SANATORIUM UNDER THE SIGN OF THE HOURGLASS — The Quay Brothers' New Film!

Name: SANATORIUM UNDER THE SIGN OF THE HOURGLASS — The Quay Brothers' New Film!
Start: 2025-10-04T19:30:00-07:00
End: 2025-10-04T21:00:00-07:00
Location: Philosophical Research Society

Schedule

Sat Oct 04 2025 at 07:30 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Philosophical Research Society | Los Angeles, CA

20 years in the making, the singular animation auteurs return with an incredible, haunting, and primarily animated third feature film!
About this Event

The Philosophical Research Society’s 7th House Screenings is proud to present SANATORIUM UNDER THE SIGN OF THE HOURGLASS, the long awaited film by legendarily brilliant animation/puppet auteurs The Quay Brothers!

20 years in the making, SANATORIUM arrives as the Quays third feature film – notably their first to primarily employ the wholly singular, meticulously handcrafted animation for which they’re known.It also marks their return adaptation of the work of Polish post-modernist author Bruno Schulz, whose Street of Crocodiles was adapted by the Quays nearly 40 years ago for what became their best known film. Schulz’s psychologically labyrinthine collection of stories proves to be the perfect material or the Quays’ uniquely abstract and symbolic visual storytelling.

A ghostly train journey on a forgotten branch line transports a son, Jozef, visiting his dying Father in a remote Galician Sanatorium. Upon arrival Jozef finds the Sanatorium entirely moribund and run by a dubious Doctor Gotard who tells him that his father’s death, the death that has struck him in his country has not yet occurred, and that here they are always late by a certain interval of time of which the length cannot be defined. Jozef will come to realise that the Sanatorium is a floating world halfway between sleep and wakefulness and that time and events cannot be measured in any tangible form.

In the Quays’ own words:

The film is an exploration of motifs and themes taken from the mytho-poetic writings of Bruno Schulz integrating both puppets and live-action to score the demiurgic nervature of Schulz’s 13th apocryphal month in the Regions of the Great Heresy. Framing the narrative is an Auction house in lesser times and an Auctioneer in his greatest moment. For public auction! Lot 47: a wooden Optical Box penetrated by seven lenses, with a skilfully hidden drawer purportedly containing the deceased retina of its original owner and said to liquefy once a year when positioned correctly in the Sun’s rays thereby anointing each of the seven final images and thus setting them into motion one by one. Within the Sanatorium’s labyrinthine corridors objects and events will roam with a force all their own. An eerie half-reality will set in, and Jozef will find himself caught in a disturbing web of memories, fantasies and visions to which he can only submit. He will find his Father, lose him in a dream, discover several at once, then lose him forever. Even Jozef himself will become multiple; one will die, another will be condemned to wander endlessly the Sanatorium's corridors, and the last will board the very same train he arrived on.

Presented by Quay uberfan Christopher Nolan, SANATORIUM UNDER THE SIGN OF THE HOURGLASS beckons audiences to get lost in its world on the big screen. Not to be missed!

Ticket price: $15 (In Person Event Only)

Please email [email protected] or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.

ABOUT THE QUAY BROTHERS

The Quay Brothers were born in 1947 near Philadelphia where they studied at the Philadelphia College of Art, then later in London at the Royal College of Art. In 1980 they formed Koninck with colleague Keith Griffiths and since then have produced a hybrid collection of film work: puppet animation, documentaries, interludes, commercials, and installations. They have also designed decors for the Theatre, Opera and Ballet {including filming 3 ballets}, as well as directing three live-action feature films. Many of their films have been inspired by the writings of authors including: Bruno Schulz, Franz Kafka, Robert Walser, Stanisław Lem, & Felisberto Hernández. Music is key to their work and composers include: Karlheinz Stockhausen {In Absentia}, Krzysztof Penderecki {Maska, Inventorium of Traces}, Bartók {Sonata for Solo Violin}, Witold Lutosławski {String Quartet Nr. 4}, Olga Neuwirth {The Calligrapher}, Zdeněk Liška{The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer, The Phantom Museum}, Louis Andriessen {Theatre of the World}, Timothy Nelson {Through the Weeping Glass, Unmistaken Hands, & Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass}, Michèle Bokanowski {The Doll’s Breath} and Alfred Schnittke {Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass}. In 2012 the QQs were the subject of a grand retrospective exhibition at MoMA, New York entitled Quay Brothers: On Deciphering the Pharmacist's Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppets, which featured work spanning their entire career, tracing back as early as childhood, with much of the material shown for the first time.

ADVISORY DISCLAIMER

With some exception, The Philosophical Research Society’s 7th House Screenings does not typically provide advisory warnings about potentially upsetting content or subject matter, as sensitivities are particular to each viewer. Please be sure to read event listings, research on the web, or visit Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com for thorough info on content and age-appropriateness. If you have any specific content advisory questions, please email [email protected].

CONTENT DISCLAIMER

The views, opinions, and thoughts expressed within exhibited works are solely those of their creators and may not represent those of the Philosophical Research Society (PRS), its affiliates, or any individuals associated with PRS. Screenings are intended for educational and entertainment purposes.

ACCESSIBILITY

PRS wants all guests to be able to enjoy our events safely and comfortably. If you require any accessibility accommodation, please reach out to [email protected] before showtime and we will be happy to assist you.

REFUND POLICIES

All sales are final. There are no refunds for PRS events , except in the event of a medical emergency, including but not limited to a positive COVID-19 test. Ticket exchanges may be granted on a case by case basis, pending circumstances.

In the event that PRS is forced to cancel an event entirely, tickets will be refunded or vouchers offered for a rescheduled event.

PARKING

Limited parking is available onsite at PRS in both the front lot (entry from Los Feliz Blvd. when heading east) and back lot (entry from first alley way, off Griffith Park Blvd. from intersection with Los Feliz Blvd.), as well as street parking on Griffith Park Blvd. and (after 7 PM) on Los Feliz Blvd. We encourage attendees to consider carpooling, walking or biking to events if possible, and please be considerate of our Los Feliz neighbors when parking.

PRS EVENT POLICIES

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