About this Event
Praise for Lesley Keen’s RA: The Path of the Sun God:
“A dazzling dreamlike pageant, a unique visual experience that inhabits a twilight zone all of its own. A hypnotic experience with the ritualistic quality heightened by the use of hieroglyphic symbols.” - The Guardian
“Unlike anything you will have ever seen.” – Scotland on Sunday
“A thing of wonder, of elemental complexity.” – Culture City
The Philosophical Research Society is very proud to present – for the first ever West Coast program of her mindblowing and stunningly transcendent animated films of acclaimed Scottish filmmaker Lesley Keen! For this very special evening, PRS will present Keen's trilogy of creation myth films: the short films ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE (1984) and INVOCATION: AN ANCIENT GREEK CREATION MYTH (1984), and her feature-length magnum opus RA: THE PATH OF THE SUN GOD (1990).
In the early 1980s – after training in Prague and founding Persistent Vision, then Scotland’s only animation studio – Keen’s passion for animation merged with her interests in psychology, comparative religion, and quantum mechanics. What resulted was a series of jawdroppingly dazzling films exploring creation mythology which employed hand drawn animation and optical special effects to create hypnotic, Jungian explorations of symbolism and archetypes. Keen’s remarkable films transport the viewer to an ethereal realm all of their own, capturing something truly ineffable and eternal through her extraordinarily striking visual language – made all the more transportive by their amazing, experimental electronics infused soundtracks.
Inspired by Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE is a retelling of the tragically romantic myth in the style of a Greek vase. Masterfully rendered in the style of Ancient Grecian art, the entire tale plays as though its hero were traversing a continually rotating vase, as Keen explores the myth’s archetypal message of Art as a means to overcome the forces of death. The profoundly psychedelic INVOCATION depicts the Ancient Greek myth of the world’s creation through hallucinatory, continuously morphing symbolism.
Four years in the making, RA is a dreamlike invocation of ancient Egyptian beliefs about the Creation and Man’s place within it. RA is a film that defies categorization. The use of symbols to recreate the mental and spiritual world of the ancient Egyptians transports the viewer to a zone which has more in common with Jung than popular representations of ancient Egypt. Told in three chapters (DAWN: The Creation, NOON: The Year of the King, and NIGHT: THE GATES OF THE UNDERWORLD), RA is uncompromisingly Egyptian in structure, dispelling the concept of linear time in favor of an eternal present, in a universe where Gods and Man are held in a timeless interconnected cycle of birth and rebirth. Its vibrant animation, shot on 35mm and combining traditional hand drawn animation with special effects, is an utterly mesmerizing sight to behold.
You won’t want to miss this very special evening and a chance to experience these miraculous, mythic films on the big screen with their talented creator in person!
ABOUT LESLEY KEEN
Lesley Keen is a Scottish filmmaker whose creative method combines traditional hand-drawn animation with computer-assisted techniques. Her works use the moving image to explore abstract concepts and non-narrative structures on themes drawn from fine art, mythology and cosmology.
After graduating in graphic design from the Glasgow School of Art, Lesley gained her classic animation training working at the Brothers-in-Tricks studios in Prague. In the 1980s she established the small studio Persistent Vision to produce a series of author animated films for UK broadcaster Channel 4. The works included Talking a Line for a Walk, based on the visual style and conceptual notebooks of Paul Klee, and Orpheus and Eurydice, a retelling of the Greek myth in the style of a classic vase, which was shown in competition at Cannes Film Festival in 1984. This series of commissions culminated in the 3-part feature-length film Ra; the Path of the Sun God, based on themes from Ancient Egyptian mythology.
Program includes:
- Orpheus and Eurydice, 1984, 6 mins
- Invocation: An Ancient Greek Creation Myth, 1984, 5 mins
- Ra: The Path of the Sun God, 1990, 72 mins
Special thanks to The Austin Film Society and programmer Jazmyne Moreno, whose interview with Keen informed these program notes.
Ticket price: $10 (in-person event only).
If you have been directly impacted by the fires and would like to attend, please contact [email protected] for a complimentary ticket
Please email [email protected] or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.
ACCESSIBILITY
PRS wants all guests to be able to enjoy our events safely and comfortably. If you require any accessibility accommodation, please reach out to [email protected] before showtime and we will be happy to assist you.
REFUND POLICIES
All sales are final. There are no refunds for PRS events , except in the event of a medical emergency, including but not limited to a positive COVID-19 test. Ticket exchanges may be granted on a case by case basis, pending circumstances.
In the event that PRS is forced to cancel an event entirely, tickets will be refunded or vouchers offered for a rescheduled event.
PARKING
Limited parking is available onsite at PRS in both the front lot (entry from Los Feliz Blvd. when heading east) and back lot (entry from first alley way, off Griffith Park Blvd. from intersection with Los Feliz Blvd.), as well as street parking on Griffith Park Blvd. and (after 7 PM) on Los Feliz Blvd. We encourage attendees to consider carpooling, walking or biking to events if possible, and please be considerate of our Los Feliz neighbors when parking.
PRS EVENT POLICIES
- We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.
- Events are subject to change without notice, including guest speakers and/or performers.
- We encourage you to arrive at least 30 min. before the scheduled event start time to find parking, enjoy the Bookstore and take your seats.
- Please turn off all mobile devices before the show. Talking and texting are not allowed during the events.
- No filming, audio recording or mobile phone recording of events, screenings, concerts or other programs by audience members is allowed without permission.
- There is no smoking permitted on PRS grounds.
- We strongly encourage guests to wear masks to PRS events to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
- PRS allows Service Animals into the facility under ADA and state guidelines. For further details please visit www.ADA.gov. No animals permitted whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support, under ADA guidelines and CA Health Code.
- Please do not bring outside food or drink into PRS events.
- Weapons are strictly prohibited at PRS events.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles, United States
USD 12.51
