Pen as an Instrument

Steven Woloshen has been passionately creating handmade abstract films and time-based installations since the seventies. Woloshen has been a lecturer, juror, technician, animator, craftsman and recently, the author of Recipes for Reconstruction, the filmmaker’s manual for decay, renewal and other handmade, analogue film techniques. The Canadian film legend uses a technique called drawn-on-film animation, which works exactly like…

9 films Curated by Ema Nemčovičová

Author: Steven Woloshen

Titles in collection

  • Son Of Dada

    1982 Adults 2 min

    by Steven Woloshen

    Created in 1982, “Son of Dada” is my first piece of direct cinema made with paste-on letters on 16mm film strips.

    • Abstract
    • Experimental
  • Playtime

    2015 Adults 2 min

    by Steven Woloshen

    I created “Playtime” in 2010 as part of The Toronto Animated Image Society’s funded project to bring the Group 11 Painters alive with animation. My film was an homage to the life and art of Jock MacDonald. This film was created with paint and decayed frames of Hollywood trailers glued directly onto the surface of 35 mm film strips.

    • Experimental
    • Abstract
  • perf dance

    2022 Adults 3 min

    by Steven Woloshen

    A visual reinterpretation of dance and animated found footage.

    • Abstract
    • Experimental
  • optical Itzak

    2008 Adults 3 min

    by Steven Woloshen

    Created in the front seat of a Dodge Caravan, this animation was created with lots of joy and a little bit of rotoscoping.

    • Experimental
  • La Dolce Vita

    2008 Adults 2 min

    by Steven Woloshen

    With the death of cinema comes the re-birth of material. Now, we have to assemble visual puzzles instead of shots.

  • Didre Novo

    1983 Adults 3 min

    by Steven Woloshen

    The images were made with coloured dry transfer lettering. The task: The make shapes appear as they were coming closer to the viewer as if it were a frantic race through the jungle.

    • Experimental
  • Casino

    2016 16+ 4 min

    by Steven Woloshen

    This film is for my Father who gambled with love.

    • Drama
    • Music Videos
    • Abstract
    • Experimental
    • Non-narrative
  • Cameras Take Five

    2017 Adults 2 min

    by Steven Woloshen

    Short animation by Steven Woloshen.

    • Experimental
  • A National Tapestry

    2015 Adults 2 min

    by Steven Woloshen

    A parting reminder and a fading memory in a 1970s drive-in theatre takes on different tones in the present day.

    • Abstract
    • Experimental