Conference Presentations

  • Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference, Boston, March 21–25, 2012. Panel Presentation: “Come Blow your Mind: Andy Warhol’s Expanded Cinema and Outer and Inner Space.”
  • The Brakhage Symposium, University of Colorado at Boulder, March 16–18, 2012. Invited lecture on the films of Andy Warhol and Narrative.
  • The 4th Screenwriting Research Conference “Beyond Boundaries: Screenwriting across Media,” organized by the Media Arts Design Faculty of Université Libre de Bruxelles, September 8 – 10, 2011. Panel Presentation: “The Strange Case of Ronald Tavel: Andy Warhol’s Only Screenwriter.”
  • The 3rd Screenplay Research Conference, organized by the Department of Media, Cognition and Communication, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, September 9 – 11, 2010. Panel Presentation: “Less is More: In Praise of the Minimal Screenplay.”
  • Re–thinking the Screenplay Conference, University of Art and Design Helsinki, Finland, September 2009. Panel Presentation: “The Collaboration between screenwriter Jon Raymond and director Kelley Reichardt in Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy.”
  • Re–thinking the Screenplay Conference, University of Leeds, Leeds, England, September 2008. Keynote Presentation: “The Question of Screenplay in American Independent Cinema.”
  • University Film and Video Association (UFVA) Conference, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, August, 2008. Panel Presentation: “The American Independent Screenplay”

Selected Film Festivals, Exhibitions, and Awards

  • “The Limits of Photography,” January 21–March 25, 2012), Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago, curated by Rod Slemmons. Screening of Print Generation; Sky Blue Water Light Sign shown as a video installation as part of the exhibition.
  • Early Monthly Segments Series, Toronto, Canada. Restored version of Print Generation screened, January 16, 2012.
  • Festival du Noveau Cinéma, Montreal, Canada (October 12–23, 2011). Print Generation screened as part of “Mechanical Reproductions” program, curated by Mark Toscano.
  • Museum of the Moving Image, New York City. Sky Blue Water Light Sign screened as part of “The Cross Revolves at Sunset: Restored Experimental Film from the Academy Film Archive” (part of Avant–garde Masters), January 23, 2011.
  • William Shearburn Gallery, St. Louis, MO. Highway Landscape shown as a looped installation piece in “Ab/Fig,” a group show curated by Wendy Cooper, November 19, 2010–January 15, 2011. Other artists in the show included Gerhard Richter, Cindy Sherman, Ellen Gallagher, and Barnaby Furnas.
  • UCLA Film and Television Archive in conjunction with Los Angeles Filmforum. Sky Blue Water Light Sign screened as part of program curated by Mark Toscano, August 28, 2010.
  • Transmediale 2010, Berlin Germany (February 2–7, 2010). Science Fiction screened as part of the festival.
  • 22nd Annual Images Festival, Toronto, Canada (April 2–11, 2009). Ice screened as apart of festival.
  • Light Industry, Brooklyn, New York. Sky Blue Water Light Sign shown as part of “Genre Trouble” program, curated by Su Friedrich. Fall 2008.
  • Bowdoin College Museum of Art (April 15–June 8, 2008), Brunswick, Maine. Sky Blue Water Light Sign screened as part of a special exhibition on “Landscape” in the Media Gallery. Curated by Alison Ferris.
  • Vassar Experimental Film Festival (February 29, 2008), Poughkeepsie, New York. Featured speaker at the festival, which included screenings of Highway Landscape and Science Fiction.
  • WORK Gallery, Brooklyn, New York. Sky Blue Water Light Sign screened as part of a film exhibition about “water.” Curated by David Gatten.
  • Le Festival Vers le Monde (La Roche Sur Yons Film Festival), France. Science Fiction screened as part of film program curated by Marie Losier.
  • Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Sky Blue Water Light Sign and Highway Landscape screened as part of “The Forest in the Machine” exhibition, curated by Jane Gaines et al. Fall, 2005.
  • Oesterreichisches Filmmuseum, Vienna, Austria (November 2004). Sky Blue Water Light Sign screened as part of “Moving Landscapes” exhibition, curated by Barbara Pichler and Andrea Pollach.
  • FotoFest 2004 (February 29–April 16, 2004), Houston, Texas. Sky Blue Water Light Sign screened as part of “Film and Video Series on Water.”
  • National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. (February 23, 2003). Sky Blue Water Light Sign screened as part of “Cinema as Trompe L’oeil” exhibition.
  • Virginia Film Festival (October 24–27, 2002). Sky Blue Water Light Sign screened as part of festival.
  • Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City. Sky Blue Water Light Sign screened in “The Cool World: Film & Video in America 1950–2000,” as part of larger exhibition entitled “The American Century (Part 2): Art & Culture: 1950–2000.” December 1999–February 2000.
  • Carolina Film and Video Festival, Greensboro, North Carolina (March 29–April 1, 1995). Attended festival to introduce and discuss Horicon.
  • South Korean Experimental Film Exhibition (December 6–9, 1994). Print Generation screened as part of the first major exhibition of experimental films in South Korea. Two screenings of the film were organized by the New Image Group at the University of Seoul. A small catalog accompanied the exhibition.
  • American Independent Films Abroad Program, Berlin Film Market, Germany (February 1994). Horicon screened as part of international market (2 screenings).
  • The Rivertown International Film Festival (1994), Minneapolis, MN. Attended festival to screen and discuss Horicon.
  • Arizona International Film Festival (1994), Tucson. Attended festival to introduce and discuss Horicon (2 screenings).
  • Women in Film International Film Festival (March 36, 1994), Los Angeles, CA. Horicon screened as part of festival.
  • The Virginia Festival of American Film (Oct 28–31, 1993), Charlottesville, VA. Attended festival to screen and discuss Horicon.
  • 43rd Annual Congress of the International Federation of Film Archives (May 17–19, 1987), West Berlin, Germany. Print Generation screened as part of program.
  • 48th Annual Exhibition: “Recent Filmmaking in Central New York” at Munson–Williams Proctor Institute (Spring 1986), Utica, New York. Movie Stills screened as part of program.
  • The Florence Film Festival (Dec 12–16, 1985), Italy. Attended festival to screen and discuss Frame of Mind.
  • Curated Exhibit: “Chance in Time: Random Operations in Film,” San Francisco Cinematheque, June 1985. Ice screened as part of program.
  • Auckland Film Festival (1984), New Zealand. Science Fiction screened as part of festival.
  • Edinburgh International Film Festival (Aug 21–Sept 3, 1983), Scotland. Terminal Disorder screened as part of festival.
  • Wellington Film Festival (July 8–23, 1983), New Zealand. Science Fiction screened as part of festival.
  • Collective for Living Cinema, New York City. Print Generation screened as part of “Ten Years of Living Cinema” Exhibition (catalogue), October 6, 1982.
  • New York Film Festival (Sept 24–Oct 10, 1982). Science Fiction screened as part of festival.
  • Bellevue Film Festival (1982), Bellevue, WA. Science Fiction screened as part of festival.
  • Athens International Film Festival (1981), Athens, OH. Science Fiction received Special Merit Award.
  • Ann Arbor Film Festival (1981), Ann Arbor, MI. Science Fiction received Judge’s Award (TOUR).
  • New York Film–Makers Exposition (1981), Brooklyn. Science Fiction shown as part of festival (TOUR).
  • The Great Lakes Film Festival (1980), Milwaukee, WI. Science Fiction received first place prize (experimental category).
  • Third International Avant–Garde Festival (June 9–17, 1979), London, England. Science Fiction screened as part of American program.
  • Filmworks 78–79 (May 1–3, 1979), The Kitchen Center, New York City. Science Fiction screened as part of festival.
  • Ninth International Forum of Young Cinema (Feb 22–Mar 3, 1979), West Berlin, Germany. Special guest of the festival to screen and discuss Movie Stills.
  • Documenta 6 (1977), Kassel, Germany. Print Generation screened as part of major international arts festival.
  • Edinburgh International Film Festival (Aug 24–Sept 9, 1975), Scotland. Print Generation screened as part of the North American Avant–Garde Program.
  • Fifth International Forum of Young Cinema (June 27–July 8, 1975), West Berlin, Germany. Special guest of the festival to screen and discuss Print Generation.
  • Fifth International Experimental Film Competition (Dec 25, 1974–Jan 1, 1975), Knokke–Heist, Belgium. Print Generation received a Centre Experimental du Cinema Price of 25,000BF.
  • Bellevue Film Festival (1973), Bellevue, WA. Judge’s Award from James Broughton for In Progress.
  • Visions Festival of Contemporary Film (1973), Urbana, IL. Highway Landscape screened as part of “American Dreams and Nightmares” program.
  • Independent Film–Makers Competition (1972), Mt. Pleasant, MI. Judge’s Awards for Highway Landscape, Ice, and In Progress.
  • Monterey Independent Film–Makers Festival (1972), Monterey, CA. Highway Landscape received a Judge’s Award from James Broughton.
  • Bellevue Film Festival (1972), Bellevue, WA. Highway Landscape screened as part of festival.
  • Refocus Film Festival (1972), Iowa City, IA. Judge’s Award for In Progress.
  • Yale Film Festival (1972), New Haven, CT. Highway Landscape screened as part of festival.

One–Person Showings

  • Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI (2008)
  • Anthology Film Archives, New York City (2008)
  • Starlight Cinema, UW–Madison Student Union, WI (2000)
  • Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens (1999)
  • University Film Society, Minneapolis, MN (1994), one week engagement (9 shows)
  • Memorial Union Play Circle, Madison, WI (1994), 6 shows
  • Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI (1994) 17 shows
  • UFVA Conference, Philadelphia (1993)
  • Films Charas, New York City (1989)
  • Arsenal Kino, West Berlin, Germany (1988)
  • Film in the Cities, St. Paul, MN (1986) 4 shows
  • Madison Art Center, WI (1986) 12 shows
  • Chicago Filmmakers, IL (1986) 3 shows
  • Fredric March Playcircle, Madison, WI (1986) 13 shows
  • Berks Filmmakers Incorporated, Reading, PA (1985)
  • Madison Art Center, Madison, WI (1983)
  • Eye Gallery, San Francisco (1983)
  • Collective For Living Cinema, New York City (1983)
  • Madison Art Center, Madison, WI (1982)
  • Film in the Cities, St. Paul, MN (1981)
  • The Cinematheque, San Francisco (1980)
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art, Madison, WI (1980)
  • Pasadena Film Forum, CA (1980)
  • Oasis, Los Angeles (1980)
  • Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY (1980)
  • Pittsburgh Filmmakers Incorporated, PA (1980)
  • Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1980)
  • London Filmmakers Cooperative, England (1980)
  • Kommunales Kino Hamburg, Germany (1980)
  • Freunde der Deutschen Kinemathek, West Berlin, Germany (1980,)
  • Oesterreichisches Filmmuseum, Vienna, Austria (1980)
  • Münchner Stadtmuseum, Munich, Germany (1980)
  • Museum of Modern Art Cineprobe, New York City (1979)
  • Freunde der Deutschen Kinemathek, West Berlin, Germany (1979)
  • Berk’s Filmmakers Incorporated, Reading, PA (1978)
  • Chicago Filmmakers, IL (1978)
  • White Ox Films, Rochester, NY (1978)
  • Collective For Living Cinema, New York City (1977)
  • The Shadow Box, Hanover, NH (1977)
  • Albright–Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY (1977)
  • Collective For Living Cinema, New York City (1976)
  • Theatre Vanguard, Los Angeles (1976)
  • The Cinematheque, San Francisco (1975)
  • Refocus Fall Festival, Iowa City (1975)
  • Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA (1975)
  • Millennium Film Workshop, New York City (1975)

Guest Lectures/Screenings

  • Edgewood College, Madison, WI
  • University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
  • University of Notre Dame, IN
  • University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (2 occasions)
  • Milwaukee Art Museum, WI
  • University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point
  • San Francisco Art Institute, CA (2 occasions)
  • Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
  • Utica College, NY (4 occasions)
  • Collective for Living Cinema, New York City
  • Minneapolis College of Art and Design, MN
  • Ohio State University, Columbus
  • Amerika Haus, Hamburg, Germany
  • Hochschule der Künste, West Berlin, Germany
  • Fordham University, NYC
  • North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston–Salem
  • Wake Forest University, Winston–Salem, NC
  • State University of New York at Binghamton, NY
  • University of Rochester, NY
  • Jersey City State College, NJ (2 occasions)
  • Goddard College, VT
  • Swarthmore College, PA
  • Bucknell University, PA
  • City College of New York, NY
  • Emerson College, Boston, MA
  • University of Massachusetts, Boston
  • University of Scranton, PA
  • Indianapolis Museum of Art, IN
  • Staten Island Community College, NY (2 occasions)

Film Reviews & Citations

  • MacDonald, Scott. Adventures of Perception: Cinema as Exploration: Essays/Interviews. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 2009.
  • MacDonald, Scott. The Garden in the Machine: A Field Guide to Independent Films about Place. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 2001. Extended discussion of Sky Blue Water Light Sign, Print Generation, and Horicon.
  • Phillips, William H. Film: An Introduction. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999. Print Generation is represented and discussed on pp. 341–343.
  • Cook, David A. Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam 1970 – 1979. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1999.
  • MacDonald, Scott. “Ten (Alternative) Films and Videos on American Nature.” In Isle: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, Vol. 6.1, Winter 1999, 1–14. Two films, Sky Blue Water Light Sign and In Progress, are discussed in this article.
  • MacDonald, Scott. “The Garden in the Machine: Two American Avant-Garde Films and the Nineteenth-Century Visual Arts,” in Prospects: An Annual of American Cultural Studies, Vol. 22, edited by Jack Salzman. Cambridge University Press, 1998. Lengthy discussion of Sky Blue Water Light Sign, pages 239–262.
  • Small, Edward S. Direct Theory: Experimental Film as Major Genre. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1995.
  • Thompson, Kristin and David Bordwell. Film History: An Introduction. New York: McGraw Hill, Inc., 1994.
  • Peterson, James. Dreams of Chaos, Visions of Order. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1994. Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson. Film Art. New York: McGraw Hill, 1993.
  • MacDonald, Scott. Avant-Garde Film Motion Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
  • James, David E. Allegories of Cinema. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989.
  • MacDonald, Scott. A Critical Cinema. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988.
  • Andrew, Dudley. Concepts in Film Theory. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984.
  • Heath, Stephen. Questions of Cinema. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984.
  • Fell, John. A History of Films. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1979.
  • The New York Times; The Village Voice; The Soho Weekly News; KPFA-FM (San Francisco); The Berkeley Barb; Sight and Sound; Artforum; Studio International; Art Press; Ecran; Telecine; Cinema 75; Der Tagesspiegel; Spandauer Volksblatt; Cinemedia Newsletter; Idiolects; Buffalo Evening News; Film Quarterly; Parachute; Afterimage; Milwaukee Journal; Screen; Wide Angle; Isthmus; The Capital Times; Wisconsin State Journal; City Pages; Taz; The Independent; Frauen und Film.

Professional Memberships

  • University Film and Video Association
  • Society for Cinema and Media Studies
  • Screenwriting Research Network