Dreams, Nightmares and Hallucinations: A Celebration of The Dream Sequence
A screening and lecture with film-maker Ronni Thomas
Date: Saturday, February 19th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
Dreams and nightmares have fascinated artists since the dawn of time. For years, filmmakers have been turning to the filmic “dream sequence” as a way to explore freer, more subjective forms of expression within the confines of the narrative structure demanded by conventional film-making. When these dream sequences are taken together as a group, we find a catalog of what could be understood as experimental “films within films.”
Tonight, join filmmaker Ronni Thomas for an exploration and celebration of the dream sequence. Thomas will contextualize the dream sequence within a discussion of its history, and will touch on the thoughts of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung on the practice. Following will be a screening of many of the most memorable of these sequences, including excerpts from films spanning the entire history of the medium, including “The Wizard of Oz” (which is, essentially one long dream sequence), Hitchcock’s “Spellbound” with its Salvador Dali-designed dreams, Burton’s “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby,” Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” and, the presenter’s absolute favorite, the 1961 cult classic “The Mask.” Also screened will be sequences from such films as “The Sentinel,” “Trainspotting,” “The Singing Detective,” “American Werewolf in London,” “Moon Tide,” and more. Each clip will be introduced by Thomas and screened in its entirety.