Jack Chambers (1931 - 1978) was one of Canada's most esteemed artists. Although a classically trained painter, he embraced vanguard ideas and made radical art. His 1969 manifesto on perceptual realism paralleled the emergence of "new realism" in American painting. As a filmmaker he transformed the collage form, melding together home movies and found footage in original works that proposed a synthetic notion of experience. Possessing the rigour of the materialist and the insight of the visionary, Chambers challenged the notions of photographic perception posed by his contemporaries Stan Brakhage and Michael Snow. International recognition for Chambers' work was immediate, and his epic feature, The Hart of London, remains a classic of avant-garde cinema.

The Films of Jack Chambers is the first book-length analysis of his filmic achievement. It brings together the best published writing with new contributions from academics, critics, and artists who situate his accomplishment in the avant-garde, trace the evolution of his aesthetic ideas, and describe his ongoing influence. Also included is Chambers' 1969 artistic manifesto and a comprehensive annotated bibliography of the literature about him. Contributors include Paul Arthur, Yann Beauvais, Stan Brakhage, Fred Camper, R. Bruce Elder, Nina Fonoroff, Laurence Kardish, Sarah Milroy, Tony Pipolo, Carolee Schneemann, Bart Testa, Ross G. Woodman, and Mike Zryd.

Kathryn Elder is Film and Video Librarian at York University, Toronto, and is also editor of The Films of Joyce Wieland.