Greene Naftali
JOHN KNIGHT | MacGuffin 8-2975 (1975) | Anthology Film Archives, New York | July 13, 2022

JOHN KNIGHT | Screening | MacGuffin 8-2975 (1975)
Imageless Films Part 4
Wed, July 13 | 7:30 PM
Anthology Film Archives
32 2nd Avenue, New York
John Knight's MacGuffin 8-2975 (1975) will be included in Word Films: "So is This" and its Antecedents, an Anthology Film Archives screening program which features an encore presentation of Michael Snow’s “word film” masterpiece, SO IS THIS, alongside works by two filmmakers (both of whom are acknowledged within SO IS THIS itself) who explored the possibilities of a purely text-based cinema in the years immediately preceding the creation of Snow’s film: Richard Serra, who in collaboration with Carlotta Schoolman made the seminal media-critique video TELEVISION DELIVERS PEOPLE (1973), and artist John Knight, whose rarely-screened MACGUFFIN 8-2975 (1975) uses a similar technique to very different ends.
“Set in the late seventies in Halifax, Nova Scotia, MACGUFFIN 8-2975 is a text-based narrative that expresses a story of intrigue and suspicion. […] In the film industry, the MacGuffin is a term used to indicate a plot device. The protagonists come together to pursue a common goal, an object, or other stimulus that has no clear explanation. Knight’s film is an exemplary MacGuffin.” –PLUG IN INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART
For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit Anthology Film Archives's website.