The 24th annual Images Festival is once again overstuffed with experimental and avant-garde media goodness. From March 31 to April 9, Toronto will be overrun with film & video screenings, live cinema performances, artist talks, gallery installations, forum discussions and more.

The fest opens with Rivers and My Father — a documentary and fictional narrative blend that explores the family stories of filmmaker Luo Li — and ends with a live hardcore music soundtrack accompanying Todd Brown’s classic silent movie West of Zanzibar.

In between that, there are artist talks with John Gianvito, Paul Clipson, Mario Pfeifer, Beatrice Gibson, James MacSwain, Steve Reinke and others; several programs exploring the state of cinema in Africa; live cinematic performances by Andrew Lampert, Ellie Ga, Lindsay Seers, Icaro Zorbar and more.

Plus, don’t forget the experimental film & video screenings, including John Gianvito’s documentary essay Vapor Trails (Clark); and short works by Jodie Mack, Lewis Klahr, Deborah Stratman, Zachary Epcar and more.

On April 7, there will be another screening of the popular tour “Radical Light,” a retrospective of the San Francisco experimental film scene. This program includes James Broughton‘s classic The Bed and films by George Kuchar, Curt McDowell, Anne McGuire and Scott Stark.

And the final afternoon of the festival is devoted to all-ages material. The day begins at noon with avant-garde films that are appropriate for children, including work by Jennifer Reeves, Robert Todd, Alexi Manis, Larry Jordan and more. Then, at 6:00 p.m., there will be a block of student-made movies.

The full Images Festival lineup is below. But, for more info, please visit the festivals official website for much more detail on the films and programs, venue locations and detail on the gallery installations, which is included at the bottom of this lineup in the OFF SCREEN section.

March 31

7:00 p.m.: Rivers and My Father, dir. Luo Li. Combining documentary and fictional narrative, filmmaker Li explores his family’s personal stories.

April 1

3:00 p.m.: Artist Talk: John Gianvito

7:00 p.m.: “On Screen 1: Same Same But Different”
It’s Hard To Get Into My System, dir. Duane Linklater
Versions, dir. Oliver Laric
Point Line Plane, dir. Simon Payne
Black Swan Makeup Tutorial, dir. Gloria Nava
Wednesday Morning Two A.M., dir. Lewis Klahr
Magic for Beginners, dir. Jesse McLean (Watch online)
Rad Plaid, dir. Jodie Mack

9:00 p.m.: Canadian Artist Spotlight: James MacSwain (All films dir. MacSwain)
Amherst
Flower
Nova Scotia Tourist Industries
The Alpha Expedition
Starboy
The Fountain of Youth

April 2

1:00 p.m.: FREE Guided Walking tour of the exhibitions at 401 Richmond

2:00 p.m.: “Opening Receptions” (Each event runs from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
In an Expression of Inexpessible @ WARC GALLERY – WOMEN’S ART RESOURCE CENTRE
as if you still see it in front of you @ XPACE CULTURAL CENTRE
Malena Szlam’s Cronograma de un Tiempo Inexistente @ YYZ ARTISTS’ OUTLET
Chen Chieh-jen’s Empire’s Borders II – Western Enterprises, Inc. @ A SPACE GALLERY
Melanie Gilligan’s Self-capital @ INTERACCESS ELECTRONIC MEDIA ARTS CENTRE
Lindsay Seers’s Extramission 6 @ GALLERY TPW
Neue Brüder @ VTAPE
Abbas Akhavan’s Phantom Head @ TRINITY SQUARE VIDEO

3:30 p.m.: Live Images 1: The Fortunetellers by Ellie Ga
This “performative lecture” was created by Ga while she was the artist-in-residence for a scientific expedition near the North Pole.

7:00 p.m.: Live Images 2: Extramission 3 by Lindsay Seers
Recounting the artist’s life as recalled by others.

8:30 p.m.: On Screen 2: “And Again”
Why Colonel Bunny Was Killed, dir. Miranda Pennell
History Minor, dir. Ryan Garrett
And Again, dir. Adele Horne

April 3

3:00 p.m.: On Screen 3: “Stone and salt and stars and skin”
SALTWATCH EXPERIMENTS: ROBLES’ FLOCK, dir. Elvira Finnigan
…These Blazing Starrs!, dir. Deborah Stratman
Keratin Reserve, dir. Joshua Solondz
Forms Are Not Self-Subsistent Substances, dir. Samantha Rebello
Einschnitte, dir. Lina Rodriguez
Beneath Your Skin of Deep Hollow, dir. Malena Szlam
Cosmic Alchemy, dir. Lawrence Jordan

6:00 p.m.: On Screen 4: Vapor Trail (Clark), dir. John Gianvito. A cinematic essay of U.S. colonialism in the Phillipines.

April 4

3:00 p.m.: Artist Talk: “Cosmic Conversation”
With: Deborah Stratman, Alexi Manis and Malena Szlam.

6:30 p.m.: On Screen 5: “Disorientation Express”
Starlings (At Nightfall), dir. Peter Dudar
Greyhound Track, dir. Mike Hannon
Berlin Tracks 18h – 20h, dir. Shiloh Cinquemani
Kindless Villain, dir. Janie Geiser
Trains Are for Dreaming, dir. Jennifer Reeves
To Another, dir. JB Mabe
Castaic Lake, dir. Brigid McCaffrey
Sign-off, dir. Brett Bell

9:00 p.m.: Reframing Africa 1: “Representation or Reality?”
Un Certain Matin, dir. Fanta Regina Nacro
Pourquoi?, dir. Sokhna Amar
Homage, dir. Jean-Marie Teno
Atlantiques, dir. Mati Diop
Poussieres de ville, dir. Moussa Touré

April 5

3:00 p.m.: Artist Talk: “Reframing Africa”
Jean-Marie Teno in conversation with Deanna Bowen.

4:00 p.m.: Artist Talk: Reconsidering The New Industrial Parks near Irvine California, by Lewis Baltz, 1974
Tim Saltarelli in conversation with artist Mario Pfeifer.

6:30 p.m.: On Screen 6: “Reconsidering the New”
The End of Photography, dir. Judy Fiskin
Reconsidering The new Industrial Parks near Irvine California, by Lewis Baltz, 1974, dir. Mario Pfeifer
The Prichard, dir. Kevin Jerome Everson
Make It New John, dir. Duncan Campbell

7:30 p.m.: Bonus Performance: The Inhabitants of Images

9:00 p.m.: Reframing Africa 2: “Perspectives in Mambety’s Footsteps”
Portrait of a Young Man Drowning, dir. Teboho Mahlatsi
Pumzi, dir. Wanuri Kahui
Waramutsého!, dir. Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
Le Clandestin, dir. Zeke Laplaine
Le Franc, dir. Djibril Diop Mambety

April 6

3:00 p.m.: Artist Talk: James MacSwain and Steve Reinke

5:00 p.m.: Opening Reception: Jon Sasaki’s Pine @ AGO – ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO

7:00 p.m.: On Screen 7: “Large Forms Constructed From Small Forms”
monolog, dir. laure prouvost
Unsubscribe #4 The Saddest Song in the World, dir. Jodie Mack
The Tiny Ventriloquist, dir. Steve Reinke

9:00 p.m.: Live Images 3: Assisted Installations by Icaro Zorbar
Presenting a “conversation” between various mechanical and electronic music players.

9:30 p.m.: Live Images 4: Cinema Is Not Celluloid by Andrew Lampert
Screening silent films with live narration, sound tracks with live projection or a combination of both.

11:00 p.m.: Open Screening + Party
Bring your own film on 16mm, Super 8 or DVD to be screened. (Under 15 mins. only and on a first come, first served.)

April 7

1:00 p.m.: Artist Talk: Paul Clipson and Allison Cameron

5:00 p.m.: Open Forum: “Exhibition and Its Discontents”
Presented by MANO (The Media Arts Network of Ontario).

7:00 p.m.: “Radical Light 2: Alternative Film and Video in the San Bay Francisco Area”
The Bed, dir. James Broughton
A Visit to Indiana, dir. Curt McDowell
A Reason to Live, dir. George Kuchar
Deadline, dir. Max Almy
Easy Living, dir. Chip Lord, Mickey McGowan
I’ll Walk With God, dir. Scott Stark
All Smiles and Sadness, dir. Anne McGuire

9:30 p.m.: On Screen 8: “Traces, Portraits, Memories and Remains”
Death Match, dir. Jorge Lorenzo
I remember my dreams by the colours they are.., dir. Maria Magnusson
Penumbra, dir. Kimberly Forero-Arnias
Minong, I Slept, dir. Vera Brunner-Sung
O salão azul (Blue Salon), dir. Luciana Hees
Everybody’s Nuts, dir. Fabian Euresti
Posthaste Perennial Pattern, dir. Jodie Mack
Irma, dir. Charles Fairbanks

April 8

1:00 p.m.: Artist Talk: Beatrice Gibson

5:00 p.m.: “All Our Memories Significant in Retrospect”
We Began By Measuring Distance, dir. Basma Alsharif
The Beautiful Language, dir. mounir fatmi
The Future’s Getting Old Like the Rest of Us, dir. Beatrice Gibson

7:30 p.m.: On Screen 9: “Guided Tours”
Tell me when you think one minute is up from…, dir. Bob levene
Guided Tour, dir. Judy Fiskin
Bridges: Blocks, dir. Robert Todd
Concrete & Samples III, dir. Aglaia Konrad
Dear Steve, dir. Herman Asselberghs

8:30 p.m.: Live Images 3: Assisted Installations by Icaro Zorbar
Presenting a “conversation” between various mechanical and electronic music players.

10:30 p.m.: Live Images 5: Allison Cameron and Paul Clipson
A collaborative film projection and live music performance by composer Cameron and filmmaker Clipson.

April 9

12:00 p.m.: Radical Recess: “A Screening of Avant Garde Films for Children!”
Primiti Too Taa, dir. Ed Ackerman
Sea Horses and Flying Fish, dir. Rick Raxlen
Interlude, dir. Joost van Veen
Carabosse, dir. Larry Jordan
The Observatory, dir. Alexi Manis
Didre Novo, dir. Steven Woloshen
The Girl’s Nervy, dir. Jennifer Reeves
Stable, dir. Robert Todd
Kratzig 3: Alles bewegt sich wie van selbst (Everything Moves by Itself) (Excerpt)

6:00 p.m.: “S Is for Student”
Wrestling With My Father, dir. Charles Fairbanks
Screen Saver, dir. Jennifer Chan
BOX, dir. Ivan Rubio
Video Sculptures, dir. Brad Tinmouth
My Inner Demon, dir. Anna Macaranas
Artists Sick, dir. Prapat Jiwarangsan
Orgasmatique, Dramatique, Horror, dir. Melissa Bruno
A Time Shared Unlimited, dir. Zachary Epcar (Read the review)
10.3, dir. Marc Losier
Arrhythmia, dir. Meelad Moaphi
Land of Mourning Calm, dir. Jessica Bardsley

8:30 p.m.: Live Images 6: Fucked Up/West of Zanzibar
The hardcore band Fucked Up will perform a live score to Todd Browning’s silent film West of Zanzibar.

OFF SCREEN:

The Inhabitants of Images
Sat 5 Feb 2011 – Sat 23 Apr 2011
@ PREFIX INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART

as if you still see it in front of you
Fri 18 Mar 2011 – Sat 9 Apr 2011
@ XPACE CULTURAL CENTRE

The Root Problem of the world
Sat 19 Mar 2011 – Sat 23 Apr 2011
@ BIRCH LIBRALTO

Cinema
Fri 25 Mar 2011 – Sat 30 Apr 2011
@ MERCER UNION CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART

Akumassa Images
Fri 25 Mar 2011 – Sat 16 Apr 2011
@ TORONTO FREE GALLERY

In an Expression of Inexpessible
Sat 26 Mar 2011 – Sat 23 Apr 2011
@ WARC GALLERY – WOMEN’S ART RESOURCE CENTRE

Cronograma de un Tiempo Inexistente
Thu 31 Mar 2011 – Sat 16 Apr 2011
@ YYZ ARTISTS’ OUTLET

The Ape of Nature
Fri 1 Apr 2011 – Sun 10 Apr 2011
@ GLADSTONE HOTEL

Empire’s Borders II – Western Enterprises, Inc.
Sat 2 Apr 2011 – Sat 21 May 2011 Tues to Fri, 11am – 6pm & Sat, 12pm – 5pm
@ A SPACE GALLERY

Self-capital
Sat 2 Apr 2011 – Sat 7 May 2011
@ INTERACCESS ELECTRONIC MEDIA ARTS CENTRE

Extramission 6
Sat 2 Apr 2011 – Sat 30 Apr 2011 Tues to Sat, 12pm – 5pm
@ GALLERY TPW

Hawkers
Sat 2 Apr 2011 – Sat 14 May 2011
@ TRINITY SQUARE VIDEO

Neue Brüder
Sat 2 Apr 2011 – Sat 14 May 2011
@ VTAPE

Pine
Wed 6 Apr 2011 – Sun 5 Jun 2011
@ AGO – ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO