INCLINATIONS Film Club

North By Current

Tue 21 May 2024

Tickets no longer available

A hooded figure walks next to a wall with a massive mural of white stars on a blue background, like the USA flag.

Film still courtesy of Angelo Madsen Minax

North By Current

(2021, 86 min)

NORTH BY CURRENT is a visual rumination on the understated relationships between mothers and children, truths and myths, losses and gains. After the inconclusive death of his young niece, filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax returns to his rural Michigan hometown, preparing to make a film about a broken criminal justice system. Instead, he pivots to excavate the depths of generational addiction, Christian fervor, and trans embodiment. Lyrically assembled images, decades of home movies, and ethereal narration form an idiosyncratic and poetic undertow that guide a viewer through lifetimes and relationships. Like the relentless Michigan seasons, the meaning of family shifts, as Madsen, his sister, and his parents strive tirelessly to accept each other. Poised to incite more internal searching than provide clear statements or easy answers, NORTH BY CURRENT dives head first into the challenges of creating identity, the agony of growing up, and the ever-fickle nuances of family.

ANGELO MADSEN MINAX is a multi-disciplinary artist, filmmaker, and educator. His projects consider how human relationships are woven through personal and collective histories, cultures, and kinships, with specific attention to subcultural experience, phenomenology, and the politics of desire. Madsen is currently an Associate Professor of Time-Based Media at the University of Vermont, a current USA Artists Fellow and a Guggenheim Fellow.

AWARDS

Jury Award, Best Documentary, Milwaukee Film Festival
Jury Award, Best Feature Film, Olhar De Cinema, Brazil
Jury Award, Harrell Award for Best Feature Film, Camden International Film Festival
Jury Award, Life & Liberty Award, Sidewalk Film Festival, Birmingham
Jury Award, Best Feature Film, FREEP: Detroit Free Press Film Festival
Jury Award, Best Feature Film, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
Jury Award, Best Feature Film, GenderBorder Film Festival, Milan
Audience Award, Departures, IndieMemphis Film Festival, Memphis