Torchlight Tango- 16mm, 20 minutes, sound, 2005

“Torchlight Tango” is a burlesque romp through the D.I.Y. direct cinematic terrain described by filmmaker/curator Scott Stark as an “auto-romantic dance of light and body.” A film about making a film, “Torchlight Tango” compresses time and expands light refractions to teeter between frantic and frozen moments revealing the filmmaking process to be a solitary endeavor of intimate tactility. Using “red blind” film exposed with a flashlight, hand processed and sent raucously through an ancient hand crank projector, the hands of the maker are succinctly felt as the light sensitive medium is investigated. During the film exposure and hand processing the filmmaker shot herself using a Bolex and intervalometer to record the processes that go into making this kind of expressive personal cinema. The intimacy achieved was not hindered by a large crew of people and this film was made without any financial support from any institution. "Torchlight Tango" shows what kind of cinema is possible with limited resources.