All four of these films will be shown together next month, alongside more recent pieces, such as Meta Etude, which shows his grandmother during Passover, cooking matzah brie and playing the piano (with Max attempting to follow her fingering on live viola). Plus Nosfera2, which also uses a solo viola score as well as footage from influential German director FW Murnau’s celebrated silent adaptation of Dracula to explore intergenerational trauma.
Max’s works are deeply rooted in Jewish family history, but utterly committed to formal experimentation, resulting in an undeniably fascinating body of work.
By Matthew Reisz
Header image: still from Standing Prayer, HD film, 2023 © Hugo Max
Kosher Giraffes & Other Tails takes place Thursday 11 June. 8pm. £15, £7.50 for under-25s. JW3, London, NW3 6ET. jw3.org.uk
The Improvisational Drawing workshop (open to ages 20-39) starts at 6.30pm and costs £12 (including entry to the screening).
