Flick Pick

Colorado Springs is certainly not the first place that comes to mind when you think "avant-garde." But Christopher May, the founder and primary curator of that city's International Experimental Cinema Exposition, may have found a filmmaker who reconciles conservative values and artistic ferment.

At 8 p.m. Saturday, Frank Biesendorferwill appear at Chaos Studios, 802 North Weber Street, Colorado Springs, in an Exposition program called Living With the Camera-- a selection of his Super 8 and 16mm films celebrating "family, sex, narcissism, intimacy and love." The movies include chapters from his ongoing series "Super Narcissus" and such titles as Sweet Sweet, No Wonder and I Like Myself.

Raised in Palm Beach, Florida, Biesendorfer lived and studied filmmaking in Germany, and his work has been widely shown in Europe. Now he's settled in the Springs and has firmed up his roles as husband, father, filmmaker and professional chef. He lists his other dominant interests as golf and physical fitness. He will be available for questions and discussion following Saturday's screenings.

May says the Biesendorfer program is the result of a quest. "About a year ago, I was searching relentlessly for Republican experimental filmmakers who make films that reference patriotic values, with the idea that it would be neat to have such a show in Colorado Springs." After hearing through the experimental-film grapevine about an American living in Germany who could be a possible candidate, May discovered that Beisendorfer had recently moved to his town.

For information, call 1-719-277-6657 or Chaos Studios at 1-719-634-5429.