Barbara Lattanzi (2015)

"HF Critical Mass applied to la revolución" is an edit of a video of Fidel Castro giving a speech in Harlem, with an English translator superimposed on top. The edit was made in Barbara Lattanzi's open-source software called "HF Critical Mass," named after Hollis Frampton's structural film "Critical Mass." The software distilled an editing algorithm from this piece, and it can be applied to most video files. This editing had, by chance, created what almost feels like a chorus or conversation between Fidel Castro and the translator.

This piece is also unique because it reveals the software interface. Like Lialina, Lattanzi has realized the connection between computing and cinema, only she has found it through the programs she had created. She quotes: "One idea looks at an intersection between two cultures: that is, practices associated with computing culture applied to film culture. I am referring specifically to cultural strategies of reverse engineering and to initiatives related to the “free software” and "open source" movements (of software development)"

In line with this philosphy, "la revolución" relies entirely on the reinvention of existing pieces, from the algorithm in the software it required to the video being reedited. This relinquishing of authorship falls in line with the other projects mentioned.