DELIGHTFUL 'SPECTRES' TAUNTS TECHIES

Spectres of the Spectrum is set in the year 2007, when the fate of Earth rests in the hands of
Yogi and Boo-Boo. Yogi (Sean Kilcoyne) and his daughter Boo-Boo (Caroline Koebel) are
revolutionaries trying to fight off the "New Electromagnetic Order, " a mass of media
conglomerates plotting to spray the planet with particle beams, rendering us brain-dead
consumer zombies.
While Yogi details the events that led to Earth's current state via pirate radio broadcasts, the
telepathic Boo-Boo discovers a way to foil the N.E.O.'s plan. This involves traveling back in
time and decoding a message planted by her late grandmother in a transmission of an educational
science TV program that aired years before.

And that's just the set-up. It would take at least four viewings to sort out Spectres' mindboggling plot, but plot isn't really the main draw of this remarkable experimental collage by
Craig Baldwin (Tribulations 99). Using footage from other films TV shows, cartoons,
documentaries and film strips, Baldwin unleashes a nonstop, brain-tickling barrage of
information that draws on the nostalgia of cheesy 1950s sci-fi while delivering a fascinating
history of media through the ages, from the invention of the radio down to the coming of Bill
Gates.
The hypnotic result is akin to channel surfing, with a densely intellectual design lurking
beneath the rapid-fire images. Baldwin describes his film as "an activist science-fiction fantasy
collage allegory on autonomous resistance to the globalization of the telecommunications
industry, " which makes the movie sound more daunting than it is. Instead, think of Spectres as
Baldwin's angry, tech-savvy fist waved at the preponderance of technology in a world in
increasingly dire need of simple human connections.
This Sunday's showing of Spectres at the Cosford Cinema at the University of Miami marks
the eighth anniversary of Cinema Vortex, the exhibition program of classic and avant-garde
films that has bounced around South Florida venues since 1993 and is currently being kept alive
by programmer Barron Sherer.
Sherer, 33, the film/video preservationist at the Wolfson Media Center, describes Vortex as "a
call for activist filmgoing. Our typical patron scours the papers for something different to see,
travels great distances, posts Vortex fliers at work, spams friends and puts up with our off-hour
screenings! I respect that, and dedicate the shows to those souls."
Sherer, whose knowledge of film is encyclopedic and eclectic, has showcased the works of
everyone from Nagisa Oshima to Herschell Gordon Lewis to Edgar G. Ulmer. In April, he plans
a show of works by the founder of microcinema.com, and in the summer promises a "Super 8,
audience participation extravaganza." His wish list for the rest of the year includes Jean-Louis

Trintignant's The Outside Man, Phil Karlson's Phoenix City Story and "any of the new prints of
Douglas Sirk's Universal films."
Whether or not Cinema Vortex becomes a regular fixture at the Cosford, ("or anywhere that
will have us, ") remains to be seen. "Short-term programming goals hinge on riding the huge
wave of success after Spectres." Sherer says. Which means that if you care at all about
alternative film programming in South Florida, you will show up Sunday. Long live Cinema
Vortex. *** SPECTRES OF THE SPECTRUM
(Unrated)
* Cast: Sean Kilcoyne, Caroline Koebel, Beth Lisick (voice only). * Writer-director: Craig
Baldwin. Running time: 91 minutes. No offensive material. Plays at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Bill
Cosford Cinema. For more information, visit cinemavortex.tripod.com/ main.html or call
305-992-1138.

Headline:
DELIGHTFUL 'SPECTRES' TAUNTS TECHIES
Subhead:
Reporter:
BY RENE RODRIGUEZ, rrodriguezherald.com
Desk:
Source:
Day: Friday
Dateline:
Print Run Date:
3/9/2001
Digital Run Date:
Corrections: