Compilation episode of Image Union featuring the work of more than seven artists: Maria Weidmann and Champ Clark, Paul Leaf, Alan Baranowski, Lisa Fremont, and Eli Noyes. Also on the videotape are two music videos for The Cleaning Ladys and Babie Brother.
“Reclaiming America” is a short documentary about the American Agriculture Movement’s 1985 protest in front of the Chicago Board of Trade. The protesters, family farmers, target futures trading and the speculative shorting tactics used in the financial system. 49 protesters were arrested over two days. Footage focuses on speeches from Wayne Cryts, president of the American Agricultural Movement.
Compilation episode of Image Union featuring all music videos. Musicians include Vassili Harakas, John Caldwell, and Lou Hinkhouse.
Film made with the Kwakwaka’wakw Indians (also called the Kwakiutl) of British Columbia about their struggles to preserve their cultural heritage. As an introduction to the piece, Chuck Olin explains that the documentary was not made simply about the tribe from the point of view of an outsider, it was made with them and for their own use. The potlach was a fundamental part of the Kwakiutl’s culture and economy. However, the Canadian government declared it illegal, and in the 1920s they interrupted a potlach held by this tribe and stole all of the tribe’s important artifacts. The tape celebrates the return of these artifacts t o the tribe and the building of a cultural center to house them. The film also deals with the tribe’s attempts to preserve their language and culture.
Compilation episode of Image Union featuring the work of Paul Thornton, James Vincent Minnice, and Kirk von Heflin. Topics include war and militarization (Thornton), narrative fiction (Minnice), and documentary (von Heflin).
Two tapes about animals – one about the gorilla, Sinbad, of the Lincoln Park Zoo and one about the dolphins and their trainers at the Brookfield Zoo. The works are “Sinbad Has Surgery” and “Everybody Loves Dolphins.”
Part of the Global Perspectives on War and Peace Collection. Disarmament Survey. In the spring of 1982, 300 independent videomakers around the world produced a public opinion poll. People were interviewed on the street about their opinions on the nuclear arms race and disarmament. Responses were polarized.
Image Union episode featuring highlights from the 1985 National Video Festival, presented by the American Film Institute and sponsored by Sony Corporation of America. The program includes work from Jonathan Borofsky and Gary Glassman, Saundra Sharp, and Jean-Luc Godard.