Introduction by Renske Janssen / Nicolaus Schafhausen, 5 min.
Clemens von Wedemeyer, Occupation, 2001-2002, 35 mm, 8 min.
In Clemens von Wedemeyer’s work, documentary images are juxtaposed with “behind-the-scenes” images in order to reveal the fictive status of so-called objective images. With this technique, he reflects upon the current social reality of isolation, migration and manipulation. In Occupation a weary camera crew is giving directions to a big group of extras. Although the directions are very cryptic, the extras do their best to follow. Occupation is similar to a “making of”and contains references to Eisenstein’s strategies of filming large group scenes.
Clemens von Wedemeyer, Making of Occupation, 2001-2002, DVD, 12 min.
Von Wedemeyer takes a critical glance at the ubiquitous “making of” format by taking it to its limits. The Making of Occuption is a “making of” a “making of”, showing what is going on behind the scenes of Occupation.
Richard T. Walker, Everything but me and you, 2005, DVD, 6 min.
Richard T. Walker’s films are about the struggles of loneliness. Set against a backdrop reminiscent of Caspar David Friedrich’s painting, in which the human being is inferior to nature, the artist projects his relationship troubles and personal dilemmas at the natural environment.
Margaret Salmon, Peggy, 2003, DVD, 13:30 min
Followed by Q&A, 10 min.
American filmmaker Margaret Salmon’s acutely observed work illuminates the reality of everyday people. Set to melodic, mesmerising or arresting soundtracks, Salmon lends a quiet grandeur to her subjects as she explores universal themes such as age, motherhood and the nature of human relationships. The film Peggy has a structure loosely based on the common music video – a song propels the images forward, being both addressed and ignored by the film’s subject, presumably Peggy herself. Split into three rounds of the classic hymn “Amazing Grace”, the piece digresses from this video formula and falls back on its soundtrack as a repetitive structure, accenting the recurrence of everyday events and the winding down of a lifetime. The song’s story becoming Peggy’s own testimony to ageing, loneliness, and death.
Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, Walking after Acconci (Redirected Approaches), 2005, DVD, 24 min.
Followed by Q&A, 10 min.
Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard re-enact existing (video-documented) performances in new situations. The video Walking after Acconci (Redirected Approaches) refers to a seminal video work from 1973 by Vito Acconci. In the original, Acconci paces the length of a corridor, talking to an absent ex-lover. Forsyth and Pollard worked closely with Plan B (679 Recordings), a sharp-tongued young MC, to update the script and re-shoot the video, adopting the style of contemporary urban music videos.
Keren Cytter, Continuity, 2005. 16 mm, 4:50 min.
This short film is inspired by Julio Cortazar’s story ‘Continuity of parks’, in which a man reads a crime novel to find out he is its victim. Cytter explores the boundaries of the everyday life and the mysterious, of realism and film noir. Her films are often based on biographical material, cut into pieces and mixed up, turning in into a new structure. The result is a synthesis of fact and fiction, of authentic events and quotes from popular culture in which various genres intermingle. Her characters are often aware of their own role in the film, sometimes commenting on the script or actively building up or deconstructing the plot.
Lonnie van Brummelen & Willem de Rooij, I Frenatori, 1997, 16 mm, 3 min.
A collaboration between visual artists Lonnie van Brummelen and Willem de Rooij resulted in I Frenatori (literally: the brakes). It shows the artists in two situations where they try to slow down speed, like their attempt to slow down a car by hanging on to it as a human brake.
Ursula Mayer, Interiors, 2006, 16 mm, 3:10 min.
Followed by Q&A, 10 min.
Interiors was shot in Willow Road House, designed by Erno Goldfinger, and shows two women within an architectural space. Mayer investigates how they relate to the objects surrounding them and to each other. She refers to the concept of architecture as a invented fact, as an iconic and modernistic image. Appearing as a dialogue between people and buildings, the female leads circle around an art object, a remake of Barbara Hepworth’s well known sculpture Orpheus. With this Mayer relates to the objectified relations that can exist between man and woman and the way that cultural identity is constructed around icons.
Kai Kaljo, In/Out, 2005, DVD, 9:16 min.
Followed by Q&A, 10 min.
Kai Kaljo is best known for her video work. Her first work A Loser (1997) brought international recognition. Kaljo’s work has been described as video poetry in which she pursues themes of ambivalence, love, communication, contrast and values. In/Out shows a continuous close-up of her own face, the image slightly manipulated by changing time. There are unexpected moments at which a voice-over first whispers and later screams “let me out”.