Manifesto Of The Subrealist Film Movement

1. Contrary to the Platonists, we believe that a chair is more real than the concept "chair."
2. Therefore, we refuse to rest our asses on concepts which lack the substance to support us.
3. We emphasize a reliance on the concrete, rather than a faith in the ethereal.
4. Just as the chair supports the seated man, the floor supports the chair. Therefore, the support of the floor is more basic.
5. In pursuit of fundamentals, we will focus the attention of our efforts on the "reality beneath the realism." Hence SUBREALISM.

Subrealist films:

• Will not proceed from ideas. Ideas are not to be trusted.
• Will not observe, record or interpret.
• Will expose flaws and exploit them, reducing the lesser whole to the greater sum of parts.

The essential problem of the filmmakers of the past is that they couldn't see the trees for the forest.

The CAMERA is the Subrealist's ATOM SMASHER. Its purpose is, through VIOLENT MEANS, to separate and isolate the elements. The role of the DIRECTOR and EDITOR is to prevent the elements from being united into a cohesive structure.

Structure is deceptive. It tends to blind the eye to a perception of the more basic units. We're not interested in buildings, we're interested only in bricks.

We hold that the perfect evolution of film art (and all art) will proceed from corruption to fundamental purity through three stages:

1. High Concept
2. Low Concept
3. No Concept

The independent cinema of the last four decades has started the ball rolling by offering a Low Concept antidote to Hollywood's mainstream High Concept. It is now time to enter the third stage: No Concept.