February 21st and 22nd, University of Colorado, Boulder
Kelly Sears: After concluding the 2026 Brakhage Symposium, I found myself reflecting on the beautiful, playful, and deeply resonant work we basked in together over two days. Hosted by the Brakhage Center, the 2026 Brakhage Symposium took place at the University of Colorado Boulder on February 21st and 22nd. This marked my second year as Director of the Brakhage Center, whose mission is to encourage experimentation in the moving-image arts while honoring the legacy of Stan Brakhage’s teaching and visionary work. The Center’s main event is an annual symposium—a unique gathering that grounds experimental film as a catalyst for discovery, inspiration, conversation, friendship, and an ongoing reimagining of what cinema can be. Over two days, I want attendees to actively discover throughlines between films, and for artists to find resonance in one another’s practices. The ethos of the Symposium is one of welcoming, with intentional social spaces between programs and after screenings for communing. I see the Brakhage Center as a place that welcomes filmmakers and scholars to the Mountain West, and to Boulder in particular—a site with deep histories of experimentation across many art practices. I envision the Brakhage Symposium to be more than screenings with a Q & As. I want it to be an encounter. Inspired by Mike Hoolboom’s reading performance at the 2025 Brakhage Symposium, programmed by Jim Supanick, I wanted to incorporate a performative element into each filmmaker’s program. Stephanie Barber shared an extraordinary convergence of artist talk, philosophical reflection, films, and life poetics in jhana and the rats of james old. A.S.M. Kobayashi presented excerpts from her remarkable performance, Say Something Bunny, alongside work-in-progress selections from Electric Neon Clock. Deborah Stratman screened Last Things, followed by a presentation on geological listening.
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