AD HOC presents a programme of 16mm films by Ian Hugo, made between 1950 and 1972. Hugo’s films betray a fascination with the mystic and exotic, the flow of energy, and like a distorting mirror, they give a vision of a world in flux. From his psychodramas, inspired in part by the writings of his wife, Anais Nin (Bells of Atlantis, Melodic Inversion), to his documentaries (Ay-Yi, Tropical Noah’s Ark), to his experiments with pure abstraction (Aphrodisiac I & II), Hugo’s films are an invitation to the most puzzling and difficult strains of American underground cinema.
Program:
- Ai-Ye (16mm, 1950, 19 minutes)
- Bells of Atlantis (16mm, 1952, 9 minutes)
- Melodic Inversion (16mm, 1958, 7.5 minutes)
- Through the Magiscope (16mm, 1969, 10 minutes)
- Apertura (16mm, 1970, 6 minutes)
- Levitation (16mm, 1972, 6 minutes)
TRT: ~58 minutes
AD HOC aims to rethink what an experience of cinema can be. We seek to reposition historical landmarks and buried treasures within the on-going tradition of experimental and other non- commercial modes of filmmaking, drawing on work from Toronto, throughout Canada, and internationally. Within these parameters, we aspire to diversity in programming, as well as to multimedia and interdisciplinary screening events that bring together varied communities.
AD HOC = Stephen Broomer, Madi Piller, Jim Shedden, Bart Testa.
AD HOC would like to thank Alberto Zambenedetti, Denise Ing, Charlie Keil, Eyan Logan, Sean Rogers, and the staff of Innis College and the Cinema Studies Institute.