anti_cgi : an appreciation

I want to use this blog as a place to feature creators and curators that inspire me, and first up is Aramis Gutierrez II, the mind behind the Instagram account anti_cgi.

Anti_cgi features (mostly) cult films of decades gone by, each represented by a single frame of film or a gif, which stand on their own as works of art and leave you wanting to know more.  This page appeals to me on so many levels, probably because my list of cinematic fixations mostly align with the curator's (though my list also includes elaborate costumes-especially any kind of masks, and violent women).  In an interview with Cinema Thread, curator Aramis Gutierrez II describes his selection process:

AG: There are a few common denominators: gore, practical effects, atmosphere and anything that involves offbeat sexual innuendo (especially people on other people in monkey suits or real monkeys).  I am always interested in what other people feel is grey or taboo.  I know it when I see it.

Here’s the rest of the interview with the creator of anti_cgi, Aramis Gutierrez II - worth a read:

https://cinemathread.com/culture/anti_cgi-qa-with-the-curator-of-the-infamous-instagram-account/

With the holidays approaching, I figured now would be a good time to talk about anti_cgi. Many of us will soon be traveling home to visit family or just have time off.  If you find yourself awake on Christmas night long after the others have turned in, and the content that the Netflix algorithm is offering up just isn't cutting it, take a scroll through this profile and try to track down one of these gems. 

Here’s a selection of films I’m interested in checking out soon, all discovered through anti_cgi's account.  (All images from anti_cgi’s instagram).

top row, L to R: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), Demons (1985), Eyes of Fire (1983), Fellini's Casanova (1976)

second row, L to R: Angel's Egg (1985), Planet of the Vampires (1965), Marketa Lazarová (1967), Ruslan i Lyudmila (1972)

third row, L to R: Sakuya:Yôkaiden (2000), Macario (1960), The Color of Pomegranates (1969), The End of Evangelion (1997)    

bottom row, L to R: The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak (1984), Viy (1967), Jigoku (1999),  Maîtresse (1976)