Frank Cole Book Launch at Cinematheque Ontario

Legendary Canadian filmmaker Frank Cole entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the first man to cross the Sahara on foot. Meticulous, fearless, obsessive, and the maker of at least two bonafide masterpieces, there has never been anything in the cinema like Frank Cole. His murder in Mali left us with a legacy of two features, a pair of award-winning short films and a mystery that may never be solved. A Life is Cole’s nearly wordless performance for the camera, with him back-and-forthing between a horizon-less Sahara and a room that contains only a desk and a bed. Figure and ground mash-up in a duet that sends his grandfather’s ashes scattered across a continent to create a newly emptied world. The long road of grieving brings him a burning car, a new tattoo, and a long snake duet. “A work of uncompromising genius. . . . A Life is filmmaking at its most daring and revealing” (Greg Klymkiw, Cinema Canada). – Mike Hoolboom

Please join us for the launch of the new book Life Without Death: The Cinema of Frank Cole, edited by Mike Hoolboom and Tom McSorley. This 200-page volume includes contributions by John Greyson, Deirdre Logue, Steve Reinke, Geoff Pevere, Laurie Monsebraaten, Greg Klymkiw, Julie Murray and Yann Beauvais. A DVD of Korbett Matthews’ award-winning The Man Who Crossed the Sahara is included, along with a suite of colour photographs.

This screening will be introduced by Geoff Pevere. Visit www.cinemathequeontario.ca for more information.