Canyon Cinema: The Life and Times of an Independent Film Distributor

by Scott MacDonald

Bringing alive a remarkable moment in American cultural history, Scott MacDonald tells the colorful story of how a small, backyard organization in the San Francisco Bay Area emerged in the 1960s and evolved to become a major force in the development of independent cinema. Drawing from extensive conversations with men and women crucial to Canyon Cinema, from its newsletter Canyon Cinemanews, and from other key sources, MacDonald offers a lively chronicle of the life and times of this influential, idiosyncratic film exhibition and distribution collective. His book features many primary documents that are as engaging and relevant now as they were when originally published, including essays, poetry, experimental writing, and drawings.

Genres: Film

478 pages, Paperback

First published December 3, 2007

Reviews

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the early 1970s, I was lucky to work at the San Francisco Museum of Art, which had one of the early film programs on the West Coast, starting in the 1930s. During the 1970s, several of the people who ran the film department at SFMOMA had come from Canyon Cinema: Edith Kramer, Ken DeRoux and Shelley Diekman.

The museum supported the many independent filmmakers in the area. The few that come to mind are Bruce Conner, William T. Wiley, Robert Nelson, the Kuchar Brothers, James Broughton, Diane Kitchen, Larry Jordan, Craig Baldwin, and William Farley. They also brought in "independent" filmmakers from around the world: Kenneth Anger, Yvonne Rainier, Werner Schroeter, Pat O'Neill, etc.

Seeing these films made me want to make my own, and a Super 8 camera was soon among my possessions, along with editing equipment. I made films of whatever was around me.

This book puts a lot into perspective for me. Thank you to Scott MacDonald for doing the intensive research.

Unbeknownst from Alberta Mayo on Vimeo.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wouldn’t expect books about the American avant-garde cinema to have a huge marketplace; fans of books about the distribution network for those films, I think, would represent a super-niche group. I didn’t know if I was going to maintain the interest to finish it, but I also didn’t know it was as interesting as it was, and though it did take me a while to get through this book, I did love reading the collection of material selected for it, and it did tell a story: a story of a utopian hippie dream of a film cooperative for any filmmaker with an extra copy of their film to show, being successfully originated and operated by a group of often egotistical, sometimes contentious and immature, organizationally challenged (in the business world sense) artists. And included in the book are wonderful essays, interviews, Q & As and letters that appeared in the cooperatives journal/newsletter from filmmakers that I’ve seen several of their films (i.e. Stan Brakhage, Hollis Frampton), a few of their films (i.e. Owen Land, Robert Nelson, Will Hindle, Bruce Baillie . . . ), one their films (specifically. Chick Strand), and none of their films (most notably, Warren Sonbert – but I really want to now, after having read his ideas on film theory). Any film geek with an interest in the American avant-garde film should seriously (or playfully) take a look into this one.

[Mike Everleth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books on the experimental film scene rarely focus on the scene in San Francisco, so it's awesome MacDonald targets that scene specifically for an entire book. Love that he includes so many pieces from the folks during the time who were living it.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic scholarship, well-picked selections from the Canyon Cinemanews magazines. Probably not for outsiders to experimental film, but if you are interested a wonderful education.