Courtesy of Dominic Gagnon
SCREENING & LIVE EVENT
Of the North and Pieces and Love All to Hell
With Dominic Gagnon in person
Of the North (Dir. Dominic Gagnon. Canada, 2015, 74 mins.) New York premiere. Drawn entirely from amateur videos posted on YouTube, Dominic Gagnon’s intricately and aggressively constructed films orient the art of the found footage montage as gonzo ethnography. In Of the North, a provocative mash-up of clips largely uploaded from Inuit regions, he mismatches sound and picture, exults in non-sequitur cuts, and confronts viewers with the limits and extremes of self-representation. And in the simultaneously hilarious and harrowing Pieces and Love All to Hell (Dir. Dominic Gagnon. Canada, 2011, 60 mins.), Gagnon collects self-made videos from an all-female cast of American right-wing conspiracy theorists who are as hard to pigeonhole as they are to believe.
Please note: Of the North contains extreme imagery than may be offensive to some viewers. This screening is the world premiere of a new version of the film. Since the film is comprised of footage uploaded to YouTube, Gagnon has voluntarily removed images and sound clips when requested by the original authors.
Museum statement: "As part of a program of films by Dominic Gagnon, the Museum of the Moving Image is presenting the New York premiere of Of the North, a work comprised entirely of amateur video footage posted on YouTube. An innovative and deliberately provocative reinvention of the ethnographic documentary, the film contains extreme imagery of Inuit life that some viewers find offensive. The Museum respects and appreciates the feelings and viewpoints of the film’s critics, including the more than 1,000 people who signed a petition asking for the screening to be cancelled. Yet we feel that the film has strong artistic merit and that its use of disturbing imagery is part of an artistic strategy designed to raise questions and challenge the viewer’s assumptions. As a work of avant garde cinema constructed and compiled by Mr. Gagnon, the film does not claim to be a representative portrait of Inuit life.
There will be a discussion following the screening, where the filmmaker will discuss his intentions, and audience members will be free to ask questions of the filmmaker and the Museum’s curator.
The Museum presents a very diverse range of programs, representing many different viewpoints, and we respect the viewpoints and questions raised by members of the Inuit community and by others who have expressed their concerns."
Tickets: $12 ($9 for senior citizens and students / free for members at the Film Lover level and above). Order tickets online. (Members may contact members@movingimage.us with any questions regarding online reservations.)
All tickets include same-day admission to the Museum (see gallery hours). View the Museum’s ticketing policy here. For more information on membership and to join online, visit our membership page.
