NO WAVE CINEMA & CINEMA OF TRANSGRESSION presented by kayla milligan

NO WAVE CINEMA  1976 – 1984, NYC  Born on the streets of Manhattan’s Lower East Side  A bare bones approach to guerrilla filmmaking which placed importance on mood and texture above all else  Takes inspiration from the films of Andy Warhol, John Waters, Jack Smith, and the French New Wave Eric Mitchell’s Underground USA (1980)

NO WAVE CINEMA  Combines a loose narrative form with abrasive imagery, free from the constraints of the formal art scene at the time  No Wave was fast and cheap – equipment was often stolen, friends played the actors, and wherever the filmmaker stood was the set  Collaboration and availabilism were central Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

NO WAVE CINEMA  Filmmakers most associated with No Wave Cinema include Richard Kern, Eric Mitchell, Amos Poe, Jim Jarmusch, Charlie Ahearn, and Nick Zedd.  Director Eric Mitchell speaks before the MOMA screening of his film, Underground USA (1980). Director Eric Mitchell speaks before the MOMA screening of his film, Underground USA (1980)  Stranger Than Paradise Trailer (1984) dir. Jim Jarmusch. A No Wave film that broke into the mainstream and won the “Golden Camera” at the Cannes Film Festival. Stranger Than Paradise  Blank City Trailer (2010) dir. Celine Danhier. A documentary chronicling the No Wave era of filmmaking featuring clips from its most important films and interviews with prominent figures of the movement. Blank City

DEBBIE HARRY: NO WAVE QUEEN “It felt like our lives were movies.” – Debbie Harry Like many No Wave stars, Harry was both a musician and acted in her friends’ films. Unmade BedsUnmade Beds Trailer (1976) dir. Amos Poe The ForeignerThe Foreigner Trailer (1978) dir. Amos Poe

NICK ZEDD: FATHER OF TRANSGRESSION In 1985, a new type of filmmaking had begun to further push the boundaries of independent filmmaking in NYC. Spawned from the No Wave movement, Transgression Cinema’s sole purpose was to shock the viewer with a combination of violence, sex, horror, and a dose of black humor. The term “transgression” was coined by filmmaker Nick Zedd. To him, the Transgression movement was about transcending all moral and aesthetical boundaries.

NICK ZEDD: FATHER OF TRANSGRESSION “There will be blood, shame, pain and ecstasy, the likes of which no one has yet imagined!” - Nick Zedd The Cinema of Transgression ManifestoThe Cinema of Transgression Manifesto was written by Zedd, under the pseudonym Orion Jeriko, and was first published in his Underground Film Bulletin.

CINEMA OF TRANSGRESSION  Challenging the conventions of American society, these films were confrontational and provocative  Produced with the same low-budget techniques, cheap equipment, and skeleton crews as No Wave films  Common themes include social hardship and sociopolitical indifference  Though relatively unknown at the time, Transgression Cinema has become a major influence to artist that came later

CINEMA OF TRANSGRESSION  Interview with Nick Zedd from 2001 Interview with Nick Zedd  The Wild World of Lydia Lunch (1983) dir. Nick Zedd The Wild World of Lydia Lunch  Submit to Me (1985) dir. Richard Kern Submit to Me  Mommy Mommy, Where’s My Brain? (1986) dir. Moritsugu Mommy Mommy, Where’s My Brain? “If it’s not transgressive, it’s not underground. It has to be threatening the status quo by doing something surprising, not just imitating what’s been done before.” - Nick Zedd

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