Jonathan Culp
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Culp is a Canadian underground film
maker, whose work includes found-footage collage
, Super 8
, and activist documentary
as well as narrative projects. Working independently out of Toronto, Canada, Culp has produced or co-produced over forty short films and videos since 1995.
Culp’s work is typified by its confrontational tone, rhythmic counterpoint of sound and image elements, and acidic references to mass media. In late 2005 Culp completed his first feature, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, a 90-minute comedy about a revolutionary high school grilled cheese sandwich club. His most recent video, It Can Happen Here (2006), is a complex and emotional fusion of documentary, collage, and personal modes.
Long active in the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT), in 1997 Culp helped found the Toronto Video Activist Collective (TVAC); he was injured by riot police while documenting protests at the 2001 Quebec City Protests. Along with Siue Moffat
, he also initiated the Satan Macnuggit Video Road Show, which has screened eclectic programs of underground video
in alternative venues across Canada
. He has written about film and filmmaking for Broken Pencil
, Clamor
and Canadian Dimension
magazine
s.
Underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...
maker, whose work includes found-footage collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
, Super 8
Super 8 (film)
Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction action film written and directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler and was released on June 10, 2011 in conventional and IMAX theaters...
, and activist documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
as well as narrative projects. Working independently out of Toronto, Canada, Culp has produced or co-produced over forty short films and videos since 1995.
Culp’s work is typified by its confrontational tone, rhythmic counterpoint of sound and image elements, and acidic references to mass media. In late 2005 Culp completed his first feature, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, a 90-minute comedy about a revolutionary high school grilled cheese sandwich club. His most recent video, It Can Happen Here (2006), is a complex and emotional fusion of documentary, collage, and personal modes.
Long active in the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT), in 1997 Culp helped found the Toronto Video Activist Collective (TVAC); he was injured by riot police while documenting protests at the 2001 Quebec City Protests. Along with Siue Moffat
Siue Moffat
Siue Moffat is a chocolatier, cookbook author, filmmaker, zine maker, video activist and film archivist. She was very involved in the punk community - doing volunteer administrative work on the "Book Your Own Fucking Life" site - a free online resource for independent artists and promoters, once...
, he also initiated the Satan Macnuggit Video Road Show, which has screened eclectic programs of underground video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
in alternative venues across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He has written about film and filmmaking for Broken Pencil
Broken Pencil
Broken Pencil is a Canadian magazine, which profiles zine culture and independent arts and music. The magazine publishes four times annually and is based in Toronto.The magazine was founded in 1995 by Hal Niedzviecki...
, Clamor
Clamor (magazine)
Clamor was a bi-monthly magazine published in Toledo, Ohio. The focus of the magazine was alternative culture , often from a politically left-wing perspective....
and Canadian Dimension
Canadian Dimension
Canadian Dimension is a Canadian leftist magazine founded in 1963 by Cy Gonick, and published out of Winnipeg, Manitoba 6 times a year, with a circulation of 3,000 copies....
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s.
Short films
- It Can Happen Here (2006)
- Supplement (2005)
- Ghost Squat (2005)
- Eventually (2005)
- Death Mask (2004)
- HERE 75 Picket (2004)
- Plasticman and the Justice League (2002)
- Capt. Do-Gooder in "Help the Needy" (2002)
- OCAP Strikes Back (2001)
- How Does It Work? (2001)
- Knife Machine (2000)
- Maple Grove: An Ontario School (2000)
- Homeless on the Hill (1999)
- Chew It, Somalia! (1998)
- Our Vacation Trip (1998)
- Landescapes (1998)
- The Boob (1998)
- Action! (1997)
- Jonathan Culp! (1996)
- Bark (1995)