AVIFF 2021

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AVIFF

AVIFF
2021

1:1 // a sonic-stereoscopic film poem by Telemach Wiesinger (cinematography) and Alexander Grebtschenko (music)  A wooden stereo viewer, which already impressed people with "3D" in the pioneering days of light drawing, inspired the German artist Telemach Wiesinger to create the half-hour film poem 1:1. The wide-screen image, composed on 16 mm black-and-white film, consists of two individual images each, between which - amazingly different from a stereoscope - a third dimension unfolds. In dialogue with the soundtrack designed by Alexander Grebtschenko, 1:1 becomes a unique audiovisual experience. Woven from staged scenes and images collected on journeys, the film poem tells about being on the road with open eyes. The frame story shows a young couple in front of a country estate on the French Loire; while she plays table tennis, he sets off to go fishing ... The pictures lure the viewer from a quiet angler's paradise to busy harbor landscapes and a broad ocean horizon - perhaps a daydream, memories of the young angler, populated by the surreal figures of his mind?  The creative play with „stereoscopy“ unfolds an impressive visual effect. Parallel with slight time shifts, mirrored or complementary, the pairs of pictures enter into dialogue in many ways: overlapping parts that create their own unique forms, positives that meet their negatives, merging of content and diverging again. The element of water is almost physically perceptible, and its moving variety of forms guides the wanderlust. Anyone who thought 16mm black-and-white film was obsolete will experience its timelessness in 1:1. For Telemach Wiesinger, the analog film workshop is as essential as a painter's brushes, spatulas and paint. From recording to developing to composition at the animation table, the material passes through his hands several times. All "effects" come from the manual process: the use of filters and multiple exposure directly in the camera (a BOLEX with spring mechanism), experimenting with single-frame projector and single-frame camera of a CRASS optical printer, editing with an adhesive film press.  A lot of exact planning is necessary in this handicraft art, but a little bit of coincidence is welcome as well - for example, when incompletely dissolved crystals of citric acid in the developer solution appear in the image as snowflakes or hailstones. 1-to-1 in the making, the final release in HD on DCP shows not only the real film grain but also the creative potential of such defects. The astounding result of Wiesinger’s consistent approach clearly shows: Never could such a film be made with digital "apps".  The editing and sound work on this film was closely intertwined, and so the elaborate image finds its highly appropriate counterpart in sound. Composer Alexander Grebtschenko, whose work moves in a wide field between written music, improvisation, electronic music and sound installation, combines for 1:1 artisan noise-making and instrumental music in masterful studio work. Dynamic transitions and a leading musical arch merge the dance of images into an audiovisuaxl unity. The soundtrack answers the visual "stereoscopy" in a complex way and an exciting dialogue unfolds between sound and image. Last but not least, one of the composer's surreal kinetic objects, performing in the film, makes the humor of both film partners unmistakable. Thanks to this creative enthusiasm, the new film poem of Telemach Wiesinger is capable of transforming everyday scenes into cinematic gems.  The decomposing photographs of the old stereo viewer, photographed by the once famous landscape photographer Giorgio Sommer (1834-1914), appearing towards the end of the film, are reminiscent of the inflation of images that was already beginning at that time. Filmpoem 1:1 has the power to withstand this inflation - in the spirit of Jean Cocteau who probably coined the term "cinéaste poète" (poet-filmmaker) and once wrote: "A film is not a dream that is told, but a dream that we dream together thanks to hypnosis.“  See you at the cinema!
(Thomas Spiegelmann, 2020)

1:1

TELEMACH WIESINGER

2021

Born and raised in Israel, graduated with a BFA from the Department of Animation at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem (2012). These days live by the sea, animating and illustrating.

A COUPLE ON THE ROOFTOP, THE CELLULAR ANTENNA AND THE METAL BIRDS

EYAL OREN

2021

Nathania Rubin is an artist who has exhibited extensively and internationally. Her short animations have been screened in art galleries and museums in over 15 countries. Rubin was born in New York City and received an MFA from Queens College. She held a research appointment at the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, NL and is currently an Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing at Illinois State University.

CROWDED

NATHANIA RUBIN

2021

Marion Kellmann studied screenwriting at the Filmakademie Baden- Württemberg and graduated at the Academy of Media Arts, Cologne. She lives in Cologne and works as editor and filmmaker. Her films have been shown at museums and film festivals worldwide
Films: Ekstase (experimental film, 2019) Endre Tót - I‘m glad if I‘m happy (documentary, 2017) The Sidereal Night (experimental film, 2012) Trinkhallen (experimental / documentary, 2010) The Retraining (fictional documentary / short, 2006)

EKSTASE

MARION KELLMANN

2021

Born in 1963. Graduated from the film director’s department of the State Institute of Theatre and cinema in 1985. Shot a number of feature shorts, documentaries, ecological and promo films and musical video clips. He is member of the Ukrainian Filmmakers Union and Ukrainian Film Academy. GENNADIY KHMARUK Born in 1972. Graduated from the director’s department of the State Ukrainian Academy of Culture. Worked as an editor and director at the non-governmental video and TV studios, often works as VJ and computer graphics designer. In 1996 Oleg Chorny and Gennadiy Khmaruk has founded the non-profit creative unit SAMPLED PICTURES. A number of videos created by SAMPLED PICTURES were presented at the various film and video festivals, exhibitions and club screenings.

FON

OLEG CHORNY

2021

Nacho Gamma directly addresses isolation in work that has been created at a time which has been very challenging for many people around the globe. The resultant work comes from a series of interactions that the artist had been developing along covid-19´s quarantine in 2020, while he had not other companionship than the one offered by the light that came through his window each day. “Framing the light” is an exploration of time, space and specially himself, while the artist is in a beautiful bare room.
The painterly quality of the film and the repetition of the act, of the pencil drawing, that occurs inside, it takes away from the need to situate this room. In a sense it is a poignant reminder of the universality of the pandemic, this room could be in many different countries, it symbolises a transient space, rather than a given location, and it pulls at the mundanity of life spent removed from society, one is alone, creating over and over.

FRAMING THE LIGHT

NACHO GAMMA

2021

Martin Gerigk (*1972) is a composer of contemporary music. His repertoire includes compositions for orchestra and chamber music, as well as several solo concertos. His compositions are performed nationally and internationally including in Korea, Japan, USA, England, Finland, Austria and Switzerland. In this context he works together with renowned international soloists and ensembles.
In addition to his compositional work he is known for his remarkable audiovisual art and experimental films which focus on inherent synesthetic connections of sound and visual perceptions. Besides creating interwoven aural and visual landscapes of music, nature sounds and video sequences one important aspect of his art is the illustration of the hidden poetry of nature phenomena and sciences.
His experimental films won several international prizes and were screened at noted festivals like Asolo Film Festival, International Digital Arts Festival Videoformes, Girona Film Festival, Salento International Film Festival, Columbus International Film & Animation Festival, USA Film Festival, New Jersey Film Festival, Sidney International Film Festival, Fargo Film Festival, Sherman Oaks Film Festival, Canberra Short Film Festival, Film and Video Poetry Symposium Los Angeles, Syracuse Film Festival or ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival.

HAIKU

Martin Gerigk

2021

Ji Su Kang-Gatto (*1989) was born in Seoul. She grew up in Germany since the age of two (1991). She is a video artist working and living in Düsseldorf/Cologne (Germany) and in Asolo (Italy).
EDUCATION
2008-2013 Studies at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Meisterschülerin of Lucy McKenzie 2018-2021 Postgraduate Studies at Academy of Media Arts Cologne

IDENTITIES AND RECIPES

JI SU KANG-GATTO

2021

Award-winning and independent Iranian artist Tanin Torabi works in the realm of performance, choreography, and film. Tanin's films have been honored numerously by renowned festivals and academies worldwide. Coming from a sociology background, she holds an MA in Contemporary Dance Performance from the University of Limerick. She has received various awards in categories like Creative Vision Award, Jury Prize, Best Artist Film, Best Short Film, Best Inspirational Film, Best Inspiring Woman in a Film, Best Experimental Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Documentary, etc. Her works have been described as rebellious, creative, inspiring, unbearably elegant and affecting, emblematic and poignant, empowering to women, and nourished with clarity and an exceptional ambition that is layered with a complexity of personal and cultural nuance, by festival directors. In 2020 she was invited to the board of jury members of Dance Camera West festival in Los Angeles after serving the same role in Jacksonville Dance Film Festival in 2019.
Torabi’s most recent works are In Plain Sight, The Dérive, Invisible Point, Ruby, Beyond the Frames, and Immensity. Alongside her filmmaking, Tanin has choreographed a number of solo performances performed in Irish World Academy lunchtime concerts, Elemental Arts Festival, What Next Dance Festival, Limerick Fringe and Culture Night Limerick. Moreover, theatre directors and their audiences have widely valued her contribution to theatre pieces as a Movement Director, and Choreographer in "Milk Powder" and "We Won't See them No More" in Iran. Tanin has also danced in ensemble pieces by choreographers: John Scott (IRE), Helen Cathala (FR), Maurine Fleming(US), Charlie Morrissey (UK) during her stay in Ireland, and has had some collaborations with Heidi Latsky Dance from New York. Since 2020, Tanin has become one of the members of The School of Hard Knocks dance company directed by the renowned NYC based choreographer Yoshiko Chuma. Her first collaboration with Yoshiko Chuma was in the company’s online show series called SML (Saturday Morning Live)- Zooma: Dead End, commissioned by La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

IN PLAIN SIGHT

TANIN TORABI

2021

Bjørn Venø (b 1979, Norway / England) Venø embraces failure when creating photographs, video, drawings, music and performance art. Because perfection is reproducible and failure is human.
MA in Photography from the Royal College of Art, 2012.
Exhibitions and performances include The Rudin Prize, Norton Museum, West Palm Beach US (2012), Guangzhou LIVE, YouYou Contemporary Art Centre, Guangzhou CN (2013), Live Action 9, Gothenburg SE (2014), Vestlands Utstilingen NO (2014), Public Screens, Stavanger NO (2017), Breaking Myth, Museo d'Aumale, Palermo IT (2018) and Northern Sustainable Futures, Moskosel SE (2019). With solo projects at Fotogalleriet, Malmö SE (2009), Nettie Horn, London UK (2009) and Tender Pixel, London UK (2013).
Other projects include organising performance art festivals Venø Gård KUNST, Selje NO (2015) and Performance KUNST at 368 PONCE, Atlanta US (2016), creating monthly Zines (2018-19), running the web page www.kunstspace.com and creating three music albums ‘Enslaved By Freedom’ 2017, ’Augmented Manipulation’ 2018 and ‘Arthemy’ 2019 under the name BX.

MOSKOSEL ACTION MUSIC

Bjørn Venø

2021

Egyptian artist Moataz Nasr explores traditions and new globalism, questioning geopolitical and social development in Africa. The artistic practice for Nasr is a tool and a language that embraces art, sociology, Sufism and history, in order to encourage dialogue across geographical boundaries. The most recent group shows include “The See Is My Land”, curated by Francesco Bonomi and Emanuela Mazzonis (MAXXI, Rome, 2013); "Arab Contemporary Architecture, Culture and Identity" (Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, 2014); “Metropolis. Afriques Capitales”, curated by Simon Njami (La Villette, Paris, 2017); “Senses of Time: Video and Film-based Arts of Africa” (LACMA and The Smithsonian National Museum of African Arts, Washington, 2017); Yinchuan Biennale, curated by Marco Scotini (Yinchuan, 2018), International Contemporary Art Exhibition, curated by Mazdak Faiznia (Yerevan, 2018). In 2018, Nasr has been invited to take part to "Abu Dhabi Art 2018 Beyond" and create a site-specific work in the historic sites in Al Ain. In 2019 he was invited to take part to the Havana Biennal and has participated to Fiac Hors Les Murs with the installation of the work Sun Boat at Les Tuileries. Among the most recent solo shows, in 2019 "The Liminal Space", in Castel del Monte, Andria, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva and "Paradise Lost" in Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, curated by Simon Njami. In 2017, he was selected to represent Egypt during the 57th Venice Biennale. The work presented in the Egyptian Pavilion was an immersive installation showing the original film "The Mountain".

THE MOUNTAIN

MOATAZ NASR

2021

In this performance piece piece, the "body" is unlearnt in six movements, as the I maneuver the mobility aid as both vital corporeal appendages, and alienating material. The dynamics of power surrounding the sick/disabled body are examined as slow, intentional gestures unfold wherein the body is bound, contorted and collapsed around the structures built from the medical devices. A striking confrontation and embodiment of powerlessness takes place. "Unlearn the Body" captures my continuous struggle with the pressures of externalized and internalized ableism to preform able-bodiedness, and the deterioration of my body that makes such performance ultimately painful and impossible. This piece articulates the post-human and cyborg-futurist body of thought I employ in my work and my relationship to my illness and disability- wherein the line between the "organic" and "inorganic" is blurred. I am contending every day with the reality that all my "best" parts are made from metal, plastic and stone- the "inorganic" prosthetics and medical devices implanted within me are vital to the function of my "organic" corporeal form. The naturalist prejudice within ableist society gives preference to the body which is devoid of "inorganic" material, and unaided by medical devices- but the notion of an "organic" body is an oxymoronic fallacy. This performance allows for me to parallel the mobility aids with my own body, the external, metal appendages no more alien to me than my own, decrepit and deteriorating bodily appendages. Building the precarious structures and shapes from the mobility aids, and tucking myself into them embodies the fraught navigation of my own illness, disability and degeneration as I simultaneously contend with the socio-societally integrated ableism which allows for the desecration and marginalization of the sick/disabled body. This piece in particular is a vulnerable exhibition of my complex and undulating acceptance of my own illness a disability. "Unlearn the Body" captures a painful understanding and embrace in the face of health politics which call for all sick/disabled individuals to be ashamed and constantly seeking a "solution" to their illness/disability- or in the very least be actively working to conceal it from society at large for the sake of the comfort of those who are of able body. "Unlearn the Body" is simultaneously tender, and cutting, a glimpse into a never-ending conversation I must have with myself and my body as I live with an illness and disability that are ever-worsening.

UNLEARN THE BODY

PANTEHA ABARESHI

2021

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