Bio
Phil Docken
Ceramist, Filmmaker, Photographer
After earning a BA in Studio Arts at St Olaf College, 5 years of study with Bauhaus trained ceramics master Marguerite Wildenhain marked my beginning in the plastic arts. A path through pottery, ceramic sculpture, bronze casting, painting, photography and video has brought me to film, which has been my primary medium since 1997.
The films center on themes having to do with identity, spiritual issues and personal experience. Though film is a primary mode of expression, activity in ceramics persists as well as in music and photography.
A selection of films, ceramics and photography is presented on this site. Additional work will be presented here as warranted.
CineTula — In memory of my sister Sigrid.
Awards & Screenings
Tempo Rubato
2005 - Slamdance Film Festival in Park City
"Tempo Rubato" received its premiere at Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in 2005 and went on to win Grand Prize for Best Short at the 2005 United States Super 8mm Film & Digital Video Festival at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Tempo Rubato
Clone
2013 - National Gallery of Art
"Clone" (2005) was selected for a program curated by the Film Department of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The program entitled Cine Concert: Abstract Film and Animation Since 1970. The premiere was Sunday, September 8, 2013 in the NGA East Wing Auditorium.
Clone
Story City
2011 - United States Super 8mm Film & Digital Video Festival
Selected by 2013 United States Super 8mm Film & Digital Video Festival. The festival was held February 15-17, 2013 at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
2012 - Buddhist Film Festival
Story City was selected by VESAK Buddhist Film Festival 2012 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Festival schedule: May 24 - 26, 2013
2012 - tpt
Sponsored by IFP Minnesota, Story City (2011) was screened at 10:30pm Sunday evening January 15, 2012 on tpt Channel 2 and again at 9:00pm Sunday evening January 22 on tpt's Minnesota Channel.
2011 - Co-Kisser Fim Festival
Story City was featured in the 2011 Co-Kisser Poetry-Film Festival.
Story City
Story City Film Synopsis
Story City is a short meditation on the limitations of attachment and desire. A menial task is performed in several settings while a listing of my grandparents' household items is read in several languages: English, Japanese, Irish, Spanish and Swedish. The film closes with a recitation in Japanese of The Heart Sutra which is Buddhist scripture primarily associated with Zen.
The filmmaker's grandparents lived in Story City, Iowa USA.
Soundtrack by TAOBOYS.