''Christabel'' is a 2001

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that does not apply standard cinematic conventions, instead adopting Non-narrative film, non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many e ...

directed by James Fotopoulos and based on the unfinished poem of the same name by

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

Production

''Christabel'' was Fotopoulos’ first

feature length A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film ( motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, consisting of two half-hour segments shot on

digital video Digital video is an electronic representation of moving visual images (video) in the form of encoded digital data. This is in contrast to analog video, which represents moving visual images in the form of analog signals. Digital video comprises ...

and two short sequences shot in

16mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

. As an adaptation, it eliminates some of the male characters from the Coleridge text and focuses on the theme of one woman commandeering an evil possession of another.

Cast

* Kiersten DeBrower as Geraldine * Jenna Lecce as Sir Leoline * Veronica Sheaffer as Christabel * Cherise Silvestri as Bard Bracy

Release

The film played on the festival circuit before receiving a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

release from

Facets Video A facet is a flat surface of a geometric shape, e.g., of a cut gemstone. Facet may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Facets'' (album), an album by Jim Croce * ''Facets'', a 1980 album by jazz pianist Monty Alexander and his tr ...

Critical response

Austin Chronicle Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

'' wrote that ''Chistabel'' "poses perceptual and emotional challenges to his viewers", and that within the film "sexual symbolism is dense and not for all tastes." Phil Hall of ''

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an American online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. ...

'' panned the film, writing "for those who actively loathe experimental cinema, please avoid James Fotopoulos’ “Christabel” at all costs. And for those who actively love experimental cinema…well, the same advice applies", expanding that as a “loose adaptation of the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, If this adaptation was any looser, it would fall off the screen." He found the film to be both plotless and pointless, and one that "offers absolutely nothing which could even vaguely or charitably be defined as art, imagination or stimulation." Conversely, ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

'' wrote "Chicagoan James Fotopoulos has garnered critical acclaim", and that of his film ''Christabel'', it was a "creepy, beautiful" feature, and of the film's screening at the 2002

New York Underground Film Festival The New York Underground Film Festival was an annual event that occurred each March at Anthology Film Archives in New York City from 1994 through 2008. It was founded by filmmakers Todd Phillips (''Road Trip (2000 film), Road Trip'', ''Old School ...

, ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

'' felt that it was a "frontrunner in the festival's avant-garde lineup", with ''Independent Film & Video Monthly'' writing ''Cristabel'' would "set festivals ablaze".

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 2050474, Christabel American avant-garde and experimental films 2001 films Films based on works by Samuel Taylor Coleridge 2000s avant-garde and experimental films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films