short takes (1)

New York's anthology Film Archives has been offering something off the beaten path -- a continuing a series called Home Made Movies: Twenty Years of American 8mm and Super-8 Films.

Curated by Jim Hoberman of the Village Voice, this enormous selection of movies convincingly illustrates the growing importance of narrow-guage filmmaking, particularly -- with its flexibility and comparatively low cost -- as a stronghold of avant-garde activity. The program ranges from the overblown, campy parodies of George and Mike Kuchar to the lyricism of Stan Brakhage's "Songs," from the psychedelia of Bob Branaman to the mordant humor of Lenny Lipton's "Children of the Golden West," not to mention the pungent work of Vivienne Dick, and even an evening of "folk art," in the form of "found" home-movie footage. Narrowguage moviemaking is coming of age, and the movement can only grow when so strongly supported by the worthy Anthology screening facilities.