The Connection
(1962) Directed by Shirley Clarke
Thursday - November 1 - 7:00 p.m.
The Connection is one of the most vital, fascinating films of the American independent world.
Created by a woman director at a time when they were in very short supply, the film shattered
stereotypes in just about every conceivable way. The film adapts a controversial play by Jack
Gelber- a play within a play within a jazz concert. It portrays a group of drug addicts, musicians and
filmmakers, waiting in a New York loft apartment for their drug connection. The brilliantly written
Beat dialogue blends with jazz music written by the great pianist Freddie Redd. The Connection was
preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive with funding by the Film Foundation. (35mm. 110
min. Not rated.)
Jorgensen Lecture -
Dennis Doros, Milestone Film & Video Co-founder
Friday - November 2 - 3:00 p.m.
Dennis Doros will deliver his lecture titled Where's Shirley, which he presented earlier
in the year at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Ornette: Made in America
(1985) Directed by Shirley Clarke
Friday - November 2 - 6:30 p.m.
Ornette: Made in America explores the rhythms, images and myths of America seen through the
eyes of an artist's ever-expanding imagination and experience. The film focuses on the struggles and
triumphs of Ornette Coleman's life as well as the inspired intelligence that spawned his creativity.
Documentary footage chronicles his boyhood in segregated Texas through his emergence as an
American cultural pioneer and icon. Contributors to the film include William Burroughs, Brion Gysin,
Buckminster Fuller, Don Cherry, Yoko Ono, Charlie Haden, Robert Palmer, Jayne Cortez and John
Rockwell. (35mm. 85 min. Not rated.)
Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel with the World
(1963)
Directed by Shirley Clarke
Friday - November 2 - 9:30 p.m.
Just prior to the acclaimed poet's death at 88, Shirley Clarke captures his essence during speaking
engagements at Amherst and Sarah Lawrence Colleges, intercut with studies of his work, scenes of
his life in rural Vermont and personal reminiscences about his career. Also included is a scene of
Frost receiving an award from President Kennedy. The film presents an intimate portrait of one of
America's great 20th Century poets. (DigiBeta. 51 min. Not rated.)
39
cinema.indiana.edu
Shirley Clarke's Cool World