RR, an avant-garde film by James Benning about the influence of railroads on the United States, will be screened for free April 10 at Vanderbilt University.
“James Benning’s work turned the avant garde film world on its ear in the late 1970s,” said Marilyn Murphy, professor of art at Vanderbilt. “The prevailing trend was abstract and formal while Benning’s films were meditations on elements of the American landscape, often with a sly sense of humor and an implied narrative. He encourages the viewer to look and listen to the world around us from the play of light to the sounds of a distant plane.”
RR is a minimalist critique of U.S. railroads, which he portrays as fostering overconsumption and dramatically changing the landscape of the American West.
RR will be presented 7 p.m. Saturday, April 10, in Sarratt Cinema on the Vanderbilt campus at 2301 Vanderbilt Place. Parking will be available at lot 2 parallel to West End Avenue) and at the Metro Nashville parking meters along West End Avenue.
The screening is free and open to the public.
Benning’s films have been exhibited at the Vienna International Film Festival, the London Film Festival and the Sundance, Rotterdam and Berlin film festivals.
The screening is presented by the Office of the Dean of Students at Vanderbilt in partnership with the Film Studies Program, and underwritten by Mimi and Scott Manzler.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu