Phyllis Wattis Theater
Deborah Stratman is a committed cinematic explorer whose essayistic film work resembles that of James Benning and Vanessa Renwick in its examination of landscape and locale as well as in its poetic contemplation of issues of ideology and belief. Presented as a series of patient observances of competitive spectacle and masculine display, her epic O’er the Land channels the dark side of the American psyche, presenting a savagely poetic meditation on the contemporary culture of violence, territoriality and patriotism through studies of gun culture, war reenactments and border conflicts. Including a telling of the story of Lt. Colonel William Rankin—a USMC pilot who survived being trapped in the updrafts of a thunderstorm for forty-five minutes following an emergency ejection at 48,000 feet—O’er the Land describes a stark and disturbing world of survivors and warriors. Yet against this grim backdrop, a rich, even redemptive exposition of the American landscape emerges. Also screening are: Stratman’s Paranormal Trilogy (How Among The Frozen Words, It Will Die Out in the Mind and The Magician’s House) and her 1993 film Palimpsest. (Steve Polta)
$10 general admission; $7 SFMOMA and San Francisco Cinematheque members, students, seniors.
