Germany/Greece, 1968–70/2002, 33 mins, Silent, 35mm).
- Winged Dialogue (Greece, 1967/2000, 3 mins, 16mm)
- Plan of Brussels (Belgium, 1968/2000, 18 mins, 16mm)
- The Count of Days (Switzerland, 1969/2001, 21 mins, 16mm)
- Palinode (Switzerland, 1970/2001, 21 mins, 16mm)

Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009

Program II – 7:00 pm

- Diminished Frame (Germany, 1970/2001, 24 mins, B&W/Color, 16mm)
- Still Light (Greece, 1970/2001, 25 mins, Color, 16mm)
- From the Notebook Of… (Italy, 1971/1998, 48 mins, Color, 35mm)
- The Painting (Switzerland/U.S., 1972/1999, 13 mins, Color, 16mm)

Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

Program III – 2:00 pm

- Work Done (Italy/Switzerland, 1972/1999, 22 mins, Color, 35mm)
- Ruskin (Italy/Switzerland/U.K., 1975/1997, 45 mins, B&W/Color, 35mm)
- Sotiros (Greece/Austria/Switzerland, 1976–78/1996, 25 mins, Color, 35mm)
- AMOR (Italy/Austria, 1980, 15 mins, Color, 35mm)

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009

Program IV – 7:30 pm

- Efpyschi (Greece, 1983/1996, 20 mins, Color, 35mm)
- Wingseed (Greece, 1985, 15 mins, Color, 35mm)
- The Hedge Theater (Italy, 1986–90/2002, 19 mins, Color, 35mm)
- The Stoas (Greece, 1991–97, 22 mins, Color, 35mm)
- The Ground (Greece, 1993–2001, 20 mins, Color, 35mm)

Related links:

• SF Cinemateque calendar
• Pacific Film Archive
• Eyes Upside Down: Visionary Filmmakers and the Heritage of Emerson