Building on the quiet, evocative 16mm images that marked his earlier EMPTY QUARTER (2011), LeTourneau’s new experimental documentary examines an urban landscape overlaid with a grid designed for the movement and storage of motor vehicles. His patient camera explores the spaces allocated to roads and parking, fuel distribution and storage, and the activities of maintenance and road construction that serve our “drive-thru” culture. Referencing John Charles Fremont’s THE EXPLORING EXPEDITION TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, OREGON, AND NORTH CALIFORNIA, 1843-44, the present-day environment and Fremont’s historical record are juxtaposed to consider a pristine but arduous past and mobile but congested present. (72 mins.)
Director Alain LeTourneau will lead an audience Q&A following the screening and will teach DIGITAL CINEMATOGRAPHY at the School of Film this spring.
OPEN ROAD screens Sunday, May 18 at 7pm in our Whitsell Auditorium (located in the Portland Art Museum). The film is being presented as part of our ongoing Northwest Tracking series.
Tickets are available online or at the door.
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