Lulu Faustine
Filmmaker and archivist Stephen Broomer regularly carries out digital restorations of Canadian films, mostly experimental, through the distribution outlet Black Zero. He recently restored Arthur Lipsett's sole independent film (Strange Codes), which is also preserved at the Cinémathèque québécoise. We are taking full advantage of his presence to present a program entirely devoted to Lipsett, coinciding with the publication of a book about him. We will also be catching up on Stephen Broomer's experimental work as a filmmaker, by screening his recent film, Lulu Faustine.
In the presence of Stephen Broomer
A miracle happened: summer came ahead of time. To be in love with an image was worse than being in love with a ghost. (I feel as if my tympanum were breaking.) Almost everything, in fact, does have an explanation. (Atmospheric pressure is increasing...) The remaining chapters will hold no surprises. (...and I feel as if my tympanum were breaking.) To be on an island inhabited by artificial ghosts was the most unbearable of nightmares. (12:30 o’clock, respiration is extraordinarily difficult.) I have given you a pleasant eternity! Just me for you and you for me alone. (I am intoxicated with gasoline.) It will be an act of piety.
Stephen Broomer
Stephen Broomer is a Canadian filmmaker, film preservationist, public historian, educator, programmer, and publisher from Toronto. His 16 mm films and digital videos have screened at festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and the New York Film Festival. He has presented solo programs at venues such as the Anthology Film Archives in New York, the Canadian Film Institute, and the Pleasure Dome in Toronto. In 2014, Broomer's films and videos were the subject of a book-length collection of essays published by the Canadian Film Institute, The Transformable Moment: The Films of Stephen Broomer. From 2016 to 2025, Broomer has published three books, his latest being dedicated to the work of Arthur Lipsett. His work on Canadian cinema led to the establishment of Black Zero, an archive and home video company dedicated to Canadian experimental cinema. Broomer is also a video essayist, and the creator and host of Art & Trash, a series on underground cinema.
Photo: Emmalyne Laurin
