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The Experimental Film
After the unexpected success of Very Nice, Very Nice in 1962, the National Film Board had been won over by a young Arthur Lipsett. “The Experimental Film”
was the first of several NFB sponsored projects headed up by Lipsett, but it was also very different in format from his first film, Very Nice, Very Nice and his films following “The Experimental Film”. In a memo to distribution colleagues at several NFBs in 1969, Terry Ryan states that “If you asked Arthur for a list of his films, it probably wouldn’t occur to him to include this one”. However, the film is an important piece of film history, especially to the study of Avant-garde film.
The Experimental Film is a documentary/discussion about Avant-garde film in the early sixties. It was created to fit into a half-hour time slot for television. In 1969, Terry Ryan asked around the NFBs to see if anyone shared his interest in the film and wondered if the film should be revived, since it had been laying dormant for seven years and he felt it could be useful for screen study. In the mid-sixties, Terry Ryan and Mark Slade were instrumental in Lipsett’s films’ reaching students. The Experimental Film and Very Nice, Very Nice were among those screened in high schools and studied in colleges and universities. The National Film Board’s summer film institute held sessions in several locations where the public could participate in different film workshops.
I haven’t come across any further discussion of this matter (Terry Ryan’s request), nor of the film, in any of my research as of yet. Personally, I feel that Terry Ryan was right. Not only is the film interesting for it’s unique subject and format, but for it’s historical context (interesting both to think about and to look at) this film offers it’s viewers rare glimpses of opinions on Avant-garde film in a particularly interesting time period. Also, two very interesting interview clips of the most famous Avant-garde animators: Robert Breer and Norman McLaren discussing their motives and methods.
These are just a few of the reasons why this film is a gem, and, I think, one that Arthur would have been proud of creating.
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