The Season Ends in Durham
VLX 7.6 and 7.7 close season seven at (perfect lovers), October 21 and 23.
Two clocks, side by side, keeping the same time. perfect lovers sits off North Roxboro Street in north Durham, most of it given over to whatever is happening in it rather than to tables and chairs. Espresso in the mornings. Dance, sound, exhibitions, and the occasional acoustic set the rest of the time. It has run for four years on a busy road with little foot traffic, kept open by a community that keeps showing up. Durham has lost a lot of rooms like this. This one is still here.
Season seven ends inside it.
VLX 7.6
Wednesday, October 21, 2026 Doors 7:00 PM · Program 8:00 PM · 72 minutes
Eleven short experimental films. Ten countries. Latvia, Lebanon, Armenia, Hungary and beyond. Analog film, deepfakes, wigs, super volcanoes.
Select works scored live.
| Film | Director | Country | Run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | summer school | Josh Weissbach | Latvia | 2:45 |
| 02 | [sun]film | Derek Taylor | United States | 3:10 |
| 03 | All Windows Look Inward | i. fredericks | Canada | 3:47 |
| 04 | Feedback | Hüseyin Mert Erverdi | Turkey | 4:00 |
| 05 | Interview | Michael A Mersereau | United States | 4:28 |
| 06 | HELP HEIVI STAY! | Lily Pellaud | Switzerland | 5:26 |
| 07 | 50 WIGS: Problems | Kate Pelling | Germany | 6:37 |
| 08 | ici loin / here afar | Ghada Sayegh | Lebanon | 8:00 |
| 09 | The Big Bloom Drop (Death by Selfie) | Lisa Birke | Canada | 9:33 |
| 10 | The Unsilenced City: Six Love Song to Yerevan | Elaine Crowe | Armenia / Ireland | 9:36 |
| 11 | Tell Me Why | Roger Deutsch | Hungary | 15:00 |
VLX 7.7
Friday, October 23, 2026 Doors 7:00 PM · Program 8:00 PM · 69 minutes
The closing program. Ten short experimental films, ending a season that ran seven programs across three cities. Light on water, stop-motion sleep, 16mm contact-printed by flashlight.
Select works scored live.
| Film | Director | Country | Run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | My Word | Carme Puche-Moré | Spain | 3:19 |
| 02 | LIGHT WAVES | John Woodman | United Kingdom | 4:30 |
| 03 | Melencolia 3: Sweet Assassin (A Music Video for Brood Faye) | M Woods | United States | 4:55 |
| 04 | Toil and Spin | Maureen Zent | United States | 5:05 |
| 05 | Weather Report | Janne Ahola | Finland | 5:20 |
| 06 | Fractures Chimiques ON/OFF | Charles-André Coderre, Mathieu Arsenault | Canada | 5:58 |
| 07 | (for once I dreamed of you) | Kate Solar | Canada | 5:58 |
| 08 | Parallel to All Ghosts | Toby Kaufmann-Buhler | United States | 9:45 |
| 09 | The Sippy Cup Incident | Caroline Rumley | United States | 10:00 |
| 10 | DYNAMICS | Teo Baehler | Netherlands | 14:00 |
Two programs, not one show played twice
Twenty-one films. Thirteen countries. No film appears on both nights.
VLX has never toured a single program. Each numbered program is its own curated slate, built once, screened once, in one room. What happens on the 21st does not happen again on the 23rd.
LIVEscore
Select works in each program will be scored live by musicians performing in the room while the films run. The ensembles will be announced shortly.
Which films are scored is not published in advance. You find out when the lights go down.
The venue
(perfect lovers) 2823 N Roxboro St, Durham, NC 27704
An art space and espresso counter in north Durham, open weekday mornings and given over to art, sound, and performance the rest of the time. Past programming includes Nicole Mitchell, Setting Sounds, and Jolie Holland.
The building has no signage. Look for the space beside Redstart Foods. We will light the entrance both nights.
Step-free entry.
Admission
Free to reserve. Pay what you can at the door, suggested $15 to $25. No one turned away.
VLX is donation-based and artist-first. Filmmakers pay no submission fees. Your seat costs nothing to hold. What you give at the door goes into a small, artist-led budget that pays the musicians and keeps this work outside the pay-to-play economy.
Capacity is limited and both nights are capped. Reserve early.
RSVP at vastlab.org · Press inquiries: hello@vastlab.org
Season seven
Seven programs. Three cities.
Los Angeles in March at KAW Theatre.
Chicago in July at Material and Elastic Arts.
Durham in October.
Then it closes.
VLX 8
Submissions for VLX 8 are open for 2027. Experimental short film. Select works scored live. Submit on FilmFreeway via vastlab.org.