JoAnn Elam Movies

Lie Back & Enjoy It is a dialectical film about the politics of representation. Its image track consists of technologically manipulated images of...

A myriad of purple and blue markings flicker hypnotically across the screen in “Filmabuse.” Periodically a blue screen flashes,...

JoAnn Elam's unfinished project, EVERYDAY PEOPLE (filmed from 1979 to 1990), is based on her experiences as a letter carrier for the US Postal...

Elam records several men moving boxes and furniture as they track across her backyard.

Elam's husband prepares vegetables at the sink.

Experimental filmmaker JoAnn Elam guides (or limits) the viewer's eyes down a rural, wooded path.

Two women gardening on a sunny day.

Filmed in extreme close-up, the lit-up pine needles of a Christmas tree are abstracted into forms of line and contrast. “Christmas Tree”...

Chicago streets.

Experimental film by Chicago filmmaker JoAnn Elam (1949-2009). Altered lyrics to the song "Chains" sit atop animated images of grains. Exact date of...

Rape has three victims discussing their emotional, physical and intellectual responses, then and now, highlighted and commented upon by a series of...

Images of Christmas lights at night, a group of baton-twirlers in the street, postal carriers, kids walking down the street, etc. Exact date of...

Joann Elam captures urban residents on the go in various seasons. The film begins in winter, as JoAnn captures sleepy neighborhood scenes from her...

This footage is almost entirely black, save for a few shots possibly showing electric poles outside.

Abstract images of flames and fire.

Abstract, direct animation consisting of triangular shapes that flow past the frame. Apparently the source for "Filmabuse" (F.2011-01-0262) and...

An outdoor gathering.

"Popcorn" begins with a teenaged boy reading from an unknown text inside a living room. JoAnn Elam is seen knitting, presumably nearby, before...

JoAnn Elam plants collards.

Elam films her close friend, Chuck Kleinhans.