Films A to Z

The Tiny Ventriloquist

Runtime:
60 min.
Year of Production:
2011
Country:
Kanada
Director:
Cast:
James Richards
Production Company:
Berlinale Section:
Forum
Berlinale Category:
Short Film

THE TINY VENTRILOQUIST is a suite of shorter works. Perhaps the titles to some of the components best communicate the breadth and flavour of the work: GREAT BLOOD SACRIFICE, BEAVER SKULL MAGICK, CARTOON FOR THOSE WHO HAVE A CERTAIN FONDNESS FOR IDEAS BUT ARE TIRED OF THINKING, THE ROOT PROBLEM OF THE WORLD, MY NAME IS KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN, ASS RECLAIM INSERT, WHAT IS CALLED DRINKING (WE HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO DRINK). In these works, Reinke tries on and discards many voices, stances, histories, and ideologies. His style ranges from drawn animation to home and diary video to found footage. Connecting the wide range of stylistic approaches is Steve Reinke himself, acting as the narrator of his darkly humorous miniatures. Together they form a machine for draining all meaning from the world.

“It's his voice you notice first of all. You can't help noticing. Beuys had his uniform, Warhol his silk screen, Steve Reinke has his voice. It is a kind of signature, a costume for the masquerade of personality, but more importantly: a guarantor of pleasure. Listening to this voice, I imagine again the thousands of moviegoers who once swooned at the sight of Garbo's face, that mask of light that trapped everyone who passed into the Medusa stare of cinema. Like Garbo, Steve's voice manages a universal appeal and an individual promise, a promise no less real for remaining always a secret.” Mike Hoolboom

Exhibition III at the Embassy of Canada in Berlin

BIOGRAFIE Steve Reinke

Steve Reinke, born in 1963 in Eganville, Canada, lives and works in Chicago, USA. He is currently associate professor of Art Theory & Practice at Northwestern University. His work is widely screened and exhibited. Two books of his writing have been published, “Everybody Loves Nothing” and “The Shimmering Beast”.

FILMOGRAFIE Steve Reinke (selection)

2015 A Boy Needs a Friend  2014 The Natural Look  2014 Rib Gets in the Way: Final Thoughts, Series Three  2012 The Tiny Ventriloquist: Final Thoughts, Series Two  2012 A Day for Cake and Accidents  2011 Blood & Cinnamon  2011 The Tiny Ventriloquist  2010 Vomit Star  2010 Disambiguation  2009 Everybody   2008 Boy/Analysis: An Abridgement of Melanie Klein's 'Narrative of a Child Analysis'  2007 The Mendi  2007 My Rectum is not a Grave  2007 Hobbit Love is the Greatest Love  2007 Election Defeat  2006 Regarding the Pain of Susan Sontag  2006 Picnic  2005 Ask the Insects  2005 Ghosts of Gay Porn  2004 Anthology of American Folk Song  2004 The Chocolate Factory  2002 Anal Masturbation and Object Loss  2002 J.P  2001 Sad Disco Fantasia  2001 Amsterdam Camera Vacation  1999 Afternoon  1999 Spiritual Animal Kingdom  1999 Fireball  1998 Echo Valley  1998 Incidents of Travel  1998 How Photographs Are Stored in the Brain  1996 Everybody Loves Nothing  1989 The Hundred Videos 



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