Ken Jacobs made a 14-minute film called SPASM. You have been warned.
Spasm (2023, 13:41, digital)
Direction
Jacobs weaponizes the flicker like he's declaring war on your retinas.
Editing
Rapid-fire stroboscopic cuts that retrain your brain in real time.
Director
Ken Jacobs
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ken Jacobs founded the Millennium Film Workshop and basically invented American avant-garde cinema alongside Stan Brakhage. This is legacy work.
The 'spasm' refers to both the film's visual rhythm and Jacobs' ongoing obsession with 19th-century motion studies—he's been remixing Muybridge and Anschütz his entire career.
US
