BOMBAY BEACH

A new film by ALMA HAR'EL, who got her start making music videos for the band BEIRUT, follows a handful of people in a decaying small town in California on the Salton Sea.

The strange lifestyles of an isolated community are captured with vision and empathy, and dedicated to the simple poetry that emerges from all pursuits. Featuring plenty of real talk, real emotions, and real dancing (music by BEIRUT).

One the best films of 2011, documentary or otherwise.

BEAUTY PLUS PITY

DUKE & BATTERSBY are filmmaking duo, working mainly within the gallery world. Their short video pieces are self-described as "episodic," and take the collaged form of short-form children's programming, or sketch comedy.

The work itself is essayist, and usually combines raw imagery with a sweet innocence, with a distinct humanist appraoch. In this video, entitled BEAUTY PLUS PITY, most of the artists' usual techniques are on display: documentary, cartoons, & emotive balladry.

William Eggleston's Movie

In 1974, photographer WILLIAM EGGLESTON started using a Sony Portapak video camera, modified with his own prime lens. The technology was very new, and it is suggested that the people being shot didn't really know what it was and because of that their characters are that much more vibrant.

Whether that is the case or not, the footage she shot that year was edited into the film STRANDED IN CANTON, and it stands as one of the most enchanting "movies" I've ever seen. Mostly portraits around his small town in Tennessee, HARMONY KORINE has cited it as an influence on his recent TRASH HUMPERS, shot in the same area.

People Doing Stuff

A perfectly guileless presentation, as advertised. The original post on YouTube describes it best: "It's oddly satisfying."

A 2007 film by KOKI TANAKA entitled EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING.

Everybody Loves James Franco

Part of a series directed by SOLVE SUNDSBO, and published online by The New York Times Magazine. Shot in rich black and white, and scored in silent film style, they called it 14 ACTORS ACTING.

Could not this collection of short clips—a structuralist's dream of Hollywood—be the film of the year?

The Serpentine Dance

A hand-painted film of pionner modern dancer LOIE FULLER, circa 1896.

Although shot in black and white and later colored by hand, for the live performance, I am told, these dancers were shone with colored lights to achieve a similar effect.

Video Describing a Line Describing a Cone

The 1973 film LINE DESCRIBING A CONE is one of my favorite films of all time. I first saw Mr. ANTHONY MCCALL's ground-breaking film at the WHITNEY museum in 2003, with no prior knowledge, and it is truly a film that must be seen in person to be properly enjoyed.

Incidentally, I saw a new installation of MCCALL's work last year, which used video projections rather than film. The difference was palpable.

O Pioneers

In the youthful exuberant style reminiscent of photographer RYAN MCGINLEY, this commercial from a 2009 Levi's ad campaign, was directed by video artist M BLASH.

Accompanied by the poetry of WALT WHITMAN, the work inhabits the spirit of young America, albeit for commercial purposes.