The Red Thread: Larry Gottheim's Films

This career-spanning survey celebrates the work of avant-garde filmmaker Larry Gottheim, from his first film, ALA (1969), to his latest, A Private Room (2024). Renowned for his 1970 film Fog Line, Gottheim has continued to challenge notions of what it is to truly see and be present when viewing moving images; his work encourages deep meditation. The series begins with Gottheim’s silent works—continuous shots of bare landscapes in upstate New York—and goes on to focus on his subsequent sound films, including the Elective Affinities, a series of four feature-length films: Horizons (1973), Mouches Volantes (1976), Four Shadows (1978), and Tree of Knowledge (1981). Gottheim’s more recent film works explore philosophy and family, driven by complex editing and sonic designs.

In 1965 Gottheim founded the cinema department at Binghamton University, in central New York State—one of the first film programs with a curriculum focused on personal, experimental film—helping to spur a revival in academic and professional activity in avant-garde film in the U.S. and providing an incubation space for filmmakers such as Gottheim, Ken Jacobs, Ernie Gehr, Nicholas Ray, and Saul Levine, among others. The work begun by Gottheim at Binghamton shaped the experimental film scene for decades to come, and continues to have an indelible impact on avant-garde cinema. This series coincides with the recent publication of The Red Thread: Larry Gottheim and His Films (published by The Film-Makers' Cooperative) in which the filmmaker discusses his explorations of cinematic perception, alongside other artists’ and critics’ reflections on the importance of Gottheim’s work.

Organized by Malkah Manouel, guest curator; and Francisco Valente, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Film, MoMA. Thanks to the Film-Makers’ Cooperative and the University of Chicago.