Studio Prompt:

How can we use lost, unmade, partly imagined, non-existent, incomplete “films” and discourses around the “death of cinema”, as well as our ephemeral histories and practices of filmgoing, to create and inspire new works across a range of media forms?

 

Studio Description:

The evocative term “phantom cinema” suggests many different possibilities, from those films that were planned and never made to the cinemas themselves that no longer exist. In some respects, the history of those films that were never made, the cinemas that no longer survive, the movies that only exist inside other movies, and the ephemeral practices of movie watching, are larger, richer, and more evocative than what survives. These spaces and artefacts (for example, scripts for films that were never made) also provide creative opportunities for writers, curators, and media makers to imagine and work with these lost, unmade or ephemerally conceived projects.

This studio examines the notion of “phantom cinema” through an exploration of a range of different media and approaches from video essays and documentaries to curated exhibitions and performances. A key aspect of this studio has been an interrogation and opening up of this generally unexplored field to incorporate a range of responses, helping address issues of authorship, diversity, what artefacts are left of the history of moviegoing, and who has been sanctioned to create work at particular points in time. In this regard, it is important to note that the notion of “unmade”, “unseen” or “phantom” media has also allowed us to imagine and reincorporate other(ed) possibilities, representations, and practices.

This studio has utilised and worked closely with several key resources at RMIT such as the Capitol Theatre, RMIT Culture and the AFI Research Collection @ RMIT. At heart, it  draws upon the rich cinema and media heritage of Melbourne, exploring old and new, conventional and unconventional places in which films have been shown. In so doing, it will provide a creative opportunity to explore, renew, rethink, remix, and reimagine these historical and contemporary artefacts and practices.