Handbook: A Manual on Performance, Process, and the Labor of Laundry presents an illuminating dialogue between the documentary arts, feminism, film, immigration, labor history, and theater. Throughout, a playwright and filmmaker contemplate how art-making can alter our understanding of the social structures of city life.
Lynne Sachs is a filmmaker and poet. Her early works on Celluloid took a feminist approach to images and writing—a commitment which has grounded her ever since. With each project, Sachs investigates the connections between the body, the camera, and the materiality of film itself. Embracing archives, found images, letters, and journals, her work pursues a critical journey through reality and memory. In films such as The House of Science, Which Way Is East, Your Day Is My Night, and Film About a Father Who, Sachs uses a hybrid form and collaboration, incorporating documentary, performance, and collage.
Lizzie Olesker has been creating theater and performance in New York City for several decades, exploring the politics and poetry of everyday experience. Her plays and solo performances exploring domestic work, personal memory, and quotidian gestures have been developed and presented in NYC at The Public, Cherry Lane Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Dixon Place, New Georges, and the Ohio Theater. As an actor, she’s worked with The Talking Band, appearing at La Mama and on an international tour.
Jeremy Drummond's work has been exhibited in museums, galleries, and festivals worldwide. His films/videos have received awards such as the National Film Board of Canada Award at the Images Festival (Toronto), Best Experimental Video at the Reeling: Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival, the People's Choice Award at the New Forms Festival (Vancouver), and the No Budget Award at the Cinematexas Festival of International Film & Video (Austin). He has received grants and fellowships from the Canada Council for the Arts, National Film Board of Canada, and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. His work has been featured and/or reviewed in magazines, journals, and newspapers, including Art Papers, Cabinet, Canadian Architect, Frieze, NRC Handelsblad, Prefix Photo, SEAMUS, The Washington Post, and The Wire: Adventures in Sound & Music.
Drummond's films and videos are distributed internationally by LIMA (Amsterdam), Videographe (Montreal), Video Pool Inc. (Winnipeg), Vtape (Toronto), and The Film-maker's Cooperative/The New American Cinema Group (NYC). His printed works are/have been available from Art Metropole (Toronto), Printed Matter Inc. (NYC), and the New Museum of Contemporary Art (NYC).
In addition to his solo work, Drummond works extensively with artist David Poolman as Never Met A Stranger -- a collaborative platform for the production of art and experimental media, a publisher of vernacular arts and culture, and an ongoing archive of field recordings, interviews, and documentary resources that collectively explore relationships between perception and representation, industry and the environment, and landscape and culture throughout central Appalachia and the rural North American South.
Drummond is the organizer and curator of the Frames of Reference annual program of artists' film and video. With support from the University of Richmond's Department of Art & Art History, University Museums, and School of Arts & Sciences, Frames of Reference showcases some of the most creative, challenging, thoughtful, and visionary artists working in film, video, and alternative media today. Programs feature artists and artworks that resist conventions and ideologies of mainstream media; explore creative, innovative approaches to narrative and experiments in time-based media; and embrace unique viewpoints, perspectives, or frames of reference.
Ian Joseph Greene is a California-based stop-motion animator, filmmaker, and video artist. His award-winning work has screened at festivals such as Shockfest, Butte Film Festival, Warped Dimensions (Best Splatter/Slasher), Coop Microcinema, Nooga Underground, and Tromadance, and is streaming on TromaNow. Greene’s work is known for its grotesque humor, surreal visuals, and experimental technique.
Ian and I had a great time speaking about his work, his techniques, and his struggles with anxiety.
Please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and be sure to share the podcast to help fellow artists get the recognition they deserve.
Tess Martin is an artist who often works with hand-made animation techniques such as cut-outs, ink, paint, sand, objects or phonotropes.
Tess’ work has been exhibited at international galleries and festivals such as TOKAS Hongo (JP), International Film Festival Rotterdam (NL), Ann Arbor Film Festival (USA), and more. She was selected as an artist-in-residence at, among others, the Hawthornden Writer's Retreat (Scotland, 2022), the Camargo Foundation (France, 2019), and the Bogliasco Foundation (Italy, 2017). Recent funders include the Dutch Film Fund, the Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie, the City of Rotterdam, the Center for Visual Art Rotterdam, and Rooftop Films.
If you've followed the MM Serra series, this is part 3.
Curator, author, professor at Parsons at the New School and the Executive Director of Film-Makers' Cooperative, the world's oldest and largest archive of independent media. Her first five films (NYC, 1985, Nightfall, 1984, Framed, 1984, PPI, 1986, Turner, 1987) were preserved and digitized by Anthology Film Archives Preservation series Re-Visions: American Experimental Film 1975-1990. Since 1982, MM Serra has created more than 31 films.
MM Serra is an experimental filmmaker, curator, author, professor at Parsons at the New School and the Executive Director of Film-Makers' Cooperative, the world's oldest and largest archive of independent media. Her first five films (NYC, 1985, Nightfall, 1984, Framed, 1984, PPI, 1986, Turner, 1987) were preserved and digitized by Anthology Film Archives Preservation series Re-Visions: American Experimental Film 1975-1990. Since 1982, MM Serra has created over 31 films.
This is our second episode in this deep dive with MM Serra.
MM Serra is an experimental filmmaker, curator, author, professor at Parsons at the New School and the Executive Director of Film-Makers' Cooperative, the world's oldest and largest archive of independent media. Her first five films (NYC, 1985, Nightfall, 1984, Framed, 1984, PPI, 1986, Turner, 1987) were preserved and digitized by Anthology Film Archives Preservation series Re-Visions: American Experimental Film 1975-1990. Since 1982, MM Serra has created over 31 films.
Erica Schreiner is an experimental video and performance artist based in New York City. She shoots on VHS while performing before the camera. Erica creates allegorical, ethereal video art that combines feminine and anarchistic themes, ritual, and sensuality. Manipulating existing objects or building sets to perform in and film, Erica creates surreal, intimate worlds on VHS video, employing her clearly defined style.
Erica received a Bachelor degree in Graphic Design from The Art Institute of Portland. Once in New York, she attended the School of Visual Arts Lens and Screen Art’s Residency Program with a full scholarship, and went on to study performance art under the direction of Marina Abramović at MoMA PS1.
Erica Schreiner has completed more than 100 performative video art pieces, including two feature films and several music videos. In 2021, Erica received a New York City Artist Corps Grant for her second feature film, The Special People.
Erica’s work has been exhibited internationally in galleries and film festivals, including The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA PS1, The Bill Hodges Gallery in NYC, Nick Knight's SHOWstudio, Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, The Portland Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and Performance Space New York.
Erica is a member of the New York Film-makers' Cooperative (est. 1961) and is on the curatorial committee at Millennium Film Workshop (est. 1967).
The Skye Project documentary: https://donate.uniondocs.org/campaigns/skye-4ever/
The MoMA curation I've been working on with MM Serra: https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/5807
Jim Ford is an American film/television actor and stuntman. After receiving his BFA in drama from the Hartt School Conservatory and studying with the Royal Shakespeare Company in England, Jim landed an agent and has been a full-time actor in New York and Los Angeles ever since. He is best known for his work in the TV shows Gotham, Mysteries of Laura, The Following, Person of Interest, and Steven Soderberg's H.B.O. mini-series The Knick.
Jim developed a passion for filmmaking and short films at a very young age. Over the years, he has completed nearly a dozen short films that have been screened all over the world. He loves to travel and attends as many festivals as he can.
Andy Camou is a freelance motion designer based out of Long Beach, California. He combines his experience and knowledge of animation, 3D, video editing, and VFX to produce engaging videos and animations. He previously spent two and a half years at Run It Up, a production company focused on creating poker content on the streaming site Twitch.
As an animator and video editor, Andy produced motion graphics for broadcasts and short-form content for social media. His strengths lie in creative problem-solving and meticulous attention to detail. "I thrive on continuous learning, adaptability, and new challenges."
Feel free to reach out if you have a project in mind or want to say hi; he's always up for a chat. You can email Andy at andythetimid@gmail.com.
Ivan Miguel is a seasoned Art Director/Motion Designer with 10+ years of experience in advertising and motion graphics.
Originally from Spain, Ivan worked as an Art Director for 6 years at two of the most relevant Spanish advertising agencies, creating work for various international brands.
In 2015, he moved to the U.S. and has worked as a freelancer and in-house staff for several motion design studios in NYC and San Francisco for broadcast, technology, non-profit, and social good clients.
Christopher Rakas is an award-winning director, producer, writer, and composer based in El Paso, Texas. His short film Dada Noise 2 has had a successful film festival run worldwide. He is currently co-writing and scoring several episodes for the TV series On Bloody Paths with Mary S. Applegate and Ingmar Koch. He is also a member of the Liquid Sky Artist Collective in Portugal. He is also currently producing a documentary film featuring his brother’s local El Paso-based metal punk band, Uglor. You can listen to songs by Uglor on YouTube.
Christopher and I met through this podcast and The Experimental Film Fest in 2022. His film Dada Noise 2 was screened at the festival. Since that time, he has judged films for The Experimental Film Fest. He is a thoughtful experimental film advocate who has dedicated hundreds of hours to the festival, and we appreciate him for his time and insights.
In this podcast, we pick up where we left off in 2022 from his first guest appearance on the show on Episode 6 of Season 3.
Nolan Stolz is a composer, scholar, drummer, and music professor living in Spartanburg, SC. Born in Milwaukee, WI, Stolz grew up in Las Vegas, NV, where he worked as a freelance jazz drummer for several years. Today, he is a Professor of Music at the University of South Carolina Upstate, where he teaches composition, music theory, and popular music studies.
Although firmly rooted in the contemporary classical tradition, his compositions are influenced by his performance background in jazz and rock. Fanfare Magazine called his Lincoln Highway Suite for orchestra a “brilliant piece of Americana. . .a piece of inspiration and skill,” saying that the “orchestration is brilliantly managed” and “Stolz has a fine repository of [melodies] in his back pocket.” The Brno Philharmonic’s recording of that work (on Orchestral Masters, Vol. 5) was awarded second place in the American Prize in 2020. Other studio recordings include Princess Ka‘iulani for flute on SCI’s Modes album, Catharsis II for piano quartet on Millennial Masters Vol. 3, Lullaby for Sam for guitar on Aaron Larget-Caplan’s New Lullaby, and several others.
Océane Buxton is a visual artist specializing in video, sound design, textiles, digital imaging, and performance art. She grew up in Québec City and has lived in Montréal since 2017. After studying at RMIT School of Art (Melbourne, Australia) in 2019, she received a bachelor’s degree in Intermedia/Cyberarts from Concordia University in 2021. She began the master’s program in visual arts at UQAM in 2023. She participated in the 6th edition of Artch, and her work has been exhibited by the Ada X Artist Center, La Bande Vidéo, Struts Gallery (Sackville, New Brunswick), and the web art platform Galerie Galerie. She is currently working as a freelance cultural mediator.
Award winning filmmaker, Michael Lies, is recognized by film organizations in New York, Pittsburgh and Florence, Italy. In 2012, his screenplay for The Tenth Door was awarded 1st Prize in Short Film Scripts at the Harlem International Film Festival and named a finalist in the Moondance International Film Festival. In 2023 The Tenth Door was completed by Michael and a couple of dozen people from the Pittsburgh area.
In 2009 Michael’s short film EXPERYMENT6 was awarded the Dante Award of Excellence at the Florence International Film Festival. The US premiere was held at the Andy Warhol Theater in Pittsburgh.
Cathy Tuttle is a writer, producer, and actor and is also featured in the podcast.
Cassidy Civiero is a transgender filmmaker who uses experimental techniques to make movies that align with his values and identity. His films ask just as many questions as they answer and allow room for audience participation in crafting the narrative. His latest film, Return to Nature, was funded by the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund and premiered at the Penticton Art Gallery for two months before playing at the Open Vault Film Fest and winning Critic's Choice at the Experimental Film Fest. His previous film, Ethical Consumption, was funded by the Mental Health Commission of California via the Voices With Impact production grant. Cassidy is a writer and co-executive producer for Season 2 of You're My Hero for CBC Gem, which is currently in post-production. He is a co-creator and writer for Sweet as Sugar, which is developing for Out TV. He is in the development of five feature films, breaking into long-form content with steady passion and determination.
Gillian Harrill's films have been featured at various festivals, ranging from the Oscar-qualifying AmDocs Film Festival to the esteemed Sidewalk Film Festival and the LA Independent Women Film Awards. Her ability to craft compelling narratives and capture the essence of her subjects has earned her a reputation as a filmmaker with an eccentric sense of humor and unwavering dedication to her craft. She started as the lead assistant editor on Beyond the Straight and Narrow, streaming on Kanopy. In 2022, Gillian embarked on a fellowship in documentary filmmaking at Southern Exposure, where she spent 6 weeks fully immersed in directing Taxing the Sun, which exposed legislation that decreased access to renewable energy in Alabama. Currently, Gillian is actively engaged in curating and associate producing two archival films that will be showcased as permanent exhibits in a Presidential Center opening in 2025. Her involvement in this endeavor reflects her dedication to preserving and sharing pivotal moments in collective history. She has also been a researcher for PBS programs like Native America 2.0 and Confluence and a production assistant and costume designer for Realm of Satan, premiering at Sundance 2024. Gillian holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication from Cornell University, where she minored in Film, Anthropology, and Media Studies.
A non-binary punk-rock poet with style an exec once described as “Aaron Sorkin on acid,” Frankie specializes in writing dark comedies about deeply flawed losers struggling to reinvent themselves in stories packed with punchlines taking bold swings towards silly and surreal. A New Jersey native raised in the Bible Belt, Frankie Campisano now calls Los Angeles their home.
A non-binary punk-rock poet with a style an exec once described as “Aaron Sorkin on acid”, Frankie specializes in writing dark comedies about deeply flawed losers struggling to reinvent themselves in stories packed with punchlines taking bold swings towards silly and surreal.
Frankie has worked in the entertainment industry for over ten years, including at NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Classics, and Fox Broadcasting Company. They are freelance script development analysts, covering comedy pilots and features for production companies, contests, and film festivals, including the Austin Film Festival and the Boston Film Festival.
Frankie graduated from Elon University (…no relation) in Elon, North Carolina (…again, no relation), where they studied screenwriting and poetry. As one of Elon’s inaugural Alumni Production Fund winners, Frankie partnered with students and alumni to produce an experimental comedy/horror short, SECRET MENU BEAUTY PAGEANT, currently on the festival circuit.
Vasco Diogo was born in 1970 in Lisbon. Diogo is now an Experimental Director, Performer, Video Artist, and New Media and Cinema Assistant Professor at the University of Beira Interior (Covilhã-Portugal).
Arts and Communication Researcher at Communication Sciences PhD by Universidade Nova de Lisboa: "Video: Specificity, Hybridity and Experimentation" (scholarship of Foundation for Science and Technology - FCT), 2008.
Vasco Diogo has won more than 50 awards in experimental cinema at international festivals.
Drawing, photography, poetry, electro-acoustic music, and mixed media are other work areas.
Amanda Besl is a painter and experimental filmmaker living in Buffalo, NY. She has shown widely in New York State, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Russia. Besl holds an MFA in Painting from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI, and a BFA from SUNY Oswego. Her paintings are part of several notable private and public collections, including the Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo; Nichido Contemporary, Tokyo, Japan; the Burger Collection, Hong Kong; and the Tullman Collection, Chicago. Besl uses natural history as a platform to explore social issues. She was awarded a 2024 NYSCA grant for Temple of Hortus, a botanically inspired installation of 2-D, 3-D, and video work questioning curated and commercial approaches to nature, hybridization, mutation, and collection. Resource Art represents Besl, and her 2022 solo exhibition “Blue Mythologies” at The Raft of Sanity gallery began her foray into experimental filmmaking.
Born in Venezuela but raised in New York, where he currently lives, Martin Del Carpio is an artist marked by experimentation, the search of new concepts, sounds and melodies, by a fascination with lyrics and the journey that music takes us on. His evolution as an artist is based on what he calls “street knowledge”, a hands-on personal experience characterized by uniqueness and a somewhat dark voice that Martin has dedicated his life to finding. His work shows a personal conflict between outside forces that point him towards mainstream creation and the need to express something intimate, to be honest no matter what the cost and regardless of what comes out. He defines himself as an underground music artist more than a musician, as his work relies more on ideas and inspiration than technique. In the future, he plans to continue experimenting with sound and visuals, taking us on a journey to places still unexplored.
