Experimental Conversations 11 Online

Experimental Conversations enters its fifth year with an issue that contains writing from many of the contributors who’ve been with the magazine from the beginning, defining it as it developed and found not so much its own voice as its multiple voices.

Fergus Daly has written a piece about ‘method viewing’ that challenges notions of cinephilia as a passive condition, arguing that it can also be ‘a peculiar kind of resistance to the System’.

We are privileged to publish the first English translation of an extract of Esperanza Collado’s book Paracinema, The Dematerialization of Film in Artistic Practices.

Gianluca Pulsoni takes an intriguing look at how performance translates to film and video with reference to Aldo Tambellini, Cinema of Transgression and Kaia Hugin.

Tony McKibbin reflects on Truffaut’s underrated Anne and Muriel and I profile Bosnian poet-filmmaker Saidin Salkic, as well as offering some enthusiastic thoughts on Rob Zombie’s Lords of Salem. Chris O’Neill conducts an in-depth interview with maverick director Buddy Giovinazzo.

In addition, there are the latest installments of two ongoing projects: the wide-ranging survey of current Thai alternative cinema, Mysterious Objects From Thailand; and David Brancaleone’s ambitious study of legendary screenwriter and theorist of neorealism, Cesare Zavattini, the full extent of whose work and influence remains paradoxically little known, especially outside Italy.

Also, the magazine has finally embraced social media! Probably not something that its notoriously Facebook-shy editor - me - would ever have got around to doing. But, fortunately, he is blessed with wise friends who took the initiative and now Chris O'Neill is running the EC Facebook page and Vicky Langan is taking care of things on Twitter. A big thank you to both!