Salvador Dalí
There is one movement cinephiles can thank for heroin addicts sinking into carpets and rose petals exploding from cheerleader’s chests: Surrealism. Not only has the movement influenced some of the most iconic films to date like Trainspotting and American Beauty, throughout the last century surrealism has completely turned cinema on its head; creating a new wave of film that drags reality into the world of insanity.
Experimental film by its very nature often flies under the radar of the average film viewer and even most movie buffs. However, I’d like to take this opportunity to offer a sort of crash course in experimental film by highlighting five (well, sort of six) experimental filmmakers that deserve at the very least a cursory glance. These are people who changed film-making, completely threw out the rule book, and influenced cinema in very permanent and crucial ways, both with their cameras and their pens.