The Film Society Begins Its One-Week Run of 'A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness'

This Friday marks the start of the theatrical run of Ben Rivers and Ben Russell’s stunning A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness. Blurring the line between fiction and documentary, the film has been acclaimed as a work that’s “exploration of community, seclusion, and rejection feel like that rarest of things: a gift.” (John Semley, Slant)

“Credit both filmmakers for the hypnotic vibe and stunning 16-millimeter photography; the camera often suggests a ghostly presence, moving with uncanny smoothness through scenes of undisrupted intimacy and natural splendor.” (Ben Sachs, The Chicago Reader)

The film’s protagonist is played by artist and musician Robert A.A. Lowe, whose music he performs under the name Lichens in addition to performing with various other post-rock and metal bands. Behind the camera are experimental and avant-garde filmmakers Ben Russell and Ben Rivers, who, respectively, have gathered numerous awards, grants, and festival appearances for their prior work, both short-form and feature-length. Darkness marks the first collaboration between the two filmmakers.

“Rivers and Russell blend an observational documentary mode with inventive shot composition and marathon long takes to create lush, engaging visual scenarios. All three segments seem to float above everyday life in a swell of leisure–potent fantasies of other ways of living.” (Christy LeMaster, Cine-File)

The film had its world premiere at the 2013 Locarno Film Festival, followed by a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival of the same year. Since then, the film has played in many festivals around the globe, including the 2013 BFI London Film Festival, 2013 AFI Fest, and here at the Film Society for the 43rd New Directors/New Films festival last March.

A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness will begin its one-week theatrical run at the Film Society today, with a Q&A with Ben Russell and Robert A.A. Lowe after the 6:45pm screening, followed by a live performance by Lowe in the Amphitheater at 9:15. The two will also be present for a Q&A following the 6:45pm show on Saturday.