Winter is the height of film season and people pack theaters across the country to catch the year's blockbusters, but here in Milwaukee, something called Transmutative Cinema offers an alternative to Hollywood's biggest and brightest, and an alternative to the typical $10 ticket prices.
Created by Wesley Tank, member of Milwaukee band Stumblesome, and Ryan Sarnowski, a member of docUWM, a documentary media center based in the UWM film department, Transmutative Cinema is a weekly screening of "challenging and overlooked films existing outside the traditional systems of expression and distribution."
The event kicked off on Jan. 24 with "Apart From That," Randy Walker and Jennifer Shainin's 2006 complex character sketch. This Saturday, Jan. 31 it shows "Slow Moves," a dark romance of misfits from filmmaker Jon Jost.
"We've been soliciting films from people we know across the country who have made amazing features that few people have seen and (that) don't have DVD distribution," says Tank.
"Many of the works we exhibit find their inspiration in the common, the everyday; that which is overlooked because it not seen as glamorous, eccentric, film-worthy. However, in the hands of artists and through the artists' eyes the banal becomes golden."
The groups meets at The Alchemist Theater, 2569 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., on Saturday nights at 10 p.m. Tank says they'll begin Sunday screenings at 8 p.m. in mid-February.
All screenings are free with the purchase of a drink from the Bay View Lounge, the bar connected to the theater.
Transmutative Cinema's upcoming screenings include:
Feb. 7: "Finally, Lillian and Dan" with Chicago filmmaker Mike Gibisser in attendance
Feb. 14: "Love Streams" by John Cassavetes
Feb. 21: "Road and Christine" by Alan Clarke
Feb. 28, March 1: "Honey" by David Ball
March 7: "What Happened Was..." by Tom Noonan
March 14, 15: "Slow Days" by Matija Klukovic
On the Web site, Tank and Sarnowski explain their inspiration for the series.
"The movies we want to show are not just an alternatives to traditional narrative films, but calls to action. These films serve as proof that one can make a film outside of Hollywood, not only physically but spiritually. Regional cinema should reflect the culture and attitudes of the region it was made in and personalities of those involved in the film. We are sick of cinema that strives to emulate the shallow, success, and profit driven motifs of Hollywood. Transmutative Cinema shows there is something else worth shooting for."
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
