Formatted to look like words projected in a movie theater, Laura Paul’s Film Elegy is an evocative tribute to the medium. Framed by the death of filmmaker Amy Halpern, who the author worked for early in her career, the text tracks the relationship of an apprentice to a mentor who is no longer there. “I mourn film and cinema,” Paul writes, “I cry tears of lubricating fluid for the machines of our projections.” Throughout the book, Paul crafts a skillful lexicon of punctuation to invoke sprocket holes, flickering light, and cutaway shots as a celebratory lament for a craft that may soon belong solely to the past. Film Elegy is for anyone who’s ever loved a person or a motion picture and for those who wish for the dreams of the screen to manifest into a better reality for all.
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Upcoming events:
🎞️ Saturday, December 7th, 2024 at 1pm - LA Launch with Acropolis Cinema at 2220 Arts + Archives (2220 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90057). Screening of Amy Halpern's Falling Lessons and Nina Menkes’ The Great Sadness of Zohara, with a discussion with Laura Paul and Nina Menkes following.
💥 Wednesday, November 6th, 2024 - Film Elegy in Chicago at The Whistler, hosted by Ben Niespodziany. With Robert Kloss, Meg Forajter, Zan de Parry, Meghan Lamb, & Paul Cunningham.
💥 Saturday, November 2nd, 2024 - Film Elegy at the Cascadia Poetry Festival in Seattle.
🎞️ Monday, October 21st, 2024 at 7pm - Santa Fe Launch at No Name Cinema. Screening of Amy Halpern's short films with a reading from the book.
🎞️ Thursday, October 17th, 2024 at 7pm - NYC Launch at Filmmakers Cooperative (475 Park Avenue South, 6th Floor in Manhattan). Screening of Amy Halpern's films with a reading from the book.
Media:
📖 Film Elegy listed as recommended reading by The Stranger
🎙️Podcast: Film, Friends, and Poetry with Laura Paul
🎙️Podcast: Just Death with LJ Pemberton, Lauren Bolger, and Laura Paul
To request a review copy, contact: starstostories@gmail.com