KINOAUTOMAT
Cause and effect / Interactive cinema performance by Chris Hales and Teijo Pellinen

Date: 2nd July 2009, 8.30 p.m.

Location: Kino, 1137 Budapest, Szent István krt 16.

Kinoautomat was created in Czechoslovakia by a talented team in 1966-67. It was presented for the first time at the Czechoslovak Pavilion at Expo’67 Montreal and was celebrated as the 'hit' of the World Exposition.

The film, One Man and his House, centres around the hapless Mr Novak (played by Miroslav Hornicek, a very well-known Czech personality) who finds himself caught up in various situations which represent moral dilemmas. In a specially constructed voting cinema, the 127 audience members could change the trajectory of the film at several key moments by pressing red or green buttons on their seats; the majority vote would be carried out by the projection control room.

After several successful screenings (initially, Hollywood studios were keen to license the technology) the film was banned by the ruling Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and was not available for the pubic for decades.

Based on the research about the original Kinoautomat system Cause and Effect presents an experimental performance, created by Chris Hales and Teijo Pellinen. In a show lasting about 75 minutes, eight or nine different short films are shown, each with a different subject matter and method of interaction. In each case it is the entire audience that affect the film, usually by a collaborative process. The show is both entertaining and intellectual and appeals to a wide audience demographic.

Links:
www.kinoautomat.org
www.causeandeffect.tk

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