JoAnn Elam Movies

Contrasting environments, in and outside.

USPS workers go bowling.

A covered bridge and the nature surrounding it.

Experimental film by Chicago filmmaker JoAnn Elam (1949-2009). Altered lyrics to the song "Chains" sit atop animated images of grains. Exact date of...

Digging in the woods.

This film celebrates the frenzy of light and color found amid exploding fireworks and the speeding headlights of cars on a nighttime road. In the...

Set to the Beatles 1965 song "You Like Me Too Much," Daytime Television consists of a series of close-up handheld pans of cleaning supply labels and...

The ancient art of Tai Chi transitions seamlessly into the fluid movements of bowling. Exact date of production unknown.

Two pumpkins.

Abstract short.

A poetic tribute to the establishment of the maple farm in Monterey, MA, owned and operated by JoAnn Elam's friend Bonner McAllester and her husband...

Filmed in extreme close-up, the lit-up pine needles of a Christmas tree are abstracted into forms of line and contrast. “Christmas Tree”...

“JoAnn & Susan x2” begins with a female protagonist, JoAnn Elam, playfully modeling a red, knit blanket, superimposed by a rider, JoAnn's...

Chicago streets.

This footage is almost entirely black, save for a few shots possibly showing electric poles outside.

An outdoor gathering.

Consists of frantic and (mostly) uninformative pans sprinting across Elam's lawn.

Intimate portrayal of children at home and outsde in a park. At the start, a baby rolls around on the floor of a living room and bounces in a...

Abstract images of flames and fire.

Abstract images of flames and fire, including wide shots of the fireplace itself. This film appears to be an 8mm test or outtake for JoAnn Elam's...