Name: A and B in Ontario
Genre: Short
Duration: 15 min
Rating: 6.7
Cast: Hollis Frampton, Joyce Wieland

"A and B in Ontario" belongs more to the output of lesser-known experimental filmmaker Joyce Wieland than it does to the great Hollis Frampton's. In 1984, the latter died of lung cancer at age 48; his output, up to his death, had been entirely focused on completing the "Magellan" film cycle which he had began in 1974. Thus, this sixteen-minute short was actually shot by both filmmakers in 1967, seventeen years before the footage was finally edited to be released as a final result. Due to Frampton's death that year, it is assumed that Wieland remembered the footage she and he had shot in the sixties and thought to make it a finished product as a sort of tribute...and because motion picture records of the great experimental filmmaker are somewhat rare, we are lucky to have this.

"A and B in Ontario" was shot as a sort of amateur home movie originally by both filmmakers as they visited each-other in Toronto, which explains the clumsy camerawork. It is a self-reflective work in which the two directors shoot each-other using film cameras, and the entire movie consists of the footage each is shooting of the other. The concept is creative, and the manner in which it results is rather comical, as the pair hide in bushes, stare at each-other over the roofs of cars, and hide behind buildings. Occasionally, each will stop to load their cameras again, whilst the other takes this as an advantage to capture that person on film.

It's not an experimental work, per se, as it is a comedy--and because of how it begins in the house and continues outdoors, has a sense of continuity between the shots filmed by both cameras. Rather funny and lighthearted, and while obviously shot silent, the addition of sound effects to match the setting enhances the film.

The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

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Two filmmakers spy upon each-other in various locations, each trying to capture the other on film.

Joyce Wieland in A and B in Ontario (1984)

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Hollis Frampton in A and B in Ontario (1984)

A and B in Ontario

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