Shapeshifters Cinema is a monthly expanded cinema series featuring experimental filmmakers and video artists presenting moving image work live with accompaniment from sound artists, musicians and artists from other creative disciplines. Shapeshifters takes place the second Sunday of every month, from 8 to 9pm (unless otherwise noted) at Temescal Art Center in North Oakland. Doors open at 7:30pm. Shows are free. Shapeshifters is curated by Kathleen Quillian and Gilbert Guerrero.
Voted “Best Leaps From
the Screen” by the San
Francisco Bay Guardian,
October 2014.
Support for Shapeshifters Cinema is provided by the Zellerbach Family Foundation, the Clorox Company Foundation, Southern Exposure's Alternative Exposure grant program, the San Francisco Cinematheque and individual donors.
Interested in supporting Shapeshifters? Please consider a donation to help support on-going costs of running this series. Shapeshifters is fiscally sponsored by the San Francisco Cinematheque. Donations of any amount are tax deductible (and greatly appreciated!).
May 13, 2018
Kristin Cato & David Cox
Multi-disciplinarian Kristin Cato (filmmaker, theatermaker, writer, sound designer, semiotician and violinist) will present The Numbers Project, a live cinema event of performed poetry with video projections about whole numbers—their shapes, associations, spiritual meanings and cultural roles. A work in progress developed over the past few years, The Numbers Project consists of one poem for each number—zero through thirteen—with most of the imagery coming from historical/educational math and science films. So far, the project has been performed in installments—"Zero One Two", "Three Four Five", and "Planet Six" (an interplanetary countup and homage to space activity and historical representations of it). This event will be the first showing of all parts presented in one continuum, and includes the new "Star Seven" section with violin accompaniment. While we are still in conceptual orbit, David Cox will present two space-themed projects including excerpts from his forthcoming Rocket Opera with live musical accompaniment from baritone John Smalley and mezzo soprano Anna Samborsca, plus a presentation of his 1998 sci-fi short Otherzone (originally shot in 35mm).
June 10, 2018
Natalie Tsui
Natalie Tsui is a queer media artist and filmmaker living and working in Oakland, California. Her work explores the connection between visual culture, collective memory, and personal narrative. Tsui will be presenting a program of four new works that investigate and attempt to erode modes of cinematic perception and identification through the use of camera feedback loops, multiple projections, found footage collage, and live image manipulation. For this performance, Tsui will be accompanied by musician/composer Megan Low. The program will include excerpts from ANTITEXT, a series in which 16mm captioned educational films are reconstituted as found poems; images of rapture, a site specific multi-camera, multi-projector improvised feedback loop projection set revolving around the concept of work; and casual encounter, a 16mm and digital projection piece exploring queer desire in Craigslist’s now defunct Casual Encounters (RIP). The evening will conclude with entropy loop #2, the second iteration of a film destruction ritual as an invocation for collective release. (Note: entropy loop #2 will involve the burning of film and may be unpleasant for those who are sensitive to scents and fumes. Limited masks will be available, bring your own mask.)
April 8, 2018: Tommy Becker
March 11, 2018: Projection Art with Kanoko Nishi & Agnes Szelag
January 14, 2018: Pad McLaughlin & Greta Snider
December 10, 2017: Kit Young and collaborators
November 12, 2017: John Davis & Joshua Churchill
October 8, 2017: Synthestesia
Septeber 10, 2017: Oracle Plus
August 13, 2017: Sofía Córdova with Matthew Gonzalez Kirkland
July 9, 2017: Konrad Steiner with Tatiana Luboviski-Acosta & All My Senses Rebel
June 11, 2017: Celebrating Five Years of Shapeshifters with the CinePimps
May 14, 2017: Surabhi Saraf & Dorothy Santos
April 9, 2017: Malic Amalya and Nathan Hill
March 12, 2017: Alex Mackenzie
February 12, 2017: Fired! group screening
January 8, 2017: Neurodivergent Media w/Allison Leigh Holt
December 11, 2016: Anna Geyer & Collin McKelvey
November 13, 2016: Facing West Shadow Opera
October 9, 2016: Greta Snider
September 11, 2016: Thad Povey and Mark Taylor with Henry Plotnick and Alfonso Alvarez
August 14, 2016: Kit Young & Lori Varga with Thomas Dimuzio
July 10, 2016: Suki O'Kane
June 12, 2016: Gustavo Vazquez & Guillermo Galindo
May 8, 2016: Sarah Rosalena Brady
April 8, 2016: Killer Banshee
March 13, 2016: Timeless Motion
February 14, 2016: The Freddy McGuire Show
January 10, 2016: Elia Vargas and Andy Puls with Marie Hoff
December 13, 2015: viDEO sAVant (Charles Woodman & Zachary James Watkins)
November 8, 2015: Greta Snider
September 13, 2015: Alfonso Alvarez & Steve Dye w/Suki O'Kane and Maat Valkyr
August 9, 2015: Phoebe Tooke & Wayne Grim w/Stephanie Stewart-Bailey
July 12, 2015: Kerry Laitala with Voicehandler & Wobbly
June 14, 2015: Lori Varga
May 10, 2015: Dennis Keefe & Jim Baldocchi with Thomas DiMuzio
April 12, 2015: Zen Cohen with Colton Long and Zoey Vero
March 22, 2015: Roger Beebe with Cody Hennesy
February 8, 2015: Cheryl Leonard with Rebecca Haseltine & Oona Stern
January 11, 2015: Keith & Geoff Evans
December 14, 2014: Brian Darr & Alex Xander Jacobs
November 16, 2014: Jeremy Rourke
October 12, 2014: Cyrus Tabar
September 14, 2014: Tommy Becker
August 10, 2014: tooth
July 13, 2014: Elise Baldwin
June 8, 2014: Dennis Keefe & Glenn McKay with Chris Musgrave & Sarah Brady
May 11, 2014: Chris Pew
April 13, 2014: Andy Puls
March 2, 2014: Greg Pope with Voicehandler
February 9, 2014: Lori Varga
January 12, 2014: Scott Stark & Allison Holt
December 8, 2013: Alex MacKenzie
November 10, 2013: Chris Duncan
October 13, 2013: Craig Baldwin
September 8, 2013: Steve Dye
August 11, 2013: Kadet Kuhne
July 14, 2013: Beige
June 9, 2013: Josh Kit Clayton
May 12, 2013: Jim Haynes
April 28, 2013: Lori Varga & Paul Baker
February 10, 2013: Jen Cohen & Guillermo Galindo
January 13, 2013: John Davis & Josh Churchill
November 8, 2012: Sylvia Schedelbauer
October 4, 2012: Tommy Becker
September 6, 2012: Kerry Laitala with John Davis and Neal Johnson
August 2, 2012: Jeremy Rourke
July 13, 2012: Paul Clipson & Evan Caminiti
June 17, 2012: The CinePimps
