Chris Marker’s Level Five

Laura, a French programmer, is tasked with creating a video game about the Battle of Okinawa. Using the internet to conduct her research she is led down a rabbit hole of philosophical debates, while she tries to make sense of her own history in relation to human history.

Released when the internet was still in its infancy, Level Five (104min, 1997) offers a startlingly prophetic vision of the ability to archive and alter history, while probing the limitations of human memory. The film is a mesmerizing and utterly unique hybrid of documentary and science fiction. Curated with an introduction by Squeaky Wheel’s Fall 2018 Curatorial Intern James Werick. Courtesy of Icarus Films.

Preview

Bio of the curator
James Werick graduated from the University at Buffalo in 2017, with a BA in Media Study. In addition, he spent one semester in 2017 at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. He is currently writing a film script, and working at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library.