Filmmaker in Person!

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DJ Angela Sawyer at 7:30*PM, films start at 8PM | Tickets $10, $8 Students & Seniors | No Brattle Passes

*Please note later start time due to an early event.

A far cry from the wholesome work of Art Clokey (creator of Gumby/Davey & Goliath), the clay animated films of Bruce Bickford (b. 1947) showcase constant barrages of free-flowing, surreal, stream-of-consciousness imagery. Playing out like fever dreams, objects and figures shrink and grow and morph in rapid succession – a painter’s palette may transform into a pizza or a man into a deformed beast. The content may be perceived as disturbing at times, especially when things take a turn for the explicitly sexual and ultra-violent (perhaps inspired by the time Bruce spent in Vietnam), but the films are ultimately fascinating as brutally honest realizations of the Id.

Born in Seattle, Washington in 1947, Bruce Bickford first began animating clay at the age of 17. Upon graduating from high school, he spent three years in the military, before moving to Los Angeles to find work. In LA, he met Frank Zappa and formed a six-year long business relationship creating visuals to accompany Zappa’s music, live and on video releases. At the end of that partnership Bickford returned to his home in Seattle, where he continues to obsessively create work, much of it yet to be released. Monster Road, a documentary about Bruce’s life and work, was released in 2004 to much acclaim.

Tonight’s Program:

• Prometheus’ Garden (1987, 16mm, 28 minutes)
• Inversion Layer (1997, 35mm, 10 minutes)
• Cas’l (2012, 16mm transfered to video, 45 minutes)

About Balagan

Balagan is a screening series that takes place every other Tuesday at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. It is run and curated by a group of local filmmakers: Alla Kovgan, Jeff Silva, Stefan Grabowski and Mariya Nikiforova.

Visit balaganfilms.com for more information about the series.

Join us for more Balagan programs…

• THE CASTLE, April 24