AVANT-GARDE FILM SERIES TOURS US

The films in ''Spirit Stream Storm,'' selected by Bruce Posner of the Harvard Film Archive at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., are shown in 35mm prints -- the standard size for commercial cinema -- rather than the smaller, less-imposing 16mm prints often used in nontheatrical screenings. The movies are grouped into three segments punctuated with interludes of music by Erik Satie, Olivier Messaien, and Conlon Nancarrow, all highly experimental figures in their field.

Nations represented in the show are the United States (Stan Brakhage, Charles and Ray Eames, Posner); Georgia (Sergei Paradjanov); Spain (Jose Antonio Sistiaga); France (Thierry Vincens); and Austria (Kurt Kren).

The exhibition began its current American tour at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, and has since appeared at the Miami Film Festival, the Carnegie Institute Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, the UCLA Film and Television Archives in Los Angeles, and Anthology Film Archives in New York.

Upcoming dates include:

Albuquerque, N.M.: Southwest Film Center, University of New Mexico, March 22-25

Utica, N.Y.: Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, April 13

Portland, Ore.: Northwest Film Center, Portland Museum of Art, April 20

Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, May 5

Cleveland: The Cleveland Cinematheque, Cleveland Institute of Art, May 12

Hanover, N.H.: Loew Auditorium, Dartmouth College, May 19

Sponsorship for the program comes from the Harvard Film Archive with assistance from New York's Museum of Modern Art, the French Cultural Services/French Ministry of Culture, the Armenian Film Society, Light Cone in Paris, the Eames Office, and many of the filmmakers whose works are included in the event.