Nathaniel Dorsky and Jerome Hiler's Experimental Films Illuminate New York Film Festival Projections Series

The 2016 New York Film Festival's Projections series featured experimental and avant-garde cinema across 11 programs. Among the offerings, a program by filmmakers Nathaniel Dorsky and Jerome Hiler, partners for over five decades, stood out for its vitality. Their presentation included three short films from 2016: Dorsky's 'Autumn' and 'The Dreamer,' and Hiler's 'Bagatelle II.' These works are known for their patient observation of natural and interior life. 'Autumn,' a 26-minute silent 16mm film shot in 2015 during California's drought, dedicates itself to the essence of the season. Dorsky's approach eschews narrative, allowing images to communicate directly. The film explores haiku principles, with Sergei Eisenstein's 1929 essay 'Beyond the Shot' drawing parallels between montage and the poetic form. Dorsky employs techniques like kigo (season words) and precise cutting to create moments of revelation, akin to satori (sudden enlightenment). The imagery in 'Autumn' includes California countryside, foliage, rhododendron, butterfly bushes, and transitions between light and darkness. Visual metaphors emerge, such as light on furniture transforming into a wheat field, then revealing mechanical gears beneath. The film culminates in a celestial vision, comparing flora to constellations. Dorsky and Hiler have cultivated a dedicated following, including poets and philosophers, through their work and legendary at-home screenings.