The Filmballad of Mamadada

  • 80'
  • USA
  • 2013
Homage to the life and work of Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven (1874-1927), who was part of the New York Dada movement in the 1920s, but unlike many male Dadaists was forgotten with time.
More than 50 young artists bring together her versatility as a sculptor, poet, painter, model and performance artist in this collage that ricochets back and forth between classic narration and experimental form fragments in the style of the ‘exquisite-corpse’ technique invented by the Surrealists. One adds an interview with Jane Fonda, which acquires new significance in this context, while another makes an animation about the consequences of syphilis and the third provides a reconstruction of a lost 16mm film by Duchamp and Man Ray.
No-one will be surprised that the fragments contradict each other because, as a reaction to the chaos of the First World War, Dada denies the existence of an orderly and harmonious reality. The Baroness can be satisfied.

Directors
Cassandra Guan, Lily Benson
Country of production
USA
Year
2013
Festival Edition
IFFR 2014
Length
80'
Medium
HDcam
Languages
English, German
Producers
Cassandra Guan, Lily Benson
Sales
Cassandra Guan
Screenplay
Lily Benson, Cassandra Guan, Cecilia Corrigan
Editor
Cassandra Guan
Production Design
Lily Benson
Sound Design
Josh Allen
Music
Easter, Doron Sadja, Cross
Cast
Mauricio Arango, Lily Benson
Website
http://mamadada.info
Directors
Cassandra Guan, Lily Benson
Country of production
USA
Year
2013
Festival Edition
IFFR 2014
Length
80'
Medium
HDcam
Languages
English, German
Producers
Cassandra Guan, Lily Benson
Sales
Cassandra Guan
Screenplay
Lily Benson, Cassandra Guan, Cecilia Corrigan
Editor
Cassandra Guan
Production Design
Lily Benson
Sound Design
Josh Allen
Music
Easter, Doron Sadja, Cross
Cast
Mauricio Arango, Lily Benson
Website
http://mamadada.info