Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Brain Dead Studios, Los Angeles
A treasure chest of narrative fragments, *The Decay of Fiction* lacks the itinerary and “instructions for use” that automatically comes with a linear story. The shards of its many implied plotlines are the fruit of O’Neill’s all-encompassing sense of form, which for better or worse is conceptual rather than technical or material. – Jonathan Rosenbaum, *The Chicago Reader*, May 30, 2003, https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2023/03/ghosts-of-hollywood/ ***Skies*** | 9 min | 35mm transferred to digital |World Premiere A new film by Pat O’Neill, Skies, composed of excerpts from his 35mm film timelapse documentation of the skies above the western United States landscape in the early 70s. Soundtrack by [Thollem McDonas](https://thollem.bandcamp.com/album/the-light-is-real-voices) from his album [The Light Is Real (Voices)](https://thollem.bandcamp.com/album/the-light-is-real-voices) with Terry Riley. “I am interested in exploring the boundaries of believability. The narrative tradition insists that, no matter how fantastic the story, its surface must be seamless. By contrast, I call attention to the artifice, all the staged aspects, and allow the well-worn stories to slip over and through one another. The film’s intention could be described as wanting to take stories off the screen and into the imagination. I like to work within the gaps between reality and story, to look at what is going on around the story, its context, and to make that a part of my conversation with the audience.” – Pat O’Neill **Tickets:** $15 general, $10 students/seniors (purchased at door), free for Filmforum members.