Program 4: Silent Rhythms/Sound Symphonies

The Cup and the Lip launches the ecstatic finale to our Sonbert retrospective. One of the director’s favorites among his films—“complete, succinct and timeproof”—it centers around ideas of human frailty and the social and mental control imposed by political and religious institutions. With Friendly Witness, Sonbert incorporated music into his films for the first time in 20 years, including a soundtrack full of rock music, girl groups, and symphonic scores. The result is one of Sonbert’s most dazzling films, full of human life and love seemingly happening at once all over the globe. (45 mins., 16mm)

The Warren Sonbert Legacy Project has been developed by archivist Jon Gartenberg. Preservation of Sonbert’s films by the Academy Film Archive with financial support from the Estate Project for Artists with AIDS. 16mm distribution prints courtesy of Light Cone, Paris.