Year of release: 1996
Original format: 35mm
Running time: 4 minutes 15 seconds
Screening format: 35mm Dolby stereo comopt print; digital screening versions available
Credits: A film by Kayla Parker
Director/producer/animator: Kayla Parker
Sound design: Stuart Moore
Dubbing mixer: Paul Roberts
An Arts Council of England and Channel Four Animate Award commission
Thanks to: South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA)
Distribution and sales: Sundog Media sundogmedia@gmail.com and LUX Distribution
Sunset Strip is also distributed by Animate Projects in its touring programmes Animate Retrospective and Themed programme 2: Marking Time; and is on the AnimateTV: 20 years of experimental animation from the UK DVD for sale from Animate Projects and LUX, and Into animation: a video compilation and teaching guide VHS for sale from BFI Education.
Description
A day-by-day animated diary of a year's sunsets, recorded directly onto a continuous strip of 35mm film using a variety of materials such as magnolia petals, net stocking, lacquer and ink, to create a dazzling expression of the visual music revealed by 365 setting suns.
Production notes
Publication and comments
Ian Francis (2018) 'Punto y Raya 2018: where every frame counts' [review] Sight & Sound (4 December 2018)
"Time-lapse becomes transcendent in this record of light and cloud" Giannalberto Bendazzi (2015) 'Animation Meets Video Art: Many video artist animators decided to experiment with animation and created works halfway between two artistic worlds' in chapter 3 'Europe: Great Britain: The Wonderful Years' Animation: A World History, Volume III: Contemporary Times. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Animate Projects: experiments in animation (2012) brochure. Large still of Sunset Strip : artwork as penultimate page. London: Animate Projects. View on Scribd
Letter to the world animation film (9 minutes) directed by Professor Suzie Hanna, Norwich University College of the Arts, in consultation with Dr Sally Bayley, Balliol College, University of Oxford, featuring 'stimmung' sound design by Tom Simmons; created for the Emily Dickinson International Society (EDIS) Conference, Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford (August 2010). Artwork from Sunset Strip features as the window view in scenes with the animated silhouette of American actress Elisabeth Gray.
AnimateTV: 20 years of experimental animation from the UK [DVD with booklet]. London: Animate Projects. Release date: 13 September 2010. 'Influential Animator Kayla Parker featured in Animate TV retrospective' School of Art and Media News and Success Stories, University of Plymouth (8 September 2010)
A/V A to Z: an encyclopedic dictionary of media, entertainment and other audiovisual terms (2010) Richard W. Kroon. Jefferson, NC: McFarland (2 April 2010) ISBN 13: 978-0786444052
"direct animation n. 1. An animation technique where images (and in some cases sound) are drawn or pasted directly onto blank film, generally black or clear emulsion leader. Practitioners of the technique include Len Lye, Norman McLaren, and Kayla Parker. Their work can be seen in A Colour Box (1939), Begone Dull Care (1949), and Sunset Strip (1996), respectively. 2. An animation technique where images are formed in malleable materials, such as sand, wet paint, sugar, pearls, etc., spread upon a flat surface, such as glass, wood, paper, etc., and photographed at intervals. Also cameraless animation; direct film; handmade film; non-camera film; out-of-camera-film. Compare blank; full animation; one-man production."
Sunset Strip selected for the Children's Film Library, Whitechapel Gallery Archive (DVD 5128 April 2010)
Sunset Strip Animate Projects (online) Selection of stills from the film (individual 35mm frames); production stills (35mm filmstrips, and b/w photo Kayla Parker working on the film in the studio at Plymouth Arts Centre: photo credit Stuart Moore); and sketches (time-lapse drawings of the setting sun, day-by-day filmstrip construction, and Polaroid photos of sun sets). Available: http://www.animateprojects.org/films/by_date/1995_97/sunset_strip London: Animate Projects (2009)
The animate! book: rethinking animation (2006) Benjamin Cook and Gary Thomas (eds.) Sunset Strip 35mm film frames, (x 9) inside back cover. London: LUX and Arts Council England ISBN 0-9548569-2-9
Image is Everything exhibition essay by curator Esther Johnson, British Artists' Film and Video Study Collection (online) (2005)
Into animation: a video compilation and teaching guide (2003) Louise Spraggon, VHS and CD-ROM, and booklet. Sunset Strip film and production notes, with black and white photograph of Kayla Parker working on the film in the studio, taken by Stuart Moore, featured in Camera-less animation section. London: BFI Education ISBN 1-903786-10-XEncyclopaedia of British culture (1999) Peter Childs and Mike Storry (eds.) Animation section by Chris Byrne. London: Routledge p. 27: "Kayla Parker makes films that are experimental in form, with uncompromising subject matter…"
Animasjon som musikk (1999) Rune Kreutz, Animerte dager (Oslo animation festival): "Kayla Parker, Gary Carpenter, og Simon Ellis representerer en ny generasjon animatører som fører den abstrakte filmkunsten videre. Parker ble født i 1965 og laget sin første animasjonsfilm i 1986. Stuart Moore har ansvaret for lydsporet til "Sunset Strip" (1996) og deres samarbeid har resultert i flere interessante filmer og fjernsynsprosjekter. Sunset Strip er basert på 365 solnedganger observert rundt om i de sydlige delene av Storbritannia." With colour 35mm film frame: Magnolia Sun II. Published to accompany Animerte dager, Oslo, Norway. See Animasjon som musikk on norsk animasjon
Art and animation (1999) Gareth Evans and David Curtis; Some unusual suspects – a selection of Animate! winners: Sunset Strip film stills and page feature; The complete list of Animate! films: year 5 (1994); Close up on camera-less animation. London: Channel 4 Television ISBN 1-85144-244-8. pp. 8; 9; 11; 20.
Boiling: experimental animation (1998) Vicky Smith (ed.) Sunset Strip 35mm film frames (enlarged) featured on front and back covers; and Sunset Strip double page feature in first (and only) edition of journal (Issue 1 October 1998). London: London Film Makers’ Co-op
See you later: British artists and television in the 90s (1996) Michael Mazière, VideoBrasil 11 catalogue. Sao Paulo: Cultural Association Videobrasil. Watch Michael Mazière’s interview with Associação Cultural Videobrasil.
The encyclopaedia of animation techniques (1996/2004) Richard Taylor. Sunset Strip 35mm film frame in Drawing on Film section: "On clear film brilliant colour can be brushed or stained on the film with inks and dyes, and finer images collaged on." (Image caption) London: Quarto ISBN 0-240-51488-2 pp. 64 – 65
Reprinted 2004 New York: Book Sales, Inc. (Quarto) ISBN 13: 978-0785818052
Sunset Strip from Sundog Media on Vimeo.
Exhibition selected
2020
Following the Light, screening of 11 films by artists, curated by Joanna Mayes and Jacqui Knight, presented by Mayes Creative/Cinestar; Lizard Lighthouse Heritage Centre, Cornwall. Project also shown (20 and 21 March 2020).
2019
NAUTILUS: BEEF Shed at Supernormal Festival 2019; showcase of films and performances presented by Bristol Experimental Expanded Film (BEEF) artists and friends; Braziers Park School of Integrative Social Research, Ipsden, Reading, UK. Measure also screened (2 to 4 August 2019)
Go Go Go! - The Crafty Animator programme 2: Handmade Animation, The Cube, Bristol; hosted by Bristol Experimental Expanded Film: BEEF, curated by BEEF member Vicky Smith with input from Marcy Saude and Sam Francis, support from Cressida Williams and made possible by the support of Arts Council England (13 June 2019)
2018
Punto y Raya Festival 2018: Abstract Art in Motion, British Short Film Panorama curated and presented by Nag Vadermersky, Director of the London International Animation Festival:
"The London International Animation Festival has been showcasing abstract film since 2003, the earliest days of its annual festival. For this screening, programmed for PYR 2018, we raided the LIAF archives to take a look at the last two decades of British production in the genre.
/ Here you will see every technique from hand-drawn ‘musical scores’ all the way across the scale to high definition, computer assisted image making. These films share a pure love of animated movement and an artist’s eye for filling the screen, harnessing colour and creating non-narrative imagery" (programme notes). Wroclaw, Poland; hosted and coproduced by CeTA (Audiovisual Technology Center) (25 to 28 November)
Women Animators on the Edge programme curated for Leeds Animation Workshop's 40th birthday celebration, "a programme of films you wouldn’t usually see in a cinema. They might be too new, too raw, too political, too poetic" (programme notes); Q+A discussion after the screening led by film curator Louise Shelley; Pavilion, 42 New Briggate, Leeds. Glass also screened. Part of Anima18: A Celebration of British Animation (27 September 2018)
Experiments in Form: Cameraless, Hand-Painted and Abstract Films, The Block Museum, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL; presented in conjunction with the Experiments in Form: Sam Gilliam, Alan Shields, Frank Stella exhibition at the Block Museum, the programme showcases a 60-year range of films and videos that explore handmade and cameraless approaches to abstraction: "In Sunset Strip, Kayla Parker uses magnolia petals, net stocking, lacquer, and ink to push her time-lapse footage of 365 sunsets past the natural to a more artificial aesthetic" (The Visualist: Chicago Visual Arts Calendar). (6 April 2018)
2016
Edge of Frame Weekend, opening programme, Close-Up Cinema, London; part of 2016 London International Animation Festival (9 December 2016, projection from 35mm print)
Shedding Light screening of short films to accompany the exhibition of Andy Warhol's film Sunset at The Menil Collection, co-presented by The Menil Collection and Aurora Picture Show; Aurora Picture Show, Houston, TX, USA (7 September 2016)
Light a programme of animation and experimental films curated and presented by Professor Suzie Hanna, featuring work created by film-makers who have taught at, or graduated from Norwich University of the Arts; Norwich Puppet Theatre (3 Feb 2016)
2015
Short Wildlife Films and Animation presented by Professor Suzie Hanna of Norwich University of the Arts, South Yare Wildlife Group Claxton Village Hall, Claxton, Norfolk (28 October 2015, 7.30pm)
2014
Move on Up collection presented by Animate Projects at Salford Quays Open Day Mobile Cinema: "The artists offer us new worlds, or re-imagine the world we already know, to allow us to reflect on our experiences" (programme notes) (1 November 2014)
Screening at private view evening, Geoff Stern Art Space Berlin (31 July 2014)
2013
Light and Shade curated by KINO 10, The Public, West Bromwich (7 November 2012 to 3 February 2013)
2012
Move on Up presented by Animate Projects at Canary Wharf Screen, Canary Wharf station, London. ”Move on Up ... is a selection of dynamic, exciting, uplifting, provocative and beautiful films made by animation artists in the UK over last 20 years ... The films ... use a wide range of techniques and styles to explore ideas of place - creating new worlds, or making us look differently at the world we already know. Many of the films explore London itself, but we also take trips to the seaside and to the sun.” See pdf of Move on Up programme (1 June to 26 August 2012)Move on Up collection also presented by Animate Projects at Animated Encounters, Arnolfini, Bristol (21 September 2013); Bournemouth Arts by the Sea, in the Vintage Mobile Cinema and in the Bandstand (29 September 2012); and at Dark Hours/Fixed Space, Aid&Abet Cambridge (27 October 2012)
Animasivo festival, 'Making Time' programme: "Selección de cortos que exploran las formas en que los artistas utilizan la animación para manipular el tiempo", Poplar University Museum, Mexico City (14 to 20 May)
2011
Rushes Soho Shorts Festival: Sunset Strip, Project, Teign Spirit and Brighton Road Movie: First Run screened in the Spiritus Sancti and Ghost Radio programme - a celebration of the analogue and the supernatural - presented by London Short Film Festival; followed by a preview screening of Sonus, the new short film from Arthertz and Ridley Scott Associates, and a performance of Ghost Radio by ArtHertz collaborator Spacedog accompanied by live light projections by Julian Hand; the Run Run Shaw Space, BAFTA, London (24 July 2011)
Soundwaves Festival, the Shorts a la Carte collection of 8 films screened 'silently' whilst each member of the audience curates their own soundtrack, part of the Listen! programme on the final evening; Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton, UK. Thanks to Philip Ilson, London Short Film Festival (17 July 2011)
Fest Anca, City Theatre Zillina, Bratislava, Slovac Republic (2 July 2011)
Melbourne International Animation Festival, Animate Project Collection, Cinema 1, ACMI, Melbourne, Australia (24 June 2011)
VIS Vienna Independent Shorts Animate Projects: Marking Time programme, International Short Film Festival, Metro Kino, Vienna, Austria (30 May 2011)
CONNECT 2011, the annual fair for contemporary craft, Hands on: "A programme of animated films that explores the relationship between the act of making and the act of making things move." The Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (7 April 2011)
Avantgardni britanski animirani film programme at Animateka, curated by Animateka Festival Programme Director, Igor Prassel; Slovenian Cinemateque Ljubljana, Slovenia (22 and 23 April 2011)
Crafty Animators, Thelma Hulbert Gallery Honiton, Devon; Animated Exeter Festival. Other films shown are White Body, and Heirloom (15 January to 5 March 2011)
Shorts a la Carte at Inamo Restaurant in Soho, a Special Event for the 8th London Short Film Festival. Programme of 8 films projected (without sound) onto the diners’ tables: the photo shows a frame from Sunset Strip; the other films are: Verge: Nocturne, Heirloom, Small World, Poppies, Blue Kayak (Stuart Moore), and Project (9 January 2011)
2010
Hand Eye Visions: the Films of Kayla Parker and Stuart Moore Cine-City, the Brighton film festival; Lighthouse, Brighton, UK. We presented a programme of 17 direct animation films, made over the last 20 years, for the third and final Hand Eye Visions event, curated by Ian Helliwell (27 November 2010)
Animated Encounters Animate Projects Presents AnimateTV Arnolfini Dark Studio, Bristol, UK (11am to 6pm 18 and 21 November 2010)
Brisbane International Film Festival Animation: 20 Years of Animate Projects curated by Malcolm Turner, Tribal Theatre, Brisbane, Australia (6 and 10 November 2010)
Animated Exeter Kinetic Animation programme curated by Jayne Pilling to complement the Mind Over Matter exhibition at Exeter Phoenix, Exeter, UK. Other films include: Patrick Bokanowski’s Solar Beasts (Batterments Solaires) (2007), George Griffin’s Flying Fur (1981), Stuart Hilton’s 6 weeks in June (1998), and Semiconductor’s Magnetic Movie (2007) (13 February 2010)
2009
IC: Innovative Craft programme exploring "the relationship between craft and the moving image" curated by Matt Hulse, The Dovecot, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK (30 January to 1 February 2009)
Animate Britu animācijas īsfilmu programma, Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art (LCCA), Liepaja and Riga, Latvia (1 and 2 April 2009) Download programme pdf
Animated Exeter Films from the Golden West screening at launch event to celebrate the annual festival’s 10th year, Exeter Phoenix, Exeter, UK (14 January 2009)
2008
Cinecity: The Brighton Film Festival Circle-Line programme, Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton, UK (5 December 2008)
Film Circus! Artists' Films exhibition, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (10 to 11 May 2008)
2007
Platform International Animation Festival Animate! Extending the Imagination: Sunset Strip shown as the last film in Programme Two, which also included AL + AL’s iInterstella Stella, Jonathan Hodgson’s Feeling My Way, Andrew Kötting’s Kingdom Protista, and Tim McMillan’s Ferment. Screenings dedicated to the memory of Dick Arnall, animation producer and director of animate! (2000 to 2006). Northwest Film Center: Whitsell Auditorium / Portland Art Museum, Portland Oregon, USA (25 to 30 June 2007)
Moving the Image: "shows the diversity, imagination and range in women’s animation" (Jo Millett, programmer). Other films include: Lotte Reiniger’s Snow White Rose Red, Caroline Leaf’s The Street, and Gaelle Denis’ City Paradise. Hull Screen, University of Lincoln, UK (26 January 2007)
2006
Cinecity: The Brighton Film Festival Lux Unlocked programme curated by Ian Helliwell of "animation, abstraction, collage, time lapse, music and electronic sound." Duke of York’s, Brighton, UK (24 November 2006)
Aurora Norwich, UK animate! re-visions programme: “the artist breaks the rules and demonstrates that life is most exciting ‘beyond live-action’.” (Programme notes) (November 2006)
Green (Un)Pleasant Land Centre for Contemporary Art in the Natural World (CCANW), Haldon Forest, Exeter, UK. Programme of short films presented by Animate and Halloween before a screening of the (original) Wicker Man with live musical accompaniment by The Memory Band. Other films shown included Cage of Flame (2 September 2006)
17th São Paulo International Short Film Festival LUX Films programme. "Supported by the British Council, the festival will bring the British filmmaker Ian Helliwell to participate in a special program called LUX Films, to present and discuss 20 British films from the LUX agency." (Programme notes) Other films screened in the LUX Films programme included: Cycles 1 (Guy Sherwin 1972 to 1977); Dresden Dynamo (Lis Rhodes 1974); and Jukebox (Run Wrake 1994) São Paulo, Brasil (24 August to 2 September 2006)
Hamburg International Short Film Festival Sounds of Images: "special programme ... taking a look at the manifold artistic experiments in sound and image. From the 1920s and 30s to the present, from the early modernist stages of the mechanical reproduction of works of art to the digital age – artist-engineers have always been quick to work with and recontextualise new technology in order to render musical structures visible, and their work left its mark especially on the animated film." (Programme notes) Hamburg, Germany (31 May to 5 June 2006)
Route Masters: Portraits in Transition with Iain Sinclair, Tracing the Contours: Portraiture and Place in Contemporary Animation part 2: "how animation uses the moving image to create seductive and sometimes disturbing portraits of people and communities in flux, where both identities and landscape are in the process of change." (Programme notes). National Portrait Gallery, London, UK (13 April 2006)
Dark and Daring (part ii) Artists’ Films from Lux, London programme, St Mary-at-the-Quay church, Ipswich, UK. Organised by Visual Arts Ipswich (22 to 25 March 2006)
Death to Animation animate! remix screening; initiative with Dick Arnall. Buzzard Buzzard remixes Cage of Flame and Sunset Strip. Halloween Festival, ICA, London, UK (7 January 2006)
2005
Image is Everything exhibition curated by Esther Johnson, British Artists’ Film and Video Study Collection (online) (2005 onward)
Norwegian Short Film Festival Lux Unlocked 2 programme curated by Ian Helliwell, Grimstad, Norway (June 2005)
Best of Tricky Women vi(sie)on: “Ob in Film oder Fernsehen, für Kids oder Grown-Ups, der Trickfilm boomt. [...] TRICKY WOMEN, das europaweit erste und einzige Animationsfilmfestival, das sich alle zwei Jahre speziell dem Trickfilmschaffen von Frauen widmet, ging bereits in die dritte Runde und präsentierte 2005 mit 111 Filmen an 4 Tagen wieder viele frische Impulse aus dem breiten Spektrum der Trickfilm-Erlebniswelt: von der beißenden Satire zum schrägen Kultfilm, vom experimentellen Computerdesign zur raffinierten Knetanimation.“ (culture2culture). Leokino, Innsbruck, Austria (8 April 2005)
Tricky Women 05 Focus Great Britain 2: British Animation Awards curated by Jayne Pilling, Wien, Austria (culture2culture). (3 to 6 March 2005). Group touring programme: St Polten, Linz, Freistadt, Lenzing, Innsbruck and Feldkirch; and Tricky Women: Festivals im Dialog, augartenkino kiz, Diagonale05 festival of Austrian film, Graz, Austria (17 March 2005)
2003
Roadshow: a Grizedale Arts touring show "Digwyddiad awyr agored am ddim yw ROAD SHOW, sydd yn arddangos ystod eang o waith newydd a chyfoes o gelf, perfformio, ffilm & fidio." ("ROADSHOW is a free 3-day outdoor weekend event that showcases a spectacular range of newly commissioned contemporary art, live performances, film & video.") (Programme notes). Film programme curated by Rêl Institute and Philip Ilson; other films shown include Light Surgeons’ Gilligan’s Travels: Thumbnail Express and City of Hollow Mountains. Tour: Grizedale Arts, Grizedale, Cumbria (23 to 25 May 2003); Gallery in the Trees, Lickey Hills, Birmingham (31 May to 1 June 2003); Rêl Institute Blaenau Ffestiniog (6 to 8 June 2003); Duncan of Jordanstone, Dundee (15 September to 17 October 2003).
2002
Review of Animation Arts from the UK curated by Gary Thomas (Arts Council England) and Urszula Śniegowska (KINO.LAB). "W niektórych znaczenie odkrywane jest wyłącznie poprzez formalną kompozycję tworzywa i struktury, w innych dopuszcza się wykorzystywanie różnych technik, które jednak mają na celu głównie zilustrowanie narracji lub służą rozważaniom nad innym tematem. Berlin Horse [Koń berliński], (Malcolm le Grice, 9, 1970), Withdrawal [Odwrót], (George Barber, 3 47, 1997), End of Restriction [Koniec zniewolenia], (Robert Bradbrook, 5 20 , 1994), Feeling My Way [W drodze do pracy], (Jonathan Hodgson, 5 32 , 1997), Night Sounding [Odgłosy nocy], (Kayla Parker, 1, 1993), Heliocentrum (Richard Wright i Jason White, 11 30, 1995), Film (Katy Shepherd, 3 29 , 2001), Hypnomart (Joe Magee i Alistair Gentry, 3 47 , 2001), Sunset Strip (Zachód słońca), (Kayla Parker, 3 30, 1996), Ferment (Tim Macmillan, 5, 1999), Degrees of Blindeness (Różne stopnie ślepoty), (Cerith Wyn Evans, 19, 1998)". In collaboration with The British Council; KINO.LAB Centre of Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland (25 to 27 October 2002)
BBC Music Live: Big Screen Jubilee 2002 programme of cultural film screenings and live music between the World Cup football matches; Plymouth City Council with the BBC, Plymouth Hoe, Plymouth, UK (1 to 8 June 2002)
2001
Animation: synaesthesia in the experimental animated film curated by Suzie Hanna to mark the FAN International Animation Festival. Large scale projection in gallery (from DVD). The Norwich Gallery, Norwich, UK. Exhibition with Oskar Fischinger, Jeff Keen, Len Lye, Norman McLaren and Clive Walley (17 October to 10 November 2001)
Gene tour: short film programme and ‘art’ club with readings by Irvine Welsh and Howard Marks to accompany the band Gene on its 12 gig UK tour; curated by Philip Ilson and presented by Halloween. "The tour was a success - the film programme in particular was a strong abstract / sound based selection. 'Sunset Strip' at full live gig volume sounded very very impressive." (Philip Ilson). Gene tour: Sheffield (Leadmill), Manchester University, Leeds (Cockpit), Bristol (Fleece and Firkin), Cardiff (Ifor Bach), London (Kentish Town Forum), Oxford (Zodiac), Nottingham (Rock City), Coventry (Coliseum), Cambridge (Junction), Leicester (Princess Charlotte, Portsmouth (Wedgewood Rooms) (27 October to 10 November 2001)
Film into Retina, Cinemateque, Brighton, UK "Step over the threshold into areas of heightened sensory stimulation with Ian Helliwell's one off journey into expanded cinema. Experience flicker film, abstract animation, split screen, experimental soundtracks and smoke!" (Programme notes) Other films screened include: Peyote Queen (Storm de Hirsch 1965); Filmosounds (Ian Helliwell 2001); and Dr Gaz Against the Art of Cinema (Jeff Keen 1976) (24 May 2001)
Animac Mostra Internacional de Cinema d'Animació de Catalunya: Animate programme, Centre Cultural Fundaci: "la Caixa", La Llotja de Lleida (3 February 2001)
2000
Animation: A Passionate Obsession Art Space, the Barbican Centre, London, UK. Exhibition organised by Louise Vaughan to tie in with Channel 4’s Animation Week, "a celebration of animation in all its forms transmitting from 23 - 29 September 2000." (Programme notes). In addition to the film itself, the exhibition featured a lightbox display of nine 35mm test strips for Sunset Strip, and also included work by Paul Bush, Oliver Harrison, Petra Freeman, Ruth Lingford, and Simon Pummell. (21 September to 29 October 2000)
The Other British Cinema: Focus on British Artists Graphic Cinema programme: "A short history of direct and hand-drawn artists' film." (Programme notes). National Film Theatre, London, UK (27 June 2000)
Media Matinées programme shown daily in the cinema to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Arts Council and Channel 4 Animate scheme, Lux Centre, London (May to June 2000)
Music in May The British Council and Singapore Film Society under the auspices of The National Arts Council of Singapore, UK2000 Creativity and Innovation touring programme, Singapore (23 to 31 May 2000)
Screenspace exhibition, Gallery One, Watershed Media Centre, Bristol, UK. Also included the work of Anna Lucas, Joe Magee, Sarah Miles, and Tony Sinden (1 to 16 April 2000)
1999
Animate! Arts Council of England presentation and screening of "a selection of works from the first ten years." (Programme notes) Lux Cinema, London. Panel member, with Paul Bush, Ruth Lingford and Richard Wright; chaired by Karen Alexander (18 November 1999)
Pandaemonium: The London Festival of Moving Images (produced by London Electronic Arts), Lux cinema, London, UK. Elemental programme: “a survey of the essentials of life, both earthly and corporeal. Fire, rain and landscape. Art, love and time. Portrayed through animation, time-lapse photography and a sweeping camera, with tenderness and humour.” (Programme notes) (18 and 23 October 1999)
Short Films about Drugs, Metropolis Cinema, Hamburg, Germany (Presented by KurzFilmAgentur, the Hamburger Filmverein, and Metropolis Cinema) (15 October 1999)
Oslo Animation Festival: Animasjon som Musikk (Animation as Music), Norway (Presented by The British Council) (28 April to 2 May 1999)
International Festival of Art and Animation: Animate! programme, Institute of Contemporary Arts cinema, London, UK (12 to 18 February 1999)
Shorts at the Picturehouse Exeter, UK. Regional Exhibitors Forum, presented by South West Media Development Agency with Devon Arts Forum (27 January 1999)
1998
Sex und Wahnsinn (Sex and Insanity): Internationales Kurzfilmfestival, England/Schottland programme presented by John Wojowski (Shortfilmfestival, Manchester) Berlin, Germany (30 November to 5 December 1998)
Hallowe’en@Liquid programme presented by Phil Ilson: “All the films use music and soundscapes influenced by late 90’s club culture, as well as specially created abstract sound collages.” (Programme notes). Film Festival Fringe presented by Leeds International Film Festival and bridge the gap, Leeds, UK (10 October 1998)
Stockholm Film Festival British Animation, Zita Cinema, Stockholm, Sweden (presented by The British Council) (21 to 23 August 1998)
Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films Animania: Special Invitation, Zagreb, Croatia (17 to 21 June 1998)
Rencontres Internationales Art cinéma / vidéo / ordinateur La Nature Revisitée programme 1. Artistic direction and co-ordination: Maria Klonaris and Katerina Thomadaki, Cinéma des Cinéastes, Paris, France (22 to 28 April 1998)
Kentra Notre Dame Hall, London, UK. Presented by Hallowe’en Society: “A dynamic mix of sound and moving image working as parallels to create a unique space.” (Programme notes). DJs were Andrew Weatherall, Richard Fearless, and Atlas Records. (20 April 1998). The Kentra crossover film and music club events at Scala were a collaboration between Halloween and the London Film Festival: "a fusion of nightclub and cinema mixing experimental visuals with sets by leading DJs" (explodingcinema.org/filmgroups.html). Halloween started "the groundbreaking Kentra club night to interact with London’s burgeoning club culture scene of that time, where creative DJs such as Andy Weatherall and Richard Fearless could perform live sets alongside visuals groups and VJs such as Hexstatic and The Light Surgeons." (Philip Ilson 'A pocket history of Halloween: ''the projector with teeth''', 'Locations: 4th Halloween short film festival' in Vertigo No.6 November 2006)
Abstract Art on Film: From the Plastic to the Fantastic curated by Adam Clitheroe, Abstract Film in the 90s programme: “showcases the latest works by veterans such as Stan Brakhage alongside the innovations of younger film makers, who demonstrate a fluid ability to appropriate the trimmings of modern culture in the service of abstract imagery.” (Programme notes) Lux Centre, London, UK (Presented by London Film Makers’ Co-op) (26 and 28 March 1998)
An Evening of Films in Aid of Childline West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, UK. Opened by The Lord Mayor of Leeds; organised by Vera Productions, supported by Leeds City Council and the British Film Institute. The other films screened were Nicole van Goethem’s Greek Tragedy, and Frances-Anne Solomon's Peggy Su! (6 March 1998)
British Animation Awards: Public Choice UK tour (February 1998); and BAA Awards Ceremony (Nominated Best Short Film: finalist), National Film Theatre, London, UK (5 March 1998)
Stuttgart Filmwinter Wettbewerb 5, Stuttgart, Germany (8 to 11 January 1998)
1997
Dope Sheet Channel 4. Television broadcast, UK. Interview with Kayla Parker with extracts from the film in the "Briterati" programme of "the most distinctive and innovative new British animation." (Channel 4 press release). Sunset Strip screened after the Dope Sheet programme (13 November 1997)
Kinofilm '97: Manchester International Short Film and Video Festival Animation: Best of Experimental Shorts, and Best of Animation Shorts programmes, Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK (6 to 10 November 1997)
17th Cinewomen Festival Independent Showcase programme: “the best in contemporary film making” (programme notes) Cinema City, Norwich, UK (6 to 9 November 1997)
Plymouth Society of Artists exhibition, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, UK. Blood Red Sun, large framed photographic print from Sunset Strip 35mm film frame (1 November to 3 December 1997)
I Castelli Animati: 2nd Festival Internazionale del Cinema d’Animazione Rome, Italy (27 to 31 October 1997)
Bath Film Festival Royal Photographic Society, Bath, UK. And Action! a day of events for film-makers (9 October - 9 November)
Seaside Special "The Hallowe’en Society presents a selection of short films about sun, sea and sand!" Notre Dame Hall, Leicester Square, London, UK (The British Council and the British Film Institute) (8 September 1997)
Melbourne International Film Festival Melbourne, Australia: "an animated visual display of abstract imagery, with close affinity to experimental animation. The repeated image of a circle and variations on the theme create a visually hypnotic film" (programme notes) (5 August 1997)
13th Hamburg International Short Film Festival Germany. No Budget competition: Silver Award (18 to 22 June 1997)
IMPAKT: Panorama: It’s About Time programme: "In another one of her 'direct movies', Kayla Parker presents a visual diary of mesmerising sunsets, portraying the sun setting behind the 'shutter' of the earth 365 times a year, doing away with the camera as a recording device and working directly on strip of film, she re-creates a 'natural' film of light and colour." (Programme notes) Utrecht, Netherlands (7 to 11 May 1997). Impakt 97: Highlights Tour of the Netherlands Stars on 35 touring programme (12 May to 15 June 1997)
Metamorphosi: European Animation Week Rome, Italy. Presented by the British Council (5 to 9 May 1997)
Hiding Behind the Sofa: a Festival of Film and Video Works by Women Artists exhibition at Prema Arts Centre gallery, Uley, Gloucestershire, UK. The exhibition also included the work of Rose Garrard, Anna Lucas, and Sarah Pucill (2 March to 13 April 1997)
International Celtic Film and Television Festival, Animation from the South West programme of short films by independent film-makers of south west Britain, curator and presenter; and panel member for Animated Language event, with Chris Grace (Sianel Pedwar Cymru), Edward O'Donelly, Alan Esselmont, and Daniel Toudic; the session looked "at how best the medium can serve indigenous cultures and promote minority languages in the face of a digital era of primarily English speaking channels." (Programme notes) Tregenna Castle, St Ives, Kernow (20 March 1997)
International Women’s Day: Short Film Programme Cambridge Arts Cinema, Cambridge, UK (8 March 1997)
1996
VideoBrasil 96 São Paolo, Brasil. See You Later: UK TV and Artists programme curated by Michael Mazière, and presented by London Electronic Arts. The programme also included work by Clio Barnard, Atom Egoyan, Keith Piper, Jane and Louise Wilson, and Sam Taylor Wood (1996)
Vidéo Art Plastique: 10èmes Rencontres Hérouville Saint-Clair Centre d’Art Contemporain de Basse-Normandie, Hérouville Saint-Clair, France (26 November to 30 December 1996)
40th London Film Festival National Film Theatre, London, UK. Short Film Showcase: The Sensual Art of Animation programme: “An international programme emphasising work of particular passion.” (Programme notes) (7 to 24 November 1996)
Internationale Trickfilmtage programme 1, Schorndorf, Germany (9 to 13 November 1996)
Filme im Schloss: Highlights des Internationalen Trickfilmfestivals von Grossbritannien Best of Cardiff ’96 programme; German Film Assessment Bureau, Castle of Wiesbaden-Biebrich (1 November 1996), and German Film Museum, Frankfurt, Germany (2 November 1996)
VIPER 96 International Programme 7: Naturescheinungen, Luzern, Switzerland (22 to 27 October 1996)
European Media Art Festival International Selection: Rhythm and Poetry programme, Osnabrück, Germany (11 to 15 September 1996)
Hiroshima 96: 6th International Animation Festival Special Programme: Fine Art Animation, Hiroshima, Japan (22 to 25 August 1996)
50th Edinburgh Film Festival Post Office McLaren Award Programe 3, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK (11 to 25 August 1996)
Bradford Animation Festival Bradford, UK (5 to 11 July 1996)
Divine: De-Verse exhibition of work by women artists which "display exquisite artistry in their investigation of personal concerns and shared sensuous vision." (Programme notes) The programme also included Beyond the Blue Grain (1996) by Tina Keane, Backcomb (1995) by Sarah Pucill, Her Moon, My World (1995) Vicky Smith, The Water Shed (1994) by Alia Syed, and Salamander (1995) by Tanya Mahboob Syed; presented by London Film-Makers Co-op at Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, UK (29 June 1996) Magnolia Sun 35mm film frame from Sunset Strip featured in the LFMC Spring 1996 brochure Mad, Bad and Barking.
The International Animation Festival Cardiff, Animate! (Thematic Programmes) presented by The Arts Council and Channel 4; St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Cymru, UK. With panel discussion after screening. ‘Fireball Sun’ 35mm film frame from Sunset Strip featured in festival programme p. 55 and, weirdly, rotated 90 degrees to the right (27 May to 1 June 1996) (premiere, 1 June 1996)