In this interview, get to know Jim Kreul, a video artist and the new Public Programs Coordinator at ALL. Kreul curates the Mills Folly Microcinema film series and is apart of the visual arts curitoral team.
ALL REVIEW: When did you first get involved with ALL? What was the journey that led you to this position?
JIM KREUL: The first time I interacted with ALL was with an outdoor film series called “Off the Wall” curated by Max Puchalsky and Simone Doing. At the time, I was publishing my own film website called “Madison Film Forum.” It started as covering the events, but Max and Simone invited me to participate in various capacities, which in turn, led to an additional opportunity, which turned into Mills Folly Microcinema. I also was invited to participate on the visual arts curatorial board, so I’ve been active with that as well. I have spent a lot of time at ALL in various capacities, and learning about all the different things that ALL has been up to. And when the opportunity was posted I thought “Oh, maybe I could spend more time at ALL,” because I do believe in the mission and the role that arts can play in the community.
AR: More specifically, where do you see importance, and the role of arts in the community?
JK: I think at a time when we are bombarded with images and sounds from all different directions, from both mainstream media, as well as social media, there is something to be said for curating images that people don’t have access to. I think people have the sense that “oh I can stream that. There must be somewhere I can stream that.” But if you only go by what you can click on, there is going to be a limited range of what you can find the button for.
One of the most rewarding things about the task is opening people up to things that they have not been exposed to before. It’s very rewarding when people come up after screenings or I run into them later, and they say “Thank you! I didn't know about that filmmaker.” I think that comes even more important as we get trapped in our own bubbles.
AR: I know we have discussed your involvement with video art. Can you tell me more about your background with this art form (and any others you are involved with)?
JK: I got interested in video art as a high schooler at Madison West. There were classes like mass media where you did basic production, there was a film study class where you were introduced to basic concepts in film studies. So I sort of hit the ground running as I got into college knowing that I wanted to do something with film and film studies. As an undergraduate at UW - Madison I took all the filmmaking classes that I could and all the film studies that I could.
I sort of wandered into the area of experimental film and had the experience of, “What are these films? Where are they coming from?” You come in thinking, “Oh I’ve watched a lot of films and I know alot about films.” And then you discover that there's this whole tradition that you don’t know about.
All of this…led me to getting involved with different campus organizations. I got involved with organizing screenings of local work as well as bringing in work to screen on campus.
AR: I’m sensing there is a love of local work that really started in college then?
JK: Definitely! We’ve done a little bit of it so far with Mills Folly Microcinema, but I want it to be on a more regular basis. When we did what we called “open screenings” back in undergrad, we did one every semester. So you were thinking, “I should have something ready.” It’s the equivalent of open mic, but for films and videos. I’d like to recreate that environment where people know every few months it’s time to get the camera out.
AR: Can you tell people about Mills Folly Microcinema? What makes this program unique?
JK: Mills Foly Microcinema is a series that focuses on experimental film and video art, drawing from both the national film festival circuit, as well as looking at what other micro cinemas in the region are up to and trying to bring some of that to Madison. This series was started in July of 2018.
Microcinemas, broadly speaking, are venues often in unconventional spaces, or nontraditional cinema spaces like art galleries or bars. Sort of makeshift venues so that with very little overhead, you can make screenings happen. There are various examples of this nationwide, but we have started to reach out to those in the Midwest. So we’re hoping to network more with them to make new opportunities happen. We are really trying to bring in films and videos that people otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see within that experimental tradition.
AR: I know you've run a found footage workshop here at ALL. Would you explain what found footage is, and what that workshop entailed?
JK: Within experimental film history, there is a tradition of filmmakers who make films out of existing images and sounds. That the Surrealists through to current Culture Jammers, or people take commercials and cut them up to undercut the ideology behind consumerism.
Part of the class was taking time to look at those films and that tradition. And then the other part of the class was teaching basic editing using Adobe Premiere. Rather than the conventional production class that starts with how to shoot, we could sort of jump in and use various techniques to acquire existing imagery and reuse it in different ways.
AR: Have you made any found footage films before?
JK: As an undergrad I made a film that ended up being called Autobiorgraffiti . This was like 1990. A friend called me and said “hey there's a big pile of film that someone’s just throwing out on the corner of such and such” I found out it was 16mm film being thrown out by a local Madison advertising company and it’s old enough that they would have been shooting on film rather than videotape.
I loaded up my car with as much as I could take, and used what’s called an optical printing, and so instead of using digital files I copied frame by frame. I built a loose series of sequences that made it sound like it was someone’s autobiography.
AR: What are you most looking forward to in your future here at ALL?
JK:You know, I go home tired but it’s a good kind of tired because it is really rewarding. There's something to be said for putting a lot of work into something that…generates an impact on individuals. That’s the reward. Getting that kind of feedback.
