Selection #3

Melodramas of Futility

43 mins
In attendance: Mirelle Borra

A proposal where the absurd emerges through a series of cinematic mantras, lethargies of discord between a singular epiphany and a collective disenchantment. A melodrama of futilities is present in the gaze of the voyeur, the act of filming as a cathartic monophonic voice, the intimate space is exposed to the impossibility of unity as always the demise towards disclosure. The poetic nod dismantles the private and the public space as conditions shadowed by an impasse in the heart of relationships with the self, the other and the machine. A lonely wonderer searching for momentum in the roots of absence, gravity is present in the human condition as a discharge from the celestial bodies.

N.S.

Fri 24 May

18:30h / ACUD STUDIO

Stephanie Barber
3 Peonies
USA, 2017, 3’ 13’’, 16mm > HD video, colour, sound, Berlin Premiere

A brief, poetic 16mm film on a simple sculptural action. An experimental film in which the simplicity of the image is offset by the sonic implications. What becomes apparent is the humor possible in material interactions and the tender and sometimes melodramatic symbolism of cut flowers. What begins as a reverence for natural beauty ends up pointing towards the abstract expressionism and color field work of high modernism which, in many cases eschewed the banality of such ‘natural’ beauty. The collaged soundtrack suggests weightier concerns, gently insistent behind the flatness of the utilitarian sounds of ripping tape.

Tessa Garland
Here East

UK, 2018, 5’ 42’’, HD video, colour, sound, German Premiere

Here East is set on a new housing development in East London, it observes the space as day slips into night. The video starts with vignettes framing figures elevated on balconies set against luminous skies. On one balcony a woman is caught gazing out into the sublime sky and at another a shopping trolley is parked up empty. Perhaps this could be a lifestyle promo video to sell the luxury apartments?
The meditative quality of the work is interrupted by reminders that this place is a controlled space with CCTV cameras and intercom door systems. As the sun fades, the work takes on a more foreboding presence. Lights go on and the camera diverts its gaze to witness both the empty order of the surrounding area and the activity within the flats. Lit windows expose partially obscured people caught by the distraction of flickering screens whilst crisply ironed shirts hang – evoking an apparition of white collar workers. With its transgressive edge, Here East elicits tensions between public and private space.
Using a zoom lens and filmed undercover the work reveals a corporate, residential space where human activity is monitored and where at any time a private security guard can remove you for using your camera.

Josh Weissbach
601 Revir Drive
USA, 2017, 9’, 16mm, colour, sound, German Premiere

A series of spatial limits are defined while a maker imbibes. Interdependence is inherited after a substance cannot be shook. An animal carefully guards an outlined space as a river runs backwards.

Zachary Epcar
Life After Love
USA, 2018, 8’, 16mm > HD video, colour, sound, Berlin Premiere

A shifting in the light of the lot, where parked cars become containers for a collective estrangement.

Mirelle Borra
The One That Got Away
Germany, 2018, 5’ 22’’, HD video, colour, silent, World Premiere

The video "The One That Got Away" makes a compelling plea to a sense of belonging in the midst of urban transformation. Phrases which appear on screen were taken from anonymous letters addressed to ex-lovers posted online—that have been written not to be sent—as a way of seeking closure and being part of the healing process. Conflating numerous of these phrases with meandering moving images of closely cropped urban landscapes seem to refer as much to an absent former lover as to a lost sense of place. "The One That Got Away" evokes a feeling of alienation as well as an unending need to belong.

Mauro Santini
Vaghe stelle - Mizar
Italy, 2017, 11’, HD video, colour, sound, German Premiere

“Vaghe stelle” is a seven-chaptered film, conceived as a musical album and composed of seven movements, which can be watched singly (like songs), or in the established order (like a record) or also mixing the films creating new combinations or possible narrations.
The ‘songs’ are seven as the principal stars of the Ursa Major. It will be a nocturnal wandering with the starry sky as a reference: an earthly pilgrimage looking for epiphanies or the drift of a hypothetical interstellar trip.

Melodramas of Futility

Fri 24 May

Thu 23

Fri 24

Sat 25

Sun 26