Experimental/Avant Garde

Experimental cinema resides in virtually another planet in comparison to Hollywood cinema, however it's still a visual form of expression and so is very much a form of short film. In fact, experimental cinema or avant garde has a massive underground following, and originated when artists and the like decided to complete disobey the rules of cinema and create something completely different mostly in the name of art. One of the first and most noted of these was Stan Brakhage's 'Mothlight' (1963), in which not even a camera is used, just fluid motions strung together in colour and shape with no clear narrative, however it's speculated that due to the title and images used it simply tells the story of a moth drawn to a light and the result of the two combining.



Despite the extreme forms of expression as well the freedom to run wild that comes with Experimental cinema, there is just about enough regularity to be able to make experimental a little genre of it's own. From research I've been able to find the following as common traits with Avant Garde:

- The films are either made completely alone or with minimal crew.
- Experimental films are often under 30 minutes, which is why they fall under Short Film.
- Films often focus on abstract imagery.
- Verbal communication is often avoided.

There are of course exceptions to these 'rules', for example Andy Warhol created a film called 'Empire' in 1964 which is over 8 hours long!

An important figure in experimental cinema was Maya Deren. With a love for arts from an early age Deren actually adopted the name Maya (which is Hindu for illusion) in 1943 and went on to create 'Meshes of the afternoon' which was an inventive, symbolic and intriguing interpretation on repetition that in turn reignited a buzz for avant-garde in America.
After creating several more films, Deren became a legend within Greenwich Village (New York), for her skill as a filmmaker as well her interest in voodoo! She eventually created the CFF (Creative Film Foundation) which actually went on to fund Stan Brakhage!