Event Details
Date & Time:
Fri April 21, 2023
7 PM-9:30 PM
Location:
The Block Museum of Art
40 Arts Circle Drive
Evanston, IL 60208
Audience:
Open to the public
Details:
A SELF-INDUCED HALLUCINATION (2018)
virtual Q&A with filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun
(Jane Schoenbrun, 2018, digital, 72 min)
A searingly original and profoundly empathetic portrait of Internet life, Jane Schoenbrun’s debut A SELF-INDUCED HALLUCINATION is both a mood board for and a prelude to their beloved narrative feature debut WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR (2021). At one level a Youtube collage about myth/meme Slenderman, at another a critique of the role of collective fiction in society, it tracks the figure’s many lives through creepypasta explainers, Lifetime movies, and reaction videos. Schoenbrun smartly intersperses these visuals with a spectrum of the lives and Youtube channels of teens who were forever changed by the figure’s presence in their lives. A SELF-INDUCED HALLUCINATION is a window into the blurring of real-world and online, one that’s as moving and thoughtful as it is eye-opening. After being considered “lost media” for many years, Northwestern Cinematheque is proud to present this vital and deeply human vision in its first-ever screening in the Chicagoland area.
UPDATE: Jane Schoenbrun will participate in a live virtual Q&A following the screening.
Programmed by Northwestern Cinematheque.
Presented with support from the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities and the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts at Northwestern University.
About the guest:
Jane Schoenbrun (they/them) is a writer, director, and curator who burst onto the American indie scene with their 2021 feature debut WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR. Drawing on internet imagery, gender troubles, and classic horror tones, Schoenbrun's work encompasses elaborate fast-paced montage to slow, langorous glimpses into the secret lives behind our screens. Hot off their recent music video collaboration with singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus for "Night Shift", Jane is also in post-production for I SAW THE TV GLOW from A24 and Emma Stone’s Fruit Tree Productions, dealing with the aftermath of a beloved TV show's cancellation on two of its biggest fans.
About the club:
Northwestern Cinematheque collects student filmmakers, movie lovers, and video archivists from around Northwestern dedicated to pushing the boundaries of cinema in our community and beyond. We endeavor to program weird, wild, and wonderful work by marginalized filmmakers across mediums and around the world. Want to get involved? Email nu.cinematheque@gmail.com
Image credit: A Self-Induced Hallucination
Contact The Block Museum of Art for more information: (847) 491-4000 or email us at block-museum@northwestern.edu