Some people like cheese. Other people enjoy dusty bottles of wine. Jonathan Wells, however, is a connoisseur of innovative short films and music videos.
In a San Francisco basement a decade ago, Wells started RESFEST, an annual event that toured globally and included screenings and guest appearances by such luminaries as Michel Gondry, Roman Coppola and Mark Romanek. In 2006 Wells relaunched his efforts as a company called Flux, a “creative playground” that produced last September’s
Swerve Festival. Held high atop
Barnsdall Art Park, the three-day celebration of West Coast culture featured live bands and films about art, action sports and music. (Swerve also held the L.A. premiere of the Ian Curtis biopic, "
Control"; any former goths with old Joy Division shirts need to see this movie.)
Wells has now teamed up with the
Hammer Museum for a new quarterly screening series, kicking off March 25. There he hopes to continue what he started 10 years ago with RESFEST—to showcase creatively progressive short-form works that cross artistic disciplines. He also wants to bring together people who are “attracted by seeing really innovative work and then, afterwards, to share a drink and meet friends.” We’re into it.
The star attraction of the series is the premiere of Björk's 3-D “Wanderlust” video, directed by Encyclopedia Pictura, the American duo of Isaiah Saxon and Sean Hellfritsch. The video features a nomadic Björk tackling topics of divination, animal relationships and psychological baggage. Yes, it’s a 3-D Mongolian passion play. Yaks and river gods are involved.
Given its fancy visual format, don’t wait for “Wanderlust” to show up on plain old YouTube, especially since the Encyclopedia Pictura guys will be on deck for a Q&A after the Hammer screening. Wells also lined up new work from Cat Solen, Mixtape Club and Geoff McFetridge, as well as the world premiere of "The Blindness of the Woods," a short from Amautalab (based in Culver City and Buenos Aires).
We had the opportunity to tap Wells’ mind recently, and can’t wait to catch the eye candy he’s programming now.
What inspired you to start the Flux screenings?
L.A. is such a big city—unlike New York, where you run into people on the street all the time. I always liked the idea that the events we produced weren't events just for film, design, fashion or music people. It's an event that brings people together. That's what provided the impetus to do the Hammer event.
What place do these screenings have in a YouTube age?
The Web has become a new form of distribution. Previously, there would be short films you wouldn’t get to see unless you were in Japan or Europe. That's a challenge for us—to find work that isn't online yet or is really unique. Example: the “Wanderlust” video. They shot it in HD [high-definition] and 3-D, so there are two versions of the video. You won’t see the 3-D version on YouTube; we can show things the way [filmmakers] want their work to be seen. And what's really great about the Hammer is that its [Billy Wilder Theater] is state-of-the-art, with a high-end digital projector, hi-def decks, great seating and sound—one of the best theaters in Los Angeles, in my opinion.
How do you find these weird, never-seen-before videos?
Having programmed for 10 years, we have ongoing relationships with filmmakers, and we'll continue to follow their careers. One of the filmmakers we're spotlighting in the May series is Syd Garon, who has been collaborating with Sam Spiegel [aka internationally known DJ Squeak E. Clean]. Together they're commissioning really interesting visual artists and getting different animators to animate those. They're working with Barry McGee, Shephard Fairey and the artist group Date Farmers.
With diminishing budgets for music videos, do you think they will eventually fade out?
The funny thing is, while the bottom dropped out of the big-budget music videos, it seems sometimes there's an inverse connection with budget and quality. The more money, the less risk-taking; when there is less money, you give the director more leeway. The lower-budget videos tend to be more interesting, creatively.
So, which directors should we be on the lookout for?
Dougal Wilson. I really enjoyed his Bat for Lashes video. Cornelius collaborates a lot with Japanese director Koichiro Tsujikawa; he's the Michel Gondry of Japan, truly talented, and we'll continue to see interesting videos from him. In L.A., there's interesting filmmakers like Cat Solen and Jared Everheart.
Looking forward, what role do you think technology will play in the fate of music videos and short films?
I think the technology online is only getting better. Take the iPhone—people can watch things when waiting for the train or have a little while to kill—short-form content is perfect for that. Music videos will just evolve; I don't think they're going away.
Head to the Hammer Museum on Tues., March 25, for an evening of Flux-y goodness, including Q&As with the filmmakers and a courtyard reception. Be sure to reserve complimentary tickets at www.flux.net first, and prepare to line up early to make sure you get a seat, comrades.
