Events

7th House—the in-house film programming imprint of The Philosophical Research Society—is proud to return to 2220 Arts + Archives for an exceedingly rare presentation of filmmaker E. Elias Merhige’s complete THE BEGOTTEN CYCLE: the new 4K restoration of his legendary 1989 feature BEGOTTEN, followed by the seldom-seen DIN OF CELESTIAL BIRDS (2006) and POLIA & BLASTEMA: A COSMIC OPERA (2022).

Spanning more than three decades, this cinematic cosmology traces what Merhige describes as a trajectory in which “the divinities are created then destroyed,” while approaching filmmaking itself as alchemy, through the transformation of light into material. A momentous occasion, this program marks what is believed to be the first-ever Los Angeles screening of the complete Begotten Cycle.

• Begotten (1989)
• Din of Celestial Birds (2006)
• Polia & Blastema (2022)

Total Program Runtime: 126 mins. Presented with intermission.

Polia & Blastema composer/sound designer Gavin Gamboa will join us in person to speak about his experience making the film.

Erik Hall
• Simeon ten Holt — Canto Ostinato (1976)

Gavin Gamboa
• Ludwig van Beethoven — Sonata 17 in D minor Opus 31 no. 2 (1802)
• Arvo Pärt — Sonatina Opus 1 no. 1 (1958)
• Gavin Gamboa — Aelfie Impromptus (2026)
• Johann Sebastian Bach — Italian Concerto BWV 971 (1735)

2220 Arts presents a night of adventurous keyboard works in two parallel programs of solo performance. Erik Hall will perform Simeon ten Holt’s masterpiece of minimalism, Canto Ostinato for Rhodes electric piano, and Gavin Gamboa will begin the evening with a curated program for acoustic piano. Two sets of 45-60 min each with a 15 min intermission in between.