3 Artist Videos on Flanders International Film Festival-Ghent

11.10... 13.10.2004

The Flanders International Film Festival-Ghent, the Friends of S.M.A.K. (“De Vrienden v/h S.M.A.K.) and Artcinema OFFoff Ghent showed videos and films of the artists Josef Dabernig, Hito Steverl and Chantal Akerman.

In collaboration with the Friends of S.M.A.K. (“De Vrienden v/h S.M.A.K.”) and Artcinema OFFoff Ghent, Flanders International Film Festival-Ghent presented a series of movies by three artists during three nights. Those artists were the Austrian Josef Dabernig (11/10), the German Hito Steyerl (12/10) and the Belgian-French Chantal Akerman (13/10).

Monday 11 October 2004- 20h

JOSEF DABERNIG was noticed during Manifesta 3 in Ljubljana with his movie WISLA, a “Beckettian” view on two football coaches in a match without players. Dabernig is a master of suggestive cinema in which nostalgia, alienation and the former Eastern bloc play a prominent role. His works were also showed in the Wiener Secession, New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and la Biennale di Venezia 2001 and 2003. WISLA was accompanied by five other works of Josef Dabernig, including his most recent movie ROSA COELI included.
Tuesday 12 October- 20h
DIE LEER MITTE and NOVEMBER were the movies of HITO STEYERL, that were showed. She was commissioned to realise them by order of Manifesta 5 in San Sebastian. This latter movie is an interesting reflection about the notions of revolution, terrorism and ideology. Her Kurdish friend was the subject of this movie, in which political commitment, gender and power(lessness) formed the running thread. Commitment, historical reflections, social politics, the role of image and imagination also formed the subject of her work as well as of her readings and essays. Works by Steyerl were also showed during the 3th Berlin Biennale and in the Kunstverein München. Hito Steyerl was present to situate and explain both movies.

Wednesday 13 October – 20h.

The relation between image and music formed a constant in Chantal Akerman’s short film TROIS STROPHES SUR LE NOM SACHER. The film maker let her camera be led by the rhythm of a cellist and equated in a magisterial way musical experience with the cadence of life, that comes and goes. In AVEC SONJA WIEDER-ATHERTON the same cellist was at the centre. With a tight image direction Akerman recorded the cellist and her quartet and sensed while at the same time carefully exploring the musical and cinematographic space and time. Because of this, the work became a very interesting study about the dialogue between image and (chamber)music. Akerman’s work was represented by Marion Goodman in Paris while the Centre Pompidou organised an overview exhibition with her movies as well as her installations.