Over the last 15 years, David Gatten has explored the intersection of the printed word and moving image with a depth and imagination unique to cinema. Making connections across fields of knowledge and meaning, Gatten’s films generate tactile compositions and draw novel conclusions from 19th-century scientific treatises, “outdated” 20th-century instructional texts, and rare books from 17th- and 18th-century personal libraries. Gatten, a leading figure dedicated to mining 16mm film’s continuing expressive possibilities in the digital era, was recently included in Cinema scope’s “Best Fifty Filmmakers Under Fifty.” This program, Part 3 of a touring retrospective, consists of six films made between 1998 and 2010. Part 1 screens at the Velaslavasay Panorama on October 27 and Part 2 at Los Angeles Filmforum on October 28.

In person: David Gatten