Welcome to the Moving Image Network
The Moving Image Network is a vibrant hub for the experimental film community, dedicated to sharing news, reviews, and insights on artists' film and moving image in NYC and beyond.
Frames of Flux
Spillings
Like water, I believe artists are now challenged to become persistent, erosive, and devastating. At the same time, we must be yielding, restorative, and life-giving. Our works must operate with this same dialectical tension. We must recognize the power that we hold to devastate—the ability to upend, overwhelm, and reshape entire landscapes with the force of our creations. Yet, within this power lies our responsibility to be yielding and restorative, nourishing the spaces we touch. Our work must have the capacity to heal, to offer solace, and to cultivate. These sites of generative and productive destruction are where I believe the most compelling and necessary art is born.
It’s in this spirit that I share with you the launch of the Moving Image Network—a space for experimental film, moving image, and the vibrant community that breathes life into them.
Mono No Aware Festival, Brooklyn, NY. December 6, 2024. Sculptural film work by Amina Gingold.1
Intra-action at the Borderlands
Transitions
This substack begins as a way to share thoughts and discoveries during a time of transition. After graduating from Goldsmiths with an MA in Artists' Film & Moving Image, where I focused on somatic filmmaking and the embodied lens, I relocated to Brooklyn, New York. In these first months, I’ve had the privilege of screening my work, joining the film programming committee at Millennium Film Workshop, and curating an open call for poetry films that received 500+ submissions from inspiring artists around the world.
I’m starting this substack because the moving image has always felt like a way to ask questions, foster connections, and dream novel futures into existence. My hope is that this space will become a small part of that ongoing conversation—a home for ideas, reflections, and the shared exploration of experimental film.
The moving image, for me, is not just a medium but a way of questioning, connecting, and reimagining. I’ve always believed in the power of visual art to transform, heal, and pull care-full futures into existence, and this space will be an extension of that understanding—a home for ideas, discussions, and discoveries in experimental film.
What Kind of Community Are We Building?
Erosions
The Moving Image Network is a place for artists, filmmakers, and film enthusiasts to come together to celebrate, critique, and expand the possibilities of the moving image. Rooted in shared curiosity and an appreciation for the avant-garde, the poetic, and the unconventional, this space invites us to flow together through dialogue and discovery.
Here, I’ll share:
Reviews: Exploring experimental works that push boundaries and challenge norms.
Artist Spotlights: Interviews and features on creators redefining what’s possible with the moving image.
Essays: Reflections on themes like somatic memory, feminist ecologies, and interspecies intra-action—the heart of my own practice.
Opportunities: Open calls, screenings, and other ways to get involved in this rich and ever-evolving community.
This space will grow and shift as the network develops, guided by feedback and the energy we create together.
Film still from Amy Greenfield’s Tides (1982) screening at Millennium Film Workshop, curated by Anto(n) Astudillo. November 19, 2024.2
What to Expect
Flow
Frequency: Expect one to two posts per month to start.
Free Subscribers: Access to reviews, artist spotlights, and updates about upcoming events.
Paid Subscribers: Exclusive essays, early access to opportunities, and behind-the-scenes looks into my own artistic practice.
I invite you to join me on this journey. Let’s celebrate the moving image as a site of radical care, innovation, and interconnectedness. Whether you’re an artist, a filmmaker, or just captivated by the avant-garde, this is a space for you.
Here’s to the power of beginnings and the connections created together.
About Michèle Saint-Michel
Michèle Saint-Michel is an artist, filmmaker, and writer whose interdisciplinary practice examines power, feminist ecologies, somatic memory, and interspecies intra-action. Drawing on influences from feminist film theory, quantum mechanics, and dark ecology, her works blend analog and digital media to create layered, multi-sensory experiences. Works include:
21 Scores for Losing Yourself in a Body: A multi-temporal installation blending silk prints, hand-processed 16mm film, and somatic event scores.
PTSD Suite: A nonlinear documentary series exploring the fragmented realities of life in the after.
Collaborations with poets like Nora Nadjarian, Luke Kennard, and Lora Keller, and musicians like Hermon Mehari, Sophie Stone, Arun Sood, Sheena Dham, and Peter Flint.
In addition to her visual art, Saint-Michel has authored four books, three journals, and a coloring book that reflect her commitment to engaging critical and poetic frameworks. She runs the monthly feedback group Artists’ Film Club (January sign-ups here) and is a film programmer at Millennium Film Workshop in Brooklyn. You can find more on her website and follow her on social media.
Mono No Aware Festival, December 6, 2024. Sculptural film work by Amina Gingold.
WELCOME HOME / 16MM TRIPLE-CHANNEL INSTALLATION AMINA GINGOLD (NEW YORK, NEW YORK / UNITED STATES)
"Welcome Home" is a three-channel 16mm installation projecting looping films onto a house-shaped sculpture. Emerging from my obsession with homes, I focus on their physical structures and symbolic meanings. I was on a late phone call with my former stepmother when I received the news. A story unfolded about abandoned, discarded, and broken furniture. It was dirty, and clothing was everywhere. A familiar man emerged from the shadows, who had left it all behind.
Physical Acts of Light and Protest: Amy Greenfield, November 19, 2024. Curated by Anto(n) Astudillo in conjunction with CreateART Dance Film Night.
TIDES (1982) / 16MM / 12 MIN AMY GREENFIELD (BOSTON / UNITED STATES)
Excited to see how your new project develops 👏🏾