Canyon Cinema: The Life and Times of an Independent Film Distributor written by Visiting Professor of Film History Scott MacDonald was published by University of California Press in January 2008. According to the publisher's Web site, MacDonald brings alive a remarkable moment in American cultural history and "tells the colorful story of how a small, backyard organization in the San Francisco Bay Area emerged in the 1960s and evolved to become a major force in the development of independent cinema.
"Drawing from extensive conversations with men and women crucial to Canyon Cinema, from its newsletter Canyon Cinemanews and from other key sources, MacDonald offers a lively chronicle of the life and times of this influential, idiosyncratic film exhibition and distribution collective. His book features many primary documents that are as engaging and relevant now as they were when originally published, including essays, poetry, experimental writing, and drawings."
Commenting on the book, David E. James, author of The Most Typical Avant-Garde: History and Geography of Minor Cinemas in Los Angeles, says "MacDonald's selections tread a pitch-perfect path between being comprehensive and making an engrossing and illuminating narrative. He has perfected his voice and controls the entire history of U.S. avant-garde film with an easy and graceful confidence."
MacDonald will present a program on Canyon Cinema focused on male filmmakers on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m. in the Kirner-Johnson Auditorium as part of his F.I.L.M. (Forum on Image and Language in Motion) series. On Sunday, March 9, he will present a program on some of the female filmmakers associated with Canyon Cinema.
"Drawing from extensive conversations with men and women crucial to Canyon Cinema, from its newsletter Canyon Cinemanews and from other key sources, MacDonald offers a lively chronicle of the life and times of this influential, idiosyncratic film exhibition and distribution collective. His book features many primary documents that are as engaging and relevant now as they were when originally published, including essays, poetry, experimental writing, and drawings."
Commenting on the book, David E. James, author of The Most Typical Avant-Garde: History and Geography of Minor Cinemas in Los Angeles, says "MacDonald's selections tread a pitch-perfect path between being comprehensive and making an engrossing and illuminating narrative. He has perfected his voice and controls the entire history of U.S. avant-garde film with an easy and graceful confidence."
MacDonald will present a program on Canyon Cinema focused on male filmmakers on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m. in the Kirner-Johnson Auditorium as part of his F.I.L.M. (Forum on Image and Language in Motion) series. On Sunday, March 9, he will present a program on some of the female filmmakers associated with Canyon Cinema.
