Light grows wild: XINEMA Film Screening and to carve without cutting Closing Reception

XINEMA and UNIT/PITT are proud to present Light grows wild, a programme of experimental films presented in conjunction with the to carve without cutting exhibition, curated by Asia Jong.

This collection of works by Emma Roufs, Bram Ruiter, Daniel Robin, Chris Chong Chan Fui, Carolee Schneemann, Tiziana La Melia, Maryse Larivière, Carolynne Hew, and Sarah Wood moves through the complexities of relation where light is both gentle and sharp—illuminating what is hidden, obscuring what is clear—revealing the tensions between absence and presence. These artists explore dynamic forces in nature and emotion: light refracting through water, shadows cast on stone and flora, moments of tenderness and rupture. They provide glimpses into the ways love grows wild in the spaces where matter meets, collides, and transforms, and ultimately capture the restless interplay of energies that shape both the landscapes we inhabit and the intimacies we hold.

  • Saturday, September 28, 1–2:30pm 
  • @ the Chinese Cultural Centre Museum (555 Columbia St.)
  • Total program time: 55 min

The screening will be followed by a closing reception at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden from 2:30–4:00pm in the Hall of One Hundred Rivers. 

Limited $15 (no one turned away for lack of funds) are available. Click here to get your ticket.

Please email info@unitpitt.ca if you need financial or physical accommodation.

If you would like to attend only the free reception, please RSVP by emailing info@unitpitt.ca.

Screening:

Emma Roufs, still from on breathing, 2017, 16mm film to HD video, 3 min. Courtesy of the Artist and CFMDC.

on breathing (Canada, 2017), Emma Roufs, 3 min

Excerpt

A visual and sonic essay showcasing the light, wind, movement, breath, and the strength of the Earth.

Distributed by Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC).

Bram Ruiter, still from Here & Elsewhere, 2023, 16mm film and HD video, 11 min. Courtesy of the Artist.

Here & Elsewhere (Netherlands, 2023), Bram Ruiter, 11 min

Trailer

Inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ poem Arte Poética, Here & Elsewhere is a romantic film in which water serves as a guiding force for a journey with an unclear destination.

Daniel Robin, still from Sun Coming and Casting a Shadow, 2022, Super8 film to HD video, 7 min. Courtesy of the Artist.

Sun Coming and Casting a Shadow (USA, 2022), Daniel Robin, 7 min

A film about time, memory, fear, and the challenges of holding onto joy.

Chris Chong Chan Fui, still from Let Me Start By Saying, 2001, 16mm film to HD video, 3 min. Courtesy of the Artist and CFMDC.

Let Me Start By Saying (Canada, 2001), Chris Chong Chan Fui, 3 min

A gay man has fallen in love with a woman; she has gone away, and the image of her face haunts him. Desperately, he tries to come up with a way to be close to her again.

Distributed by Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC).

Plumb Line (USA, 1972), Carolee Schneemann, 14.5 min

The dissolution of a relationship unravels through visual and aural equivalences. Schneemann splits and recomposes actions of the lovers in a streaming montage of disruptive permutations: 8 mm is printed as 16 mm, moving images freeze, frames recur and dissolve until the film bursts into flames, consuming its own substance.

Distributed by Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI).

Tiziana La Melia and Maryse Lariviere, still from Garden Gossip, 2017, 16mm film and HD video, 5.5 min. Courtesy of the Artists.

Garden Gossip (Canada, 2017), Tiziana La Melia & Maryse Lariviere, 5.5 min

A Letter from the future, “Garden Gossip” is a richly layered 16mm film that amplifies interspecies communication while echoing feminist ecological concerns, reminiscent of Joyce Wieland’s work. Through textural and performative explorations, the film reclaims the subversive potential of traditionally feminine spaces and practices. It reimagines gossip as an act of reclamation and resistance, embodied through poetry and natural motifs—scents, flowers, and bird whispers.

Carolynne Hew, still from Swell, 1998, 16mm film to HD video, 5 min. Courtesy of the Artist and CFMDC.

Swell (Canada, 1998), Carolynne Hew, 5 min

Desire disorients and bodily swellings result. “A lovely concoction of hand-tinted and scratched film evoking a woman’s flight from concrete to nature – spurred on by a kiss.” – Gordon Bowness, Xtra!

Distributed by Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC).

Sarah Wood, still from Manifesto for Love, 2003, HD video, 6 min. Courtesy of the Artist and CFMDC.

Manifesto for Love (UK, 2003), Sarah Wood, 6 min

Art form crosses art form and makes a new art form. Manifesto for Love is an inter-layered journey into the highs and lows of the romantic adventure: an experiment in shape, music, vision and words to find a new expression of love.

Distributed by Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC).

XINEMA is an ongoing series that showcases emerging and established filmmakers within and beyond  “Vancouver”, BC to strengthen and preserve the experimental film scene. www.xinema.ca