Los Angeles Plays Itself

Los Angeles Plays Itself

Thom Andersen, Los Angeles Plays Itself, 2003, 169 min
Introduced by María Palacios Cruz

As every autumn, Tabakalera hones in on architecture through different programmes. Our contribution from the cinema department begins with a series of questions: What has been cinema’s contribution to the creation of the collective imaginary of cities? Why do we get the sensation of being “in a film” when we see or travel to a landscape similar to that of Los Angeles?

If cinema has indeed shown us how to look at some cities, can that route be travelled in reverse? Can architecture and urbanism show us how to see films? To begin to answer these questions, we are screening a contemporary classic, one of those films that directly addresses this question of correspondence between cinematographic imaginary and urbanism, a film-essay that looks back on how cinema has represented the city of Los Angles throughout history: Los Angeles Plays Itself, by filmmaker and Professor of the School of the California Institute of Arts, Thom Andersen.

María Palacios Cruz of The Visible Press will introduce the screening and discuss the book Slow Writing: Thom Andersen on Cinema.  

18:00 Presentation of the book Slow Writing: Thom Andersen on Cinema, 45 min
19:00 Los Angeles Plays Itself, (Primera parte), Thom Andersen, USA, 2003, 90 min
22:00 Los Angeles Plays Itself, (Segunda parte), Thom Andersen, USA, 2003, 80 min

Presented by Tabakera within the context of The International Biennial MUGAK.