John Warren
2021
Elegy
John Warren
"This poignant and unassuming color film interprets the dreams and memories of an elderly woman as she looks back on her life, The film searches for a deeper image of death. A sense of loss weighs heavily in this work as what appears to be a home movie of a grandmother alone at the grave of her husband plays unaltered. Hope is symbolized in images of cherry trees in bloom and stained glass church windows, perhaps implying the promise of an afterlife." -- Black Maria Film Festival catalogue
Elegy
Honky Tonky
John Warren
All images were shot on 16mm film in the shadow of the Ryman Auditorium on Lower Broadway, a section of Nashville that has for decades attracted country music fans to its honky tonk bars. The visual effects were composed in-camera, while shooting on the street. This film was supported in part by the Tennessee Art Commission.
Honky Tonky
Future Tense
John Warren
A look at construction cranes around Nashville as figures trapped by the ambivalent forces of capitalism. The piece continues my interest in the landscape, not as a mere pictorial representation, but instead as a point of perceptual inquiry to examine the outer world in an attempt to understand the inner world.
Future Tense
Notturno
John Warren
"The film was made by painting directly onto 16mm film, in the tradition of artist-filmmakers who often mix handmade approaches and out-of-date equipment to create unusual film experiences. As with other films by Warren, Notturno forgoes a language-based narrative in favor of a staccato sequence of images, emphasizing feeling over storyline." - Chief Curator Mark Scala, Frist Center for the Visual Arts
Notturno