The Screen - A Subversive Art: Modern Times
A SUBVERSIVE ART
Raiding the archives of Amos Vogel’s legendary film club, Cinema 16
Modern Times (1936) Charlie Chaplin, 87 mins. Cert U. BFI.
The Screen at Contemporary returns. This season we celebrate the act of people gathering in a darkened room to watch films together. We present a selection of shorts and features from the infamous film society Cinema 16 (1947–63), run by Amos and Marcia Vogel, which proposed an alternative canon of avant-garde, underground and commercial film. Cinema 16 strived to show only the most pioneering films, and in the process was a major influence on postwar cinema.
Charlie Chaplin’s iconic tramp character has a series of misadventures as he tries to survive the industrialised modern world. As with many early filmmakers, this explores and critiques the use and expansion of technology, in this case mass production in the name of progress and capitalism. Chaplin’s concern is ultimately questioning its impact on our humanity. A glorious masterpiece of the silent era that feels thematically relevant today. A cinematic historical artefact, Modern Times is an example of a premonition of the world which was to come.
Screened with Un Chien Andalou (1929) Luis Buñuel, 16 mins. BFI.
For the full programme of films, please click here
Event:
The Screen - A Subversive Art: Modern TimesDates:
23 Feb 2022, 6.30pmVisit Safely:
Viewing conditions tickets will be sold at 50% capacity. Guests will be asked to leave space in between each other.