Free Radicals

Here is a film that shines with its cast: Hans Richter, Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Jonas Mekas, Maurice Lemaitre and other “star” experimental filmmakers (mostly americans, up through the ‘70s) parade in majesty. They do so with no false modesty (their candidness and confidence are rather surprising, sometimes humorous), and with a clear pleasure at having their turn in front of the camera, to be projected and listened to.

 -LES CAHIERS DU CINÉMA

Touching and personal, this documentary will serve as a guide for all those who are touched by the desire to plunge into this era, taking them for a journey. The “free radicals” of the title are artists that, beginning in the 1920’s and through the 1970’s, have pushed cinema toward experimental visual poetry. [...] The film pays worthy homage to this fringe of cin- ema, too often reduced to a hermetic citadel rather than a space open to the winds, where chance, a do-it-yourself ethic, and humor have often played a large role.

 -LE MONDE

Contains 8 bonus films