Directing
The writings of the late poet and philosopher John Moriarty are here transformed into an impressionistic exploration of the wonder he found in the world. Interviews with members of Moriarty’s surviving family offer some context to his life but directors Julius Ziz and Dónal Ó Céilleachair keep the focus on Moriarty’s poetic works; topics roam from emigration to Celtic legends as readings from Moriarty’s texts are performed over images of a lush, gorgeously captured Irish countryside that is read as a repository of local and mythical knowledge. These words and images are presented free from any regimented narrative, allowing viewers’ associations and impressions to be freely formed. Continuing Moriarty’s own desire to dive into a more mystic, inscrutable terrain than is commonly seen in contemporary Irish culture, _Dreamtime Revisited_ is an enigmatic and experiential documentary that emulates Moriarty’s own connection to the worlds of Irish language, land, and culture.
Super 8 flicker film shot and hand-developed in Seoul in spring 2022 with jazz soundtrack from a Jonas Mekas centennial tribute in Busan.
"A Mixtape for Stom" is an intimate documentary portrait of Japanese experimental filmmaker Stom Sogo (1975–2012), whose frenetic Super-8mm works became emblematic of New York’s underground cinema at the turn of the millennium. A close friend, filmmaker Adrian Goycoolea reflects on Sogo’s life and legacy, framing the film as a reply to the final email he received from him. Drawing from personal archives, interviews, and memory, the film assembles a collage of Sogo’s art and presence: radiant, restless, and unresolved. Contributors include Jonas Mekas, Bruce McClure, Raha Raissnia, Julius Ziz, Ed Halter, Andy Lampert, and members of Sogo’s family, offering perspectives on his talent, struggles, and influence. Scored by Joe Watson of Stereolab, "A Mixtape for Stom" is at once an elegy and an act of remembrance; a meditation on friendship and grief, and a testament to an underground legacy that continues to reverberate.
Shot in Lithuania, the film is a portrait of the artist’s grandmother. A quiet film, it builds on themes of childhood and old age, with a sense of transition between worlds, revolving around the symbolic window.
« Made for the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris exposition VOILA (Summer 2000), from ‘found’ footage taken from hundreds of unfinished films stored in Anthology's basement. A tour-de-force montage film with the spirit of Vigo and Buñuel hovering over it. Made before Godard's Origins of the 21st Century, Ziz's film provokes interesting comparisons. Both deal with images of the 20th century. But while Godard's film could be described as a poster, Ziz's film is a poem. I don't have to tell you which one I prefer...- » (Jonas Mekas)
Silence Sea and Marcel Duchamp was created from found 16mm footage of Marcel Duchamp and his wife Teeny playing a game of chess. He is pretending that he is winning but he is losing.
