Mills Folly Microcinema presents Carriage Trade, the acclaimed experimental film from 1973 by Warren Sonbert on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation: $5.00. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Warren Sonbert (1947–1995) was an experimental filmmaker whose work of nearly three decades began in New York in the mid-1960s, and continued in San Francisco throughout the second half of his life. Sonbert considered Carriage Trade (1973) his “magnum opus.” In this film, Sonbert interweaves footage taken from his journeys throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the United States, together with shots he removed from the camera originals of a number of his earlier films.
"One of the most breathtaking travelogues ever made . . . this dazzling masterpiece allows viewers to make multifaceted connections between each of the individual shots, creating a liberating generosity of spirit."
—Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University
"A fascinating hour of experimenting with the notion of using visual images as musical notes. It's been done before, but seldom with such talent and high spirits." —Andrew Sarris, Village Voice
"In both lectures and writings about his own style of editing, Sonbert described Carriage Trade as ‘a jig-saw puzzle of postcards to produce varied displaced effects.’ This approach, according to Sonbert, ultimately affords the viewer multi-faceted readings of the connections between shots through the spectator’s assimilation of ‘the changing relations of the movement of objects, the gestures of figures, familiar worldwide icons, rituals and reactions, rhythm, spacing, and density of images.’” —Jon Gartenberg, Whitney Museum of American Art
We will screen a digital exhibition file of the 61-minute version which Sonbert declared the "final version." Carriage Trade is a silent film.
Filmmaker Warren Sonbert. Photo: Gartenberg Media
ABOUT MILLS FOLLY MICROCINEMA
Mills Folly Microcinema showcases nationally recognized experimental film and video art work from the festival and microcinema circuit. We network with regional filmmakers and organizations to bring filmmakers and guest programmers to Madison for screenings. And we incubate local experimental filmmaking by providing screen time at Project Projection events.
