Giulia Rho, Sophia Satchell-Baeza and Dr Virginie Sélavy discuss The Seashell and The Clergyman (Germaine Dulac, 1928), Meshes of The Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), and Psychosynthesis, (Barbara Hammer, 1975).

Giulia Rho is a Teaching Associate at Queen Mary University of London, where she has recently completed her PhD in Film Studies. Her research covers experimental women filmmakers and queer artists, especially those operating within the New York Avant Garde and LA Rebellion. Her work deals with Post-structuralist Feminist Philosophy as well as theories of Queer Time and questions of archival memory and justice. Her writing has appeared in Frames Film Journal and Film-Philosophy.

Dr Sophia Satchell-Baeza is Associate Lecturer at University of the Arts London and a film critic for Sight & Sound. Her research explores histories of underground film, expanded cinema and counterculture, and specialises in British psychedelic films and light shows of the 1960s and ‘70s.

Dr Virginie Sélavy is a lecturer at Ravensbourne University and a freelance film critic. She was the founding editor of Electric Sheep Magazine and co-director of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies – London. She writes and lectures on horror, fantastique and exploitation cinema and regularly runs a course on surrealism in film. www.feminaridens.com

00:00 // Introduction
00:25 // Dr Virginie Sélavy on The Seashell and the Clergyman
05:11 // Dr Sophia Satchell-Baeza on Meshes of the Afternoon
10:32 // Giulia Rho on Psychosynthesis
14:46 // Where do these films fit into cinema history?
21:29 // Making meaning surrealism in films
25:38 // Surrealsim and psychoanalysis
28:55 // How did the filmmakers frame their films?
33:31 // The early use of special effects
35:08 // Queer readings of surrealist films

Explore the Who is Luis Buñuel? collection of video introductions and discussions on our Youtube Playlist.

Thanks to Professor Rob Stone for his consultation with the season.
Recorded on 8th February 2024 at The Garden Cinema