Mar 15, 2017
Festival
San Francisco, CA — SFFILM is proud to announce that the Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award will be presented to visionary artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson at the 60th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 5-19), Tuesday April 11, 7:30 pm at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. An in-depth onstage conversation with the artist will examine her use of cutting-edge technologies to push the limits of institutionally sanctioned artistic mediums and her ongoing commitment to creating work which illuminates the intersection of film, artistic expression, and technology. The discussion will be followed by a screening of her new documentary film, Tania Libre.
SFFILM‘s celebration of Hershman Leeson is in collaboration with the YBCA Exhibitions presentation of Lynn Hershman Leeson: Civic Radar. This popular retrospective focuses on Hershman Leeson’s investigations of identity and the relationship between the viewer and various modes of surveillance, while also acknowledging her contributions to the field of performance and her commitment to socially engaged practices.
“Lynn Hershman Leeson could well be a living breathing metaphor for San Francisco itself. Iconoclastic, radical, wry, curious and provocative, she has shaken the worlds of art and film with her constantly shifting and inspiring work,” said SFFILM’s Executive Director Noah Cowan. “On the occasion of a major career retrospective at our partner institution YBCA, we cannot imagine a better time to see her honored for her work.”
Established in 1997, the Persistence of Vision Award each year honors the achievement of a filmmaker or institution whose main body of work is outside the realm of narrative feature filmmaking, crafting documentaries, short films, television, animated, experimental, or multiplatform work.
Over the last five decades, Lynn Hershman Leeson has received international acclaim for her art and films. She is recognized for her innovative work investigating issues that are key to the workings of society: the relationship between humans and technology, identity, surveillance, and the use of media as a tool of empowerment against censorship and political repression. She is considered one of the most influential media artists of the last 30 years, pioneering contributions in photography, video, film, performance, installation, and interactive as well as net-based media art.
About Tania Libre:
Bay Area filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson continues her ongoing exploration of groundbreaking women artists with this portrait of the radical Cuban artist Tania Bruguera, whose own work consistently blurs the line between art and activism. After announcing plans to provide a platform for Cuban citizens to publicly express political views without threat of censorship, the Cuban government confiscated Bruguera’s passport and she was placed under house arrest for eight months. In keeping with her ongoing commitment to pioneering use of form and investigation of feminist identity, Hershman Leeson collaborated with Bruguera to document 12 hours of discussion between Bruguera and noted authority on post-traumatic stress disorder, Dr. Frank Ochberg. Comprised of intimate footage from these therapy sessions, Tania Libre is a thoughtful examination of the ways in which Bruguera’s personal experience reflects broader issues related to private and cultural forms of censorship and a stunning example of Hershman Leeson’s innovative and provocative approach to documentary film.
Previous recipients of the Persistence of Vision Award include pioneering studio Aardman Animations (2016); documentarian Kim Longinotto (2015); filmmaker and visual artist Isaac Julien (2014); multidisciplinary artist Jem Cohen (2013); documentarian Barbara Kopple (2012); multimedia artist Matthew Barney (2011); animator Don Hertzfeldt (2010); documentarians Lourdes Portillo (2009), Errol Morris (2008) and Heddy Honigmann (2007); cinematic iconoclast Guy Maddin (2006); documentarians Adam Curtis (2005) and Jon Else (2004); experimental filmmaker Pat O’Neill (2003); Latin American cinema pioneer Fernando Birri (2002); avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger (2001); animator Faith Hubley (2000); documentarians Johan van der Keuken (1999) and Robert Frank (1998); and animator Jan Svankmajer (1997).
Tickets to Persistence of Vision Award: Lynn Hershman Leeson: Tania Libre are $13 for SFFILM members, $15 for the general public. Box office is open to SFFILM members now online at sffilm.org and opens for the general public Friday, March 17.
For general information visit sffilm.org/festival
To request interviews or screeners, contact your Festival Press Office contact.
For photos and press materials visit sffilm.org/press
60th San Francisco International Film Festival The longest-running film festival in the Americas, the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival) is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities. The 60th edition runs April 5-19 at venues across the Bay Area and features nearly 200 films and live events, 14 juried awards with close to $40,000 in cash prizes, and upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests.