BRUCE BAILLIE

— Listening this morn to a nice, formal piece of music derived from Near Eastern sounds, extremely nice. (CD, Dream of the Orient, orig. in Turkey). Like to do some filming if younger and stronger out in the deserts of Arabia! Mysterious worn and weathered edifices of various sorts appearing here and there in the vastness of the Arabian Desert. An apartment building from three millenia past, still protruding from the red desert sands, former town, now occupied by 3 or 4 families, hot east wind blowing thru the darkened interior, window openings, some screened by articles of clothing. Child’s bicycle on “the street” below, in front of this ancient apt doorway. A single tree at the end of what was several thousand years ago a village main street. Nothing else on the horizon to suggest civilization, humanity. Naught ‘cepting wind, desert, time.

From top to bottom:
QUIXOTE (1965), 45 minutes
QUICK BILLY (1970), 56 minutes
VALENTIN DE LAS SIERRAS (1968), 10 minutes
MASS FOR THE DAKOTA SIOUX (1964), 24 minutes

All stills provided by Chuck Stevens.

Bruce Baillie was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 1931. He is one of the pioneers of the Avant Garde film movement in San Francisco, as well as a founding member of Canyon Cinema Cooperative, 1961 to the present. In 1992 his film CASTRO STREET (1966) was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. He is currently undertaking the task of putting his work into a series of DVD albums, some of which are already available through Canyon Cinema.

www.brucebaillie.com
www.canyoncinema.com