Welcome to the “HERE WE ARE: The History of Experimental Cinema” Project!

What would a history of experimental/avant-garde cinema look like in which we *solely* explore the contributions of women, non-binary, trans and genderqueer filmmakers? Who would you want to see included in such a compendium? (Recent history included here too! And not just straight white women…)—

I am working to create an online, editable, ongoing, living, growing compendium / digital zine that explores the rich history of experimental cinema. You are invited to take part in the process!

Ways to Get Involved:

1. Adding more names to the compendium! You can check out the growing google doc excel sheet, and add names HERE.

To add a name: simply add a name at the bottom of column A. Then, right click column A and choose “Sort Sheet A –> Z” so that the column gets back in alphabetical order by first name.

2. Signing up to write a digital zine “page” on (a) filmmaker(s) of your choosing! Anyone is welcome to volunteer their time and labor to create a write-up on the history and major contributions of the women, non-binary, trans and genderqueer filmmakers on this list. Ideally your write-up will be at least 3-4 paragraphs. (If the filmmaker is alive, please reach out to them and let them know you’re interested in writing about them for this project. You could also decide to do an interview with them for your zine page!) Bibliographies and/or additional resources/links for your zine page are encouraged (so that folks may know where they can access more info about your filmmaker!). Cis men are welcome and encouraged to participate in this labor too, especially since the rest of us have been putting in the work of making our own labor visible since the beginning of time. However: women, non-binary, trans and genderqueer folks’ are to the front! (If you notice a cis-man has chosen someone you’d like to write on, simply email them and let them know you’d like to instead.) You are welcome to contribute drawings, collages, gifs, and other artistic media you might be inspired to create (remember, think “digital zine”), in addition to your write-up. I also encourage you to include links to their vimeo pages, distro sites, websites, etc. (Also: you’re allowed to write your own page on yourself and your work too! Don’t be shy!)

How to sign up: Write your name in Column B next to the filmmaker of your choosing. Write your email address in Column C. Then, work on your write-up/ zine-page! Send a finished word doc or pdf and other related or attached media to Kelly Gallagher at kelly@purpleriot.com. Kelly will then work to begin compiling the digital zine which will be made available free on this site.

There is no due date for digital zine page submissions! Submissions are rolling!