Michael Snow (1928 - 2023)

Canadian giant of experimental cinema who reinvented cinema on his own terms in works including the 1967 landmark Wavelength.

Obituary - BFI - Jonathan Rosenbaum

Wavelength (1967) - Michael Snow

‘Wavelength is a 1967 Canadian-American short subject by experimental filmmaker and artist Michael Snow. Considered a landmark of avant-garde cinema,[1] it was filmed over one week in December 1966 and edited in 1967,[2] and is an example of what film theorist P. Adams Sitney describes as "structural film",[3] calling Snow "the dean of structural filmmakers."[4].
’The 45-minute-long zoom–which nonetheless contains edits–that incorporates in its time frame four human events in the room, including a man's death and a woman calling emergency later on, is intended to be symbolic of his intent.[8]’
Wikipedia

WVLNT (Wavelength For Those Who Don't Have the Time) - Michael Snow - (2003)

‘In 2003, Snow released WVLNT (or Wavelength For Those Who Don't Have the Time), a shorter (1/3 of the original time) and significantly altered version by overlaying multiple forms of the original film upon itself.’ [13] Wikipedia

Structural Film

‘Structural film was an avant-garde experimental film movement prominent in the United States in the 1960s and which developed into the Structural/materialist films in the United Kingdom in the 1970s.[1]’

[1] Gidal, Peter, ed. (1978). Structural Film Anthology (PDF). London: British Film Institute. p. 150. ISBN 0-85170-0535.

Wavelength is discussed in this video about experimental films of the 1960’s, (from 1.44).

The video below discusses Wavelength (skip to 7.49) alongside Maya Dean and Stan Brakhage, (apologies credit not available for speaker).

Snow's Scene: MICHAEL SNOW in Context | Higher Learning

Leading Michael Snow scholars discussed the artist’s lasting impact on the fields of film, sound, expanded cinema, and the visuals arts.

Video below is of the composer Steve Reich in conversation with Michael Snow. Hosted by CBC Radio's Sook-Yin Lee.

Michael Snow Obituary

Obituary - BFI - Jonathan Rosenbaum
Obituary - Art news (2023)