Podcast appearances and mentions of James N Kienitz

After having discussed his This Action Lies five years ago, Filmexplorer meets James N. Kienitz Wilkins in Nyon for the premiere of his Still Film at Visions du Réel 2023 and continue the exchange on his filmmaking. Interview: Giuseppe Di Salvatore | Editing: Ruth Baettig

Co-written by experimental filmmakers James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir (who, along with Paul Dallas, served as producers), The Plagiarists is at once a hilarious send-up of low-budget American indie filmmaking and a probing inquiry into race, relationships, and the social uncanny. A young novelist (Lucy Kaminsky) and her cinematographer boyfriend (Eamon Monaghan) are waylaid by a snowstorm on their way to visit a friend in upstate New York and are taken in by the kindly yet enigmatic Clip (Michael “Clip” Payne of Parliament Funkadelic), who puts them up for the night. But an accidental discovery months later recasts in an unnerving light what had seemed like an agreeable evening, stoking resentments both latent and not-so-latent. Exhilaratingly intelligent and distinctively shot on a vintage TV-news camera, The Plagiarists is a work whose provocations are inseparable from its pleasures. Screenwriters James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir join us to talk about whip-smart project, as well as their creative process, white privilege, blending together acting styles and Dogma 95. For news and updates go to: kimstim.com/film/plagiarists Social Media twitter.com/hashtag/theplagiarists twitter.com/automaticmoving twitter.com/hashtag/jamesnkienitzwilkins

Experimental filmmakers James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir, and producer Paul Dallas discuss their collaboration on THE PLAGIARISTS, playing here at Film at Lincoln Center through Thursday, July 11. This podcast is brought to you by Film at Lincoln Center. Film Lives Here. www.filmlinc.org

  With the occasion of the screening of “The Optics of Space” at Heureka science center, we start off with a conversation on the cross-pollination between art and science. The film projection was developed for a planetarium by curator Aily Nash with works by artists Lucy Raven, and James N. Kienitz Wilkins, and commissioned by the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York’s and PUBLICS, Helsinki. Gathering perspectives from the art field and space science, we to tap into the cinematic experience, the educational and research potential of visual information, and the ways in which art appropriates technological tools to convey different meanings. The invitees are Aalto professor of astronomy Dr. Joni Tammi, director of the Metsähovi Observatory, and curator Marina Valle Noronha, PhD researcher in Aalto School of Arts. Though the two conversations we bring forward the stakes and merits of films, by putting them in direct connection with scientific perspectives on space observation, the dissemination of astronomical knowledge, and the role of art in shaping human vision of the universe.

Before anything else, films are objects that present a sensorial experience. To understand how they function—as industrial products, as societal mirrors, as ideological machines—we must understand how they interact with our minds and make us think. For the five year anniversary of The Cinephiliacs, Manohla Dargis joins the cast to talk exactly that. The New York Times critic discusses her childhood movie love of watching objects without inhibition and her writing as a form of translating the way of watching films. She also chats about the past and future of the Times, and how the institutional changes have affected the practice of criticism in a digital age. Finally, Manohla and Peter examine Charles Burnett's independent masterpiece Killer of Sheep, examining how the filmmaker's stark portrayal of impoverished black life resonates to today through poetic realism. Plus, a brief chat with James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir, whose new film, The Republic, is currently streaming on MUBI. 0:00-3:09 Opening 4:23-14:00 Establishing Shots — Five Years of The Cinephiliacs 14:46-47:15 Deep Focus — Manohla Dargis 48:28-1:07:42 Sponsorship Section — An Interview with The Republic team, James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir 1:09:00-1:23:28 Double Exposure — Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett) 1:23:32-1:28:38 Close / Outtake