Phoenix Cinema. Part I. Alexander Kluge and Cinema

Join us at e-flux Screening Room on Thursday, June 13 at 7pm for Alexander Kluge and Cinema, the first and opening evening of Phoenix Cinema: Meeting with Alexander Kluge, a special series featuring works by and discussions with the filmmaker and author. This first part presents Kluge’s current reflections on the history of film and cinema’s role in society, alongside examples of his known cinematic works. Through the innovative use of AI films, and pre-recorded commentary and conversations, it showcases Kluge’s ongoing dialogue with the history of cinema and his evolving ideas about the medium.

Kluge’s cinematic career, beginning in the 1960s, was significantly influenced by his academic background and early collaboration with Fritz Lang. His internship at the Berlin CCC Film Studio in the 1950s, facilitated by Theodor Adorno, provided invaluable insights into filmmaking, blending practical experience with intellectual grounding. As a key figure in the New German Cinema movement and a signatory of the 1962 Oberhausen Manifesto, Kluge advocated for a politically engaged and artistically innovative German cinema. His directorial debut, Yesterday Girl (1966), marked the start of a prolific career, characterized by films like Artists Under the Big Top: Perplexed (1968), Part-Time Work of a Domestic Slave (1973), and The Power of Emotion (1983), among many others. 

Today, Kluge’s use of the “virtual camera”—creation of artificial-intelligence-based short films—enables him to revisit and reinterpret the history of cinema. This event will highlight how Kluge merges traditional filmmaking techniques with modern technology, offering a fresh perspective on cinema’s past and its ongoing influence on contemporary issues.

This event will present a selection of Kluge’s films, including pre-recorded commentary and conversations by and with Kluge.

Films
With pre-recorded commentary and Q&A by Alexander Kluge

The artist and his daughter (1:03’)
Sam Remembers Papa Kong (0:42’)
The Goat Enters the City (1:29’) 
Sergej Eisenstein Stages Alexander Newski (1938) and Wagner‘s Walküre (1940) (2:57’)
The Gentle Makeup of Light (13:34’) / At night the headlights of the studio dream of their real lives.
Beginnings of Film Art (3:29’) / For me, the history of film began with Eadweard Muybridge in 1896. He used the camera like a scientist, not for illusion purposes. In the same year, the first modern Olympics started in Athens.
The Opera Singer in the Silent Film (4:43’)
Sarah Morris and Alexander Kluge, Mimosa Tank / Homage to the Genius Film Director Fritz Lang (excerpt, 5:44’) 
Yesterday Girl (1966, 90’) (excerpt, 1:32’)
E. A. Winterstein, Fire Extinguisher / With Alexandra Kluge (9:49’)
Song of Medea / With Alexandra Kluge and A.I. (3:01’)
Angela Wittlich, All Feelings Believe In a Happy Ending (2002, 78’) (three excerpts, (11:25’)
Théâtre Optique (4:02’)
Cinema Eterna (4:22’)

Phoenix Cinema: Meeting with Alexander Kluge unfolds in four parts taking place at e-flux Screening Room on June 13, 15, and 18, 2024, and in a six-part online screening on e-flux Film, with new films streaming each week from June 6–July 17, 2024. Read more about the series here. Watch the online screenings here.

For more information, contact program [​at​] e-flux.com.

Accessibility
– Two flights of stairs lead up to the building’s front entrance at 172 Classon Avenue.
– For elevator access, please RSVP to program@e-flux.com. The building has a freight elevator which leads into the e-flux office space. Entrance to the elevator is nearest to 180 Classon Ave (a garage door). We have a ramp for the steps within the space.
– e-flux has an ADA-compliant bathroom. There are no steps between the Screening Room and this bathroom.