Phil Hoffman. Living / Filming

Imaxe: Phil Hoffman. Intro

Watching Phil Hoffman’s films, it seems that living and filming are the same thing. Hoffman has managed since the beginning of his career (he started in the seventies) to master the art of the filmed diary, making sincerity and emotion combine perfectly with form. Born in 1955 in Kitchener, Ontario, Hoffman holds a prominent place in the rich scene of Canadian experimental filmmaking, not only as a filmmaker but also as the driving force behind an educational project that has marked the lives and ways of doing of many other filmmakers since he started in 1994: Film Farm. A sort of collective “spiritual retreat” or “summer camp” for filmmakers in which personal and experimental projects are carried out in film format, and with handcrafted and ecological development techniques.

In the program dedicated to him in (S8), we will go through different aspects of his career. We open with a session dedicated to his recent works, reflections on colonialism, environmentalism and ways of making films. In this session people can see works like Slaughterhouse, also conceived as an installation, and the work in progress of his latest film, Vultures, patient observation of the rural world.

The second session focuses on works that speak of the close relationship of Hoffman’s cinema with his own biography. From works that deal with childhood memories like On the Pond, to a lacerating reflection on the cycles of life and death, such as passing through / torn formations. The third and final session is about his more formal works, linked to his way of making films in 16mm, in which ethics and aesthetics go hand in hand. From his famous Kokoro is for Heart to the formal and affective tour de force of Kitchener / Ontario, to one of his Opening Series, films that Hoffman traces during the projection itself according to the decisions of the audience.

Finally, from 5 to 8 June, a workshop with limited places given by Hoffman under the name “Film Farm on the Road” will be held at La Nautilus in A Coruña, where he will share with the participants his methods to work with 16mm film (including handling and processing techniques of ecological film, using materials such as flowers and sea water). Some intense days of practice and reflection.