Fireworks
Directed by Kenneth Anger, 1947
Fireworks, an Avant Garde film starring the director himself, is a film of a dream of a dream. The film is an exploration of homosexuality, violence, and American youth. Kenneth Anger, director and lead actor, is an Avant Garde film legend. Fireworks was one of his breakthrough films. Anger described the film with the following synopsis: “A dissatisfied dreamer awakes, goes out in the night seeking ‘a light’ and is drawn through the needle’s eye. A dream of a dream, he returns to bed less empty than before.” Fireworks was in all black in white and had only acting, music, and sound effects. The film had no dialogue, being up for interpretation. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. An experimental film is often characterized by the absence of linear narrative, the use of various abstracting techniques, asynchronous sound or even the absence of any sound track. Most such films are made on very low budgets, self-financed or financed through small grants, with a minimal crew. Experimental film emerged in Europe in the 1920s because cinema had matured as a medium and avant-garde movements in the visual arts were growing.
