UNOWNED LUXURIES #3

Amy Halpern, USA, 16mm, 3 min, 2020

The Unowned Luxuries films are about possession through the eyes. Based on the childhood perception (attributed to me as a five-year-old by my father) that “to see is to touch with the eyes,” these films propose a less toxic means of ownership. Actual ownership is overrated, as a desire and as a goal.

Amy Halpern (1953–2022). 40+ films from 1972–2022; major retrospectives at venues including Los Angeles Film Forum, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and (S8) Mostra de Cinema Periférico. Co-founder of New York Collective for Living Cinema (1972–82) and Los Angeles Independent Film Oasis (1975–80). Frequent collaborator on projects with filmmakers such as Pat O’Neill, Charles Burnett, Ken Jacobs, David Lebrun, and others.