Named after the New York-based avant-garde film society started in 1947 and inspired by Maya Deren’s Greenwich Village exhibition of experimental films, Cinema 16 is a new series of film experiences based at the International House that “seeks to confirm the relevance of the historic avantgarde by pairing it with contemporary sound.” For its opening night event this Friday, Feb. 17 artist and curator Molly Surno has commissioned musicians as varied as the internationally recognized pop rock band Yeah Yeah Yeah’s to the locally Brooklyn favorite krautrock group FORMA to create original music that will accompany a series of historic short, experimental films to create a mixed media performance that “remove film from the conventional big screen theater.”

This edition of Cinema 16 at IHP will explore themes of perversity, flesh, and the female form. The films are:

Asparagus
dir. Suzan Pitt, US, 1979, 16mm, 18 mins, color

Kusama’s Self Obliteration
dir. Jud Yalkut, US, 1967, 16mm, 24 mins, color

Lusting Hours (excerpt)
dir. John and Lem Amero, US, 1967, 10 mins, b/w

8:00 p.m. International House Philadelphia (3701 Chestnut Street). $9 general admission, $7 students & seniors.  For more information or if you want to buy tickets online, go here.