fbpx
Wikipedia

Gerry Fialka

August 21, 2023

Gerry Fialka is an American experimental filmmaker, curator, lecturer, interviewer, and writer. He lectures and leads workshops on experimental film, avant-garde music and art, subversive social media, books by James Joyce,[1] and Marshall McLuhan’s media theory.[2][3][4][5][6] He was Frank Zappa’s archivist and production assistant for ten years. LA Weekly has described Fialka as a “cultural revolutionary”.[7]

Gerry Fialka
Born
Gerald Joseph Fialka

(1953-03-15) March 15, 1953 (age 70)
Flint, Michigan
EducationUniversity of Michigan
Flint Institute of Arts
Occupation(s)experimental filmmaker, film and art festival curator, lecturer, interviewer, writer
Known forExperimental film
Pixelvision Film Festival
Marshall McLuhan media theory
Frank Zappa archivist
SpouseSuzy Williams
WebsiteLaughtears.com

Association with Frank Zappa

 
Simon Prentis (Zappa's "Semantic Scrutinizer"), Zappa, Fialka, and Zappa's wife Gail outside Zappa's home Utility Muffin Research Kitchen recording studio in 1986. Prentis holds a preview cassette of the album Jazz From Hell that Fialka had just delivered for Zappa's approval.[8]

Fialka worked for musician-composer Frank Zappa as archivist, production assistant, tour assistant, and factotum from 1983 to 1993.[9][10][11][12] He answered the phone for Zappa’s Barking Pumpkin Records hotline,[13][14] and ran Zappa’s mail-order merchandise business Barfko-Swill.[15] Fialka appears giving a tour of Barfko-Swill in the 1987 VHS release (but not the original 1979 film release) of Zappa's film Baby Snakes. While not listed in the film credits, he is credited on-screen as "GERALD FIALKA Cool Guy Who Wraps Stuff So It Doesn't Break".[16] A short clip of this appearance is also included in the 2020 documentary film Zappa.

Fialka has published articles on Zappa, and was a co-interviewer in 1988 when Zappa expressed his thoughts on media theory.[17][18][19] In a 1990 interview, Zappa mentioned that Fialka gave him a present that impressed him more than any other present from his staff: a videotape of The World's Greatest Sinner.[20] Zappa band member Ike Willis called Fialka "one of the most brilliant people I have ever known and ever met ... an astoundingly astute and brilliant person ... the kind of guy that Frank [Zappa] loved to have in his orbit."[12]

Experimental film

Fialka has written, directed, produced, and/or acted in several short experimental films.[21][22][23] Collaborators have included Mark X. Farina,[24][25] Will Erokan,[26][27][24] Clifford Novey,[22][25] Bruno Kohfield-Galeano,[28] Tyler Bartram,[29] and Tim Corvin;[30] and some films feature Fialka’s wife Suzy Williams,[31] or Morgan Ågren, who played drums for various Frank Zappa projects and concerts.

Fialka produced and directed a feature-length experimental documentary film The Brother Side of the Wake,[32] released in 2021, about the people of Venice in Los Angeles, California. It is billed as a remake of Orson Welles's satire The Other Side of the Wind, since both films probe the same question: "Is the journey more important than the destination?"[32] Fialka's film mixes in elements of "psychic effects of direct cinema, abstract animation, films about films", communal call-and-response ritual, and James Joyce’s book Finnegans Wake.[32]

Fialka ran the Ann Arbor Film Co-op from 1972 to 1980.[33][21] He has been a panelist, served on the screening committee (1977-1980), and run many workshops at the Ann Arbor Film Festival.[34][35][36][37][38][39] Fialka founded, curates, and hosts the annual Venice Film Fest.[40] He was also director of the Ann Arbor 8mm Film Festival.[41]

 
Fialka with the toy videocamera used to make all films in the PXL THIS Film Festival that he founded and curates.

Fialka is the founder, organizer, and curator of the PXL THIS Film Festival,[42][43][44][45][46] usually held at the Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center[47] and the Echo Park Film Center,[48] both in Los Angeles, California. The festival features films made using a PXL-2000 toy video camera formerly sold by Fisher-Price. Although the festival operates without a budget,[49] it still manages to tour many locations[50] including the San Francisco Cinematheque[47] and Boston's MIT campus.[50] Festival entries, oral history interviews, and other relevant materials donated by Fialka are being processed into the Performing Arts and Moving Image Archives at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.[51]

Interviews

Fialka has conducted and published close to 200 interviews.[52] His interview of funk musician George Clinton was published in Flipside fanzine.[53] He has also interviewed singer-songwriter Dr. John; music performer-composer-arranger-producer Van Dyke Parks; turntablist-music producer-philosopher-writer DJ Spooky; singer and activist Jello Biafra; Zappa-band guitarists Steve Vai, Warren Cuccurullo, and Mike Keneally, and keyboardist Don Preston; folk musician Baby Gramps; musical satirist Roy Zimmerman; rock and roll groupie-writer-musician-actress Pamela Des Barres; writer Janet Fitch; artists Alexis Smith and Mike Kelley;[54] artist-dancer-choreographer-writer Simone Forti; actress-writer-artist Mary Woronov; actress-singer Ann Magnuson; Firesign Theatre comedian Phil Proctor; comedians Paul Krassner and Rick Overton; filmmakers Nile Southern, Mike Hoolboom,[55] and Haskell Wexler; physicist and media ecologist Robert K. Logan,[56] communications theorist and media ecologist Eric McLuhan (son of Marshall McLuhan); media theorist and writer Douglas Rushkoff; media arts and political theorist Gene Youngblood; Film Threat publication founder Chris Gore;[57] political activist Tom Hayden; and more.

Fialka has published a full book, Strange Questions: Experimental Film as Conversation,[58] of his interviews with notables in avant-garde cinema who offer insights into "its creative processes, formative influences, and hidden psychic effects."[59] Some of his other interviews have been cited or republished by others.[60][61][62]

Other published works

Fialka has published essays in various experimental film magazines including cineSource Magazine,[63][64] Otherzine,[65] and Canyon Cinemazine,[66] and regularly publishes essays on local news in the Free Venice Beachhead.[67][68][69] He sometimes writes using a pen name that is an obvious take-off on his real name, such as Geritol Fialkaseltzer or Germy Folkywaze.

Fialka has written a chapter " ‘Don’t Even Look At It' ─ Pixelvision & Multi-Screens"[70] in the book Undependently Yours: Imagining A World Beyond The Red Carpet.[71]

Fialka was Executive Producer[72] for the first song, "Revenge of the Nurds", ever released by Dawayne Bailey, who went on to play guitar for rock music bands including Chicago and Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. Fialka also acted as Bailey’s first manager.[73]

Personal life

Fialka married singer-songwriter Suzy Williams in 2001. They currently live in Venice, Los Angeles, California, where Fialka founded, organizes, and leads reading clubs on Marshall McLuhan’s books and percepts on media theory and James Joyce’s novel Finnegans Wake,[74] annual Venice film and photography festivals,[75] and a variety of other community events[11] including film screenings, discussion groups, and art shows. He also displays his own artwork, primarily collages, in local art shows,[76] and produces local live musical shows.[77] He performs in local music bands, including as a contributor to the Waywords and Meansigns international project setting Finnegans Wake to music.[78]

Fialka and Williams were the featured couple in the July 2020 edition of Venice Living magazine.[79] An entire subchapter "Pixilated Populism" of the book Venice, CA: A City State of Mind (which includes a photograph of Fialka on its cover), is devoted to Fialka, and summarizes Fialka's significance to Venice by stating "Gerry's a master at introducing people and steering the wayward onesomes to action ... to spreading awareness ... His encyclopedic grasp of Venetian and media history swells the archive that circulates in the heads of citizens."[80]

References

  1. ^ Fialka, Gerry (2009). "Dreaming Awake: How James Joyce Invented Experimental Cinema and Disguised It as a Book" (PDF). San Francisco Cinematheque.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "The Massage: Presented by The McLuhan Institute S1 EP7: Gerry Fialka". Anchor, by Spotify. Retrieved May 1, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Global Village Day". Retrieved May 1, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "The 18th Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association" (PDF). Media Ecology Association. p. 22. Retrieved July 8, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ "The 20th Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association" (PDF). Media Ecology Association. p. 30. Retrieved July 8, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Atkinson, Scott (March 19, 2021). "Flint native filmmaker Gerry Fialka to hold film screening/workshop at Buckham Gallery". Michigan Live.
  7. ^ Simmons, Michael (July 15, 2009). "Songstress-Musician Sunny War". LA Weekly.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Prentis, Simon. "Simon Prentis - interpreter, translator & author". Simon Prentis. Retrieved July 24, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Wills, Geoff (2015). Zappa and Jazz: Did it Really Smell Funny, Frank?. Leicester, UK: Matador. ISBN 978-1784623913.
  10. ^ Rosenfeld, Hank (February 18, 2001). "McLuhan's Minion". Los Angeles Times.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ a b editorial staff (September 13, 2007). "Gerry Fialka: Questioning the Questions". The Argonaut.
  12. ^ a b Silverman, Ted (July 27, 2022). "Interview: Zappa Band Alum Ike Willis & Stinkfoot Orchestra's Nick Chargin". JamBase.
  13. ^ Watson, Ben (2005). "Houston... Fort... Marcuse: Sin versus Archetype in Zappa's Oeuvre". In Watson, Ben; Leslie, Esther (eds.). Academy Zappa: Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology. Dundrennan, UK: SAF Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 978-0946719792.
  14. ^ Gamma (2005). "Poodles: a Zappological reading of Ulysses". In Watson, Ben; Leslie, Esther (eds.). Academy Zappa: Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology. Dundrennan, UK: SAF Publishing. p. 208. ISBN 978-0946719792.
  15. ^ de Kloet, Co (2020). Frank & Co. Doetinchem, Netherlands: Haver Producties. p. 297. ISBN 978-90-821095-3-5.
  16. ^ "gerry fialka". United Mutations. Retrieved July 8, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ Prentis, Simon (2005). "'The Torture Never Stops' Frank Zappa & the Mental Hygiene Dilemma". In Watson, Ben; Leslie, Esther (eds.). Academy Zappa: Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology. Dundrennan, UK: SAF Publishing. p. 69. ISBN 978-0946719792.
  18. ^ Jeunot, Dominique (2005). "The secret meaning of 'Arf': Canine continuity in the output macrostructure". In Watson, Ben; Leslie, Esther (eds.). Academy Zappa: Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology. Dundrennan, UK: SAF Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 978-0946719792.
  19. ^ Gispert, Jürgen (2005). "The conservatism of Easy Rider: Zappa's critique of dumb concepts of freedom". In Watson, Ben; Leslie, Esther (eds.). Academy Zappa: Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology. Dundrennan, UK: SAF Publishing. p. 156. ISBN 978-0946719792.
  20. ^ Simms, Den; Buxton, Eric; Samler, Rob (September 1990). "They're Doing the Interview of the Century – Part 3". Afka. 3. Society Pages (US).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ a b "Gerry Fialka". Film-maker's Scoop. Retrieved September 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ a b "Genuine Fake Films by Gerry Fialka". UNIONDOCS Center for Documentary Ar.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ "Gerry Fialka". IMDb.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ a b "USC Cinematic Arts Cinematheque108 Presents: Geniune Fake Films by Gerry Fialka". USC Cinematic Arts. January 17, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ a b "Catalogue / Genuine Fake Films by Gerry Fialka 1990". Film-maker's Scoop. Retrieved September 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ Aushenker, Michael (August 27, 2014). "'Turn Your Eyes Into Ears': Artist-Filmmakers Will Erokan and Gerry Fialka Combine Video with Poetry, Dancing and Live Music to Chart a Multimedia Exhibition". The Argonaut.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ "Catalogue / RIAtoo 2016". Film-maker's Scoop. Retrieved September 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ "Bruno Kohfield-Galeano". IMDb. Retrieved November 27, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ^ Radio Venice (May 24, 2021). "RV Burst: Tyler Bartram". YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ Cloud5146 (November 23, 2021). "The Legend of Venice Beach: The Peter Demian Interview". YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ "Art as Activism Workshop with Gerry Fialka" (PDF). James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History Newsletter. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University. Fall 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. ^ a b c Fialka, Gerry (2021). "The Brother Side of the Wake". IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved October 21, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  33. ^ Whiteside, Jonny (January 10, 2013). "Gerry's Vids". LA Weekly.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ^ "Rooted not Retro: a panel discussion presented by the 50th Ann Arbor Film Festival". University of Michigan Museum of Art.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  35. ^ "Dr. Chicago as the AAFF: discussion with Gerry Fialka". North Quad Programming: University of Michigan.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ^ Everleth, Mike (February 11, 2010). "2010 Ann Arbor Film Festival: Special And Free Programs Announced". Underground Film Journal.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  37. ^ "Film Art Forum". Ann Arbor Film Festival. Retrieved May 29, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  38. ^ "39th Ann Arbor Film Festival Program". Ann Arbor District Library.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  39. ^ "48th Ann Arbor Film Festival Program" (PDF). Ann Arbor District Library.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  40. ^ Robinson, Michele (January 19, 2022). "Venice Film Fest and Poetry of Venice Photography Spotlight Local Talent". The Argonaut.
  41. ^ Nisbett, Susan Isaacs (February 18, 1980). "Experimental film festival biggest ever". Ann Arbor News. Retrieved May 29, 2021. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  42. ^ Cardy, Tom (November 19, 2008). "Passion for the pixel" (PDF). The Dominion Post (Wellington). p. D1. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  43. ^ Smith, Lynn (November 9, 2002). "Coming to you in glorious pixelvision". Los Angeles Times.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  44. ^ Willis, Holly (November 14, 2007). "'PXL THIS' 17: The Bad and the Beautiful". LA Weekly.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  45. ^ Willis, Holly (August 27, 1999). "Strange days: Showcases burgeon for every taste". Variety.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  46. ^ Revkin, Andrew C. (January 22, 2000). "As Simple as Black and White; Children's Toy Is Reborn as an Avant-Garde Filmmaking Tool". The New York Times.
  47. ^ a b "An Invention Without a Future: Greatest Hits of PXL THIS" (PDF). San Francisco Cinematheque. February 10, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  48. ^ "PXL THIS 28". Echo Park Film Center. Retrieved July 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  49. ^ "Annual Events: PXL THIS". Virtual Venice. Retrieved July 7, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  50. ^ a b McCarty, Andrea Nina (June 2005). "Toying With Obsolescence: Pixelvision Filmmakers and the Fisher Price PXL 2000 Camera" (PDF). Master's Thesis Collection of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Comparative Media Studies: Writing: 7.
  51. ^ "Gerry Fialka 'PXL THIS' Archive (PA Mss 231)". University of California, Santa Barbara Library. Retrieved July 7, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  52. ^ Fialka, Gerry. "Gerry's Files". Retrieved April 9, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  53. ^ Fialka, Gerry (December 1995 – January 1996). "'I'm Coming' George Clinton Interview". Flipside (fanzine) (99).
  54. ^ Fialka, Gerald (May 19, 1994). "Mike Kelley interviewed by Gerry Fialka". Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  55. ^ Hoolboom, Mike (October 2016). "Little by Little: an interview with Mike Hoolboom by Gerry Fialka". Mike Hoolboom.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  56. ^ Fialka, Gerry (February 3, 2022). "I'm Probably Wrong About Everything: Innerviews #41 Robert Logan". YouTube. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  57. ^ "Gore Gone Wild 2020 Interview". Film Threat. December 31, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  58. ^ Fialka, Gerry (2020). Kerr, Rachael (ed.). Strange Questions: Experimental Film as Conversation. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1718618619.
  59. ^ Birnbach, Ron (February 2021). "Review of Gerry Fialka's STRANGE QUESTIONS: Experimental Film as Conversation" (PDF). Free Venice Beachhead Newspaper. p. 8.
  60. ^ Stevens, Mary Clare (December 2018). "Mike Kelley Foundation". The Brooklyn Rail.
  61. ^ Ignatov, Clinton the Geek (July 25, 2020). "Gerry Fialka interviews The Concerned Netizen". The Concerned Netizen.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  62. ^ Ocker, David (May 24, 2015). "Gerry Fialka Interviews David Ocker". Mixed Meters.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  63. ^ Fialka, Gerry (October 1, 2015). "Film Can't Kill You But Why Take the Chance?". cineSource Magazine.
  64. ^ Fialka, Gerry; Nediger, Will (December 27, 2017). "Rat Film Finds People Problems, Film Ideas". cineSource Magazine.
  65. ^ Fialka, Gerry; Nediger, Will (Fall 2017). "Resistance to Resistance: Jordan Peele's "Get Out"". Otherzine. No. 33.
  66. ^ Fialka, Gerry (June 24, 2014). "Will There Ever Be Silence? — A Fugue". Canyon Cinemazine.
  67. ^ Fialka, Gerry (June 14, 2017). "Allan Holdsworth Report". Free Venice Beachhead Newspaper.
  68. ^ Fialka, Gerry (September 2019). "Paul Is ... Not Dead" (PDF). Free Venice Beachhead Newspaper.
  69. ^ Fialka, Gerry (October 21, 2021). "V.I.P. as VIP". Free Venice Beachhead Newspaper.
  70. ^ Fialka, Gerry (March 25, 2015). "Don't Even Look At It" ─ Pixelvision & Multi-Screens. ISBN 9781329005136. Retrieved May 1, 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  71. ^ Konefsky, Brian (2015). Undependently Yours: Imagining A World Beyond The Red Carpet. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781329005136.
  72. ^ "Dawayne Bailey – Revenge Of The Nurds". Discogs.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  73. ^ Bailey, Dawayne. "Revenge of the Nurds". Dawayne Bailey Fan Page.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)[unreliable source?]
  74. ^ Fialka, Gerry. "Marshall McLuhan -- Finnegans Wake Reading Club". Laughtears. Retrieved March 11, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  75. ^ Robinson, Michele (January 19, 2022). "Venice Film Fest and Poetry of Venice Photography Spotlight Local Talent". The Argonaut.
  76. ^ "Gerry Fialka". MutualArt. Retrieved May 1, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  77. ^ Gronner, C.J. (August 1, 2012). "The Lit Show is a Hit – With Suzy Williams". Free Venice Beachhead Newspaper.
  78. ^ "Contributors". Waywords and Meansigns. Retrieved May 29, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  79. ^ Bailey, Betty (July 2020). "Venice Living Magazine features Suzy Williams and Gerry Fialka". Venice Living. p. 14.
  80. ^ O'Kane, John (2013). "Pixilated Populism". Venice, CA: A City State of Mind. Booklocker.com, Inc. pp. 155–164. ISBN 978-1626464032.

External links

  • Official website

August 21, 2023
gerry, fialka, american, experimental, filmmaker, curator, lecturer, interviewer, writer, lectures, leads, workshops, experimental, film, avant, garde, music, subversive, social, media, books, james, joyce, marshall, mcluhan, media, theory, frank, zappa, archi. Gerry Fialka is an American experimental filmmaker curator lecturer interviewer and writer He lectures and leads workshops on experimental film avant garde music and art subversive social media books by James Joyce 1 and Marshall McLuhan s media theory 2 3 4 5 6 He was Frank Zappa s archivist and production assistant for ten years LA Weekly has described Fialka as a cultural revolutionary 7 Gerry FialkaBornGerald Joseph Fialka 1953 03 15 March 15 1953 age 70 Flint MichiganEducationUniversity of MichiganFlint Institute of ArtsOccupation s experimental filmmaker film and art festival curator lecturer interviewer writerKnown forExperimental filmPixelvision Film FestivalMarshall McLuhan media theoryFrank Zappa archivistSpouseSuzy WilliamsWebsiteLaughtears com Contents 1 Association with Frank Zappa 2 Experimental film 3 Interviews 4 Other published works 5 Personal life 6 References 7 External linksAssociation with Frank Zappa Edit Simon Prentis Zappa s Semantic Scrutinizer Zappa Fialka and Zappa s wife Gail outside Zappa s home Utility Muffin Research Kitchen recording studio in 1986 Prentis holds a preview cassette of the album Jazz From Hell that Fialka had just delivered for Zappa s approval 8 Fialka worked for musician composer Frank Zappa as archivist production assistant tour assistant and factotum from 1983 to 1993 9 10 11 12 He answered the phone for Zappa s Barking Pumpkin Records hotline 13 14 and ran Zappa s mail order merchandise business Barfko Swill 15 Fialka appears giving a tour of Barfko Swill in the 1987 VHS release but not the original 1979 film release of Zappa s film Baby Snakes While not listed in the film credits he is credited on screen as GERALD FIALKA Cool Guy Who Wraps Stuff So It Doesn t Break 16 A short clip of this appearance is also included in the 2020 documentary film Zappa Fialka has published articles on Zappa and was a co interviewer in 1988 when Zappa expressed his thoughts on media theory 17 18 19 In a 1990 interview Zappa mentioned that Fialka gave him a present that impressed him more than any other present from his staff a videotape of The World s Greatest Sinner 20 Zappa band member Ike Willis called Fialka one of the most brilliant people I have ever known and ever met an astoundingly astute and brilliant person the kind of guy that Frank Zappa loved to have in his orbit 12 Experimental film EditFialka has written directed produced and or acted in several short experimental films 21 22 23 Collaborators have included Mark X Farina 24 25 Will Erokan 26 27 24 Clifford Novey 22 25 Bruno Kohfield Galeano 28 Tyler Bartram 29 and Tim Corvin 30 and some films feature Fialka s wife Suzy Williams 31 or Morgan Agren who played drums for various Frank Zappa projects and concerts Fialka produced and directed a feature length experimental documentary film The Brother Side of the Wake 32 released in 2021 about the people of Venice in Los Angeles California It is billed as a remake of Orson Welles s satire The Other Side of the Wind since both films probe the same question Is the journey more important than the destination 32 Fialka s film mixes in elements of psychic effects of direct cinema abstract animation films about films communal call and response ritual and James Joyce s book Finnegans Wake 32 Fialka ran the Ann Arbor Film Co op from 1972 to 1980 33 21 He has been a panelist served on the screening committee 1977 1980 and run many workshops at the Ann Arbor Film Festival 34 35 36 37 38 39 Fialka founded curates and hosts the annual Venice Film Fest 40 He was also director of the Ann Arbor 8mm Film Festival 41 Fialka with the toy videocamera used to make all films in the PXL THIS Film Festival that he founded and curates Fialka is the founder organizer and curator of the PXL THIS Film Festival 42 43 44 45 46 usually held at the Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center 47 and the Echo Park Film Center 48 both in Los Angeles California The festival features films made using a PXL 2000 toy video camera formerly sold by Fisher Price Although the festival operates without a budget 49 it still manages to tour many locations 50 including the San Francisco Cinematheque 47 and Boston s MIT campus 50 Festival entries oral history interviews and other relevant materials donated by Fialka are being processed into the Performing Arts and Moving Image Archives at the University of California Santa Barbara Library 51 Interviews EditFialka has conducted and published close to 200 interviews 52 His interview of funk musician George Clinton was published in Flipside fanzine 53 He has also interviewed singer songwriter Dr John music performer composer arranger producer Van Dyke Parks turntablist music producer philosopher writer DJ Spooky singer and activist Jello Biafra Zappa band guitarists Steve Vai Warren Cuccurullo and Mike Keneally and keyboardist Don Preston folk musician Baby Gramps musical satirist Roy Zimmerman rock and roll groupie writer musician actress Pamela Des Barres writer Janet Fitch artists Alexis Smith and Mike Kelley 54 artist dancer choreographer writer Simone Forti actress writer artist Mary Woronov actress singer Ann Magnuson Firesign Theatre comedian Phil Proctor comedians Paul Krassner and Rick Overton filmmakers Nile Southern Mike Hoolboom 55 and Haskell Wexler physicist and media ecologist Robert K Logan 56 communications theorist and media ecologist Eric McLuhan son of Marshall McLuhan media theorist and writer Douglas Rushkoff media arts and political theorist Gene Youngblood Film Threat publication founder Chris Gore 57 political activist Tom Hayden and more Fialka has published a full book Strange Questions Experimental Film as Conversation 58 of his interviews with notables in avant garde cinema who offer insights into its creative processes formative influences and hidden psychic effects 59 Some of his other interviews have been cited or republished by others 60 61 62 Other published works EditFialka has published essays in various experimental film magazines including cineSource Magazine 63 64 Otherzine 65 and Canyon Cinemazine 66 and regularly publishes essays on local news in the Free Venice Beachhead 67 68 69 He sometimes writes using a pen name that is an obvious take off on his real name such as Geritol Fialkaseltzer or Germy Folkywaze Fialka has written a chapter Don t Even Look At It Pixelvision amp Multi Screens 70 in the book Undependently Yours Imagining A World Beyond The Red Carpet 71 Fialka was Executive Producer 72 for the first song Revenge of the Nurds ever released by Dawayne Bailey who went on to play guitar for rock music bands including Chicago and Bob Seger amp the Silver Bullet Band Fialka also acted as Bailey s first manager 73 Personal life EditFialka married singer songwriter Suzy Williams in 2001 They currently live in Venice Los Angeles California where Fialka founded organizes and leads reading clubs on Marshall McLuhan s books and percepts on media theory and James Joyce s novel Finnegans Wake 74 annual Venice film and photography festivals 75 and a variety of other community events 11 including film screenings discussion groups and art shows He also displays his own artwork primarily collages in local art shows 76 and produces local live musical shows 77 He performs in local music bands including as a contributor to the Waywords and Meansigns international project setting Finnegans Wake to music 78 Fialka and Williams were the featured couple in the July 2020 edition of Venice Living magazine 79 An entire subchapter Pixilated Populism of the book Venice CA A City State of Mind which includes a photograph of Fialka on its cover is devoted to Fialka and summarizes Fialka s significance to Venice by stating Gerry s a master at introducing people and steering the wayward onesomes to action to spreading awareness His encyclopedic grasp of Venetian and media history swells the archive that circulates in the heads of citizens 80 References Edit Fialka Gerry 2009 Dreaming Awake How James Joyce Invented Experimental Cinema and Disguised It as a Book PDF San Francisco Cinematheque a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link The Massage Presented by The McLuhan Institute S1 EP7 Gerry Fialka Anchor by Spotify Retrieved May 1 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Global Village Day Retrieved May 1 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link The 18th Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association PDF Media Ecology Association p 22 Retrieved July 8 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link The 20th Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association PDF Media Ecology Association p 30 Retrieved July 8 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Atkinson Scott March 19 2021 Flint native filmmaker Gerry Fialka to hold film screening workshop at Buckham Gallery Michigan Live Simmons Michael July 15 2009 Songstress Musician Sunny War LA Weekly a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link Prentis Simon Simon Prentis interpreter translator amp author Simon Prentis Retrieved July 24 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Wills Geoff 2015 Zappa and Jazz Did it Really Smell Funny Frank Leicester UK Matador ISBN 978 1784623913 Rosenfeld Hank February 18 2001 McLuhan s Minion Los Angeles Times a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link a b editorial staff September 13 2007 Gerry Fialka Questioning the Questions The Argonaut a b Silverman Ted July 27 2022 Interview Zappa Band Alum Ike Willis amp Stinkfoot Orchestra s Nick Chargin JamBase Watson Ben 2005 Houston Fort Marcuse Sin versus Archetype in Zappa s Oeuvre In Watson Ben Leslie Esther eds Academy Zappa Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology Dundrennan UK SAF Publishing p 72 ISBN 978 0946719792 Gamma 2005 Poodles a Zappological reading of Ulysses In Watson Ben Leslie Esther eds Academy Zappa Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology Dundrennan UK SAF Publishing p 208 ISBN 978 0946719792 de Kloet Co 2020 Frank amp Co Doetinchem Netherlands Haver Producties p 297 ISBN 978 90 821095 3 5 gerry fialka United Mutations Retrieved July 8 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Prentis Simon 2005 The Torture Never Stops Frank Zappa amp the Mental Hygiene Dilemma In Watson Ben Leslie Esther eds Academy Zappa Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology Dundrennan UK SAF Publishing p 69 ISBN 978 0946719792 Jeunot Dominique 2005 The secret meaning of Arf Canine continuity in the output macrostructure In Watson Ben Leslie Esther eds Academy Zappa Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology Dundrennan UK SAF Publishing p 62 ISBN 978 0946719792 Gispert Jurgen 2005 The conservatism of Easy Rider Zappa s critique of dumb concepts of freedom In Watson Ben Leslie Esther eds Academy Zappa Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology Dundrennan UK SAF Publishing p 156 ISBN 978 0946719792 Simms Den Buxton Eric Samler Rob September 1990 They re Doing the Interview of the Century Part 3 Afka 3 Society Pages US a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link a b Gerry Fialka Film maker s Scoop Retrieved September 19 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link a b Genuine Fake Films by Gerry Fialka UNIONDOCS Center for Documentary Ar a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Gerry Fialka IMDb a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link a b USC Cinematic Arts Cinematheque108 Presents Geniune Fake Films by Gerry Fialka USC Cinematic Arts January 17 2013 Retrieved September 19 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link a b Catalogue Genuine Fake Films by Gerry Fialka 1990 Film maker s Scoop Retrieved September 19 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Aushenker Michael August 27 2014 Turn Your Eyes Into Ears Artist Filmmakers Will Erokan and Gerry Fialka Combine Video with Poetry Dancing and Live Music to Chart a Multimedia Exhibition The Argonaut a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Catalogue RIAtoo 2016 Film maker s Scoop Retrieved September 19 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Bruno Kohfield Galeano IMDb Retrieved November 27 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Radio Venice May 24 2021 RV Burst Tyler Bartram YouTube a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Cloud5146 November 23 2021 The Legend of Venice Beach The Peter Demian Interview YouTube a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Art as Activism Workshop with Gerry Fialka PDF James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History Newsletter Detroit Michigan Wayne State University Fall 2017 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link a b c Fialka Gerry 2021 The Brother Side of the Wake IMDb IMDb Retrieved October 21 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Whiteside Jonny January 10 2013 Gerry s Vids LA Weekly a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link Rooted not Retro a panel discussion presented by the 50th Ann Arbor Film Festival University of Michigan Museum of Art a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Dr Chicago as the AAFF discussion with Gerry Fialka North Quad Programming University of Michigan a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Everleth Mike February 11 2010 2010 Ann Arbor Film Festival Special And Free Programs Announced Underground Film Journal a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link Film Art Forum Ann Arbor Film Festival Retrieved May 29 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link 39th Ann Arbor Film Festival Program Ann Arbor District Library a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link 48th Ann Arbor Film Festival Program PDF Ann Arbor District Library a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Robinson Michele January 19 2022 Venice Film Fest and Poetry of Venice Photography Spotlight Local Talent The Argonaut Nisbett Susan Isaacs February 18 1980 Experimental film festival biggest ever Ann Arbor News Retrieved May 29 2021 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a archive date requires archive url help Cardy Tom November 19 2008 Passion for the pixel PDF The Dominion Post Wellington p D1 Retrieved May 29 2021 Smith Lynn November 9 2002 Coming to you in glorious pixelvision Los Angeles Times a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link Willis Holly November 14 2007 PXL THIS 17 The Bad and the Beautiful LA Weekly a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link Willis Holly August 27 1999 Strange days Showcases burgeon for every taste Variety a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link Revkin Andrew C January 22 2000 As Simple as Black and White Children s Toy Is Reborn as an Avant Garde Filmmaking Tool The New York Times a b An Invention Without a Future Greatest Hits of PXL THIS PDF San Francisco Cinematheque February 10 2008 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link PXL THIS 28 Echo Park Film Center Retrieved July 18 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Annual Events PXL THIS Virtual Venice Retrieved July 7 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link a b McCarty Andrea Nina June 2005 Toying With Obsolescence Pixelvision Filmmakers and the Fisher Price PXL 2000 Camera PDF Master s Thesis Collection of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Comparative Media Studies Writing 7 Gerry Fialka PXL THIS Archive PA Mss 231 University of California Santa Barbara Library Retrieved July 7 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Fialka Gerry Gerry s Files Retrieved April 9 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Fialka Gerry December 1995 January 1996 I m Coming George Clinton Interview Flipside fanzine 99 Fialka Gerald May 19 1994 Mike Kelley interviewed by Gerry Fialka Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Hoolboom Mike October 2016 Little by Little an interview with Mike Hoolboom by Gerry Fialka Mike Hoolboom a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Fialka Gerry February 3 2022 I m Probably Wrong About Everything Innerviews 41 Robert Logan YouTube Retrieved February 6 2022 Gore Gone Wild 2020 Interview Film Threat December 31 2020 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Fialka Gerry 2020 Kerr Rachael ed Strange Questions Experimental Film as Conversation CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN 978 1718618619 Birnbach Ron February 2021 Review of Gerry Fialka s STRANGE QUESTIONS Experimental Film as Conversation PDF Free Venice Beachhead Newspaper p 8 Stevens Mary Clare December 2018 Mike Kelley Foundation The Brooklyn Rail Ignatov Clinton the Geek July 25 2020 Gerry Fialka interviews The Concerned Netizen The Concerned Netizen a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Ocker David May 24 2015 Gerry Fialka Interviews David Ocker Mixed Meters a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Fialka Gerry October 1 2015 Film Can t Kill You But Why Take the Chance cineSource Magazine Fialka Gerry Nediger Will December 27 2017 Rat Film Finds People Problems Film Ideas cineSource Magazine Fialka Gerry Nediger Will Fall 2017 Resistance to Resistance Jordan Peele s Get Out Otherzine No 33 Fialka Gerry June 24 2014 Will There Ever Be Silence A Fugue Canyon Cinemazine Fialka Gerry June 14 2017 Allan Holdsworth Report Free Venice Beachhead Newspaper Fialka Gerry September 2019 Paul Is Not Dead PDF Free Venice Beachhead Newspaper Fialka Gerry October 21 2021 V I P as VIP Free Venice Beachhead Newspaper Fialka Gerry March 25 2015 Don t Even Look At It Pixelvision amp Multi Screens ISBN 9781329005136 Retrieved May 1 2021 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint url status link Konefsky Brian 2015 Undependently Yours Imagining A World Beyond The Red Carpet Lulu com ISBN 9781329005136 Dawayne Bailey Revenge Of The Nurds Discogs a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Bailey Dawayne Revenge of the Nurds Dawayne Bailey Fan Page a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link unreliable source Fialka Gerry Marshall McLuhan Finnegans Wake Reading Club Laughtears Retrieved March 11 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Robinson Michele January 19 2022 Venice Film Fest and Poetry of Venice Photography Spotlight Local Talent The Argonaut Gerry Fialka MutualArt Retrieved May 1 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Gronner C J August 1 2012 The Lit Show is a Hit With Suzy Williams Free Venice Beachhead Newspaper Contributors Waywords and Meansigns Retrieved May 29 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Bailey Betty July 2020 Venice Living Magazine features Suzy Williams and Gerry Fialka Venice Living p 14 O Kane John 2013 Pixilated Populism Venice CA A City State of Mind Booklocker com Inc pp 155 164 ISBN 978 1626464032 External links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gerry Fialka amp oldid 1152830275, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.