Wild Fowl in Slow Motion

In the previous post about the teaser/trailer that Courtney Stephens created for Orphans 2020, I noted her source materials had their own interesting orphan stories. News about the schedule for the late May symposium — Orphans Online — will be posted here in a few days. Meanwhile, a consideration of the short fragments used in the teaser sets up the issues we will be examining in depth — and suggests how neglected films can provoke thinking about water, climate, and migration. The uncanny footage called  If the Antarctic Ice Cap Should Melt? — outtakes (Fox Movietone News, 1929) is our emblematic

Because Amsterdam.

Next week watch this space for the official Call for Proposals for the 12th Orphan Film Symposium, May 23-27, 2020, which returns to Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. Orphans 2020 is also the 6th annual Eye International Conference. The co-branded symposium will be dedicated to Water, Climate, and Migration.  (More on that in the next post.) The 2020 event will be in the long-running international biennial format, with four nights and three full days of screenings and presentations showcasing dozens of rediscovered orphan films from throughout the history of cinema. Mark your calendars to join archivists, scholars, curators, artists, preservationists, restorers,