White Frame presents
Films and videos from Switzerland, China, Columbia, Denmark, England and France.
Stadtkino Basel December 12, 2018 18:30Â
The Compiler Screenings 2018
Are our convictions really ours or are they ideas instilled by a political party, a religion or a philosophical movement to which we adhere? Psychologists will define conviction as a strong belief that a behaviour is right, moral, and consistent with our deeper values. It offers a kind of certainty, not about the world, but about the morality of our own behav iour. The word is also connoted pejoratively: those who have convictions and those who believe in nothing. Where do we stand today in a highly polarised world where lack of respect characterises our political and social discours es. Are strong convictions fuelling misunderstandings, creat ing an ‘us’ and ‘them’ instead of only being who we are? Are we being right and moral to stand to our deeper values or are we acting out of resentfulness and arrogance? The Compiler Screenings 2018 curatorial focus will concentrate on the the matic of some of the concepts surrounding convictions ex plored by artists and filmmakers from Switzerland and abroad.
Gehören unsere Überzeugungen wirklich uns oder sind es Ideen, die von einer politischen Partei, einer Religion oder einer philosophischen Bewegung, an der wir uns festhalten, vermittelt werden? Psychologen werden Überzeugung als eine starke Sicherheit definieren, dass ein Verhalten richtig, moralisch und im Einklang mit unseren tieferen Werten ist. Es bietet eine Art Gewissheit – nicht über die Welt, aber darüber, dass unser eigenes Verhalten moralisch ist. Das Wort ist auch abwertend konnotiert: diejenigen, die Überzeugun gen haben, und diejenigen, die an nichts glauben. Wo stehen wir heute in einer stark polarisierten Welt, in der fehlender Respekt unsere politischen und sozialen Diskurse prägt? Schüren starke Überzeugungen Missverständnisse, indem sie ein ‹wir› und ‹sie› schaffen, anstatt dass wir einfach sein können, was wir sind? Sind wir rechtschaffen und moralisch genug, um zu unseren tieferen Werten zu stehen, oder handeln wir aus Groll und Arroganz? Der kuratorische Schwer punkt der Compiler Screenings 2018 liegt auf der Thematik einiger Konzepte rund um Überzeugungen, die von Künstlern und Filmemachern aus dem In- und Ausland erforscht werden.
The Compiler Screenings 2018 In cooperation with the Stadtkino Basel, the Basel association White Frame presents ‘Convictions’ video art and films from Switzerland and abroad. The program is co-curated by Bruno Quiblier, head of Base-Court in Lausanne and member of the selection committee of the Pardi di Domani section of the Locarno Film Festival, and Chantal Molleur, founder and curator of White Frame. In Kooperation mit dem Stadtkino Basel präsentiert der Basler Verein White Frame mit ‹Convictions› Videokunst und Filme aus der Schweiz und dem Ausland. Das Programm wurde gemeinsam kuratiert von Bruno Quiblier, Leiter Base-Court aus Lausanne und Mitglied des Selektionskomitees Pardi di Domani des Filmfestivals Locarno, und von Chantal Molleur, Gründerin und Kuratorin von White Frame.
Chen Chen
Franziska Schlienger, Schweiz / China 2017. 15’. Farbe. Chinesisch / e Chen Chen’s life is dedicated to beauty and money. With his gla morous lifestyle he stands for a new generation: successful young people who managed to settle in the city, working hard in their creative studios during the day and celebrating their extravagant lives in bars at night. But although he drives a Porsche, Chen Chen lives in a small flat with his brother. www.zisfilm.ch
My Honeymoon
Eilenn Hofer, Schweiz 2014. 4’. Farbe. Englisch In 2013, 11 600 asylum seekers, most of them Syrians, arrived in Bulgaria, one of the poorest coun tries of the European Union. The director’s friends and family gave her funds so she brought them food and useful items during a trip to Sofia. This is how she briefly met Berivan and improvised the film in less than an hour. www.eileenhofer.ch
Facing Mecca
Jan-Eric Mack, Schweiz 2017. 25’. Farbe. Englisch Pensioner Roli comes to Fareed’s assistance when the Syrian refugee is faced with the burial of his Muslim wife. Together they stumble into a bewildering forest of Swiss bureaucracy to which Roli finds a beautifully simple answer. www.dschointventschr.ch/fr/movies/shorts/ facing-mecca
How long, not long
Michelle Kranot and Uri Kranot, Dennemark 2016. 5’ 30”. Farbe. ohne Dialog A visual journey that challenges us to think about a universal belonging that doesn’t confine itself to a city, region or national boundary in an age where xenophobia, nationalism and intolerance are ubiquitous. www.tindrum.dk
Santa, the Fascist Years Bill Plympton, USA 2008. 4’. Farbe. Englisch
We all think of Santa as “Jolly ole St.Nick”. But who knew that he has a dark hidden past that’s very un-jolly? This short film uncovers and explores Santa’s flirtation with politics and greed. Voiced by Matthew Modine. www.plymptoons.com
L’ambassadeur & moi
Jan Czarlewski, Schweiz, 2011. 15’. Farbe. Französisch / Polnisch /e
I Signed the Petition
Mahdi Fleifel, UK / Schweiz 2018. 10’. Farbe. Englisch/e
His Excellency, the plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Belgian Crown sacrificed his entire life for his country. His dedication came with a price; he never really had time for me, his son. I thus, decide to come to Brussels to try to make up for lost time.
Immediately after a Palestinian man signs an online petition, he is thrown into a panic-inducing spiral of self-doubt. Over the course of a conversation with an understan ding friend, he analyses, decon structs and interprets the meaning of his choice to publicly support the cultural boycott of Israel.
www.ecal.ch
www.nakbafilmworks.com
La impresión de una guerra Camilo Restrepo, Kolumbien / Frankreich 2015. 26’. Farbe. Spanisch / e
For over 70 years, Colombia has been confronted with internal armed conflict. Over the years, the out lines of the conflict have grown indistinct. A climate of generalised violence has gradually settled over society as a whole. Violence and barbarity have worked themselves into every aspect of daily life, and fine traces of it mark the streets. Through a multitude of these traces, perhaps the narra tive of this hazy war will finally take a firmer shape. “Impression of a War” offers a vision of some of those deliberate, accidental, ostensible, fleeting or dissimulated marks. They are often signs of the struggle against oblivion, indifference and impunity. www.camilo-restrepo-films.net/fr
White Frame (WF) produces and curates exhibitions and screenings, offering artists greater visibility for their art. Established in 2011 in Basel, Switzerland, our nonprofit nomadic association operates at the intersection of video art, cinema and photography. We strive to forge national and international networks and generate collaboration. We initiate and implement projects and facilitate exchange between Swiss and international artists, institutions, independent curators, festival programmers, writers and the public. www.whiteframe.art The Base-Court association was created in 1999 to estab lish the first Nuit du Court métrage (‘Short Film Night’) in Lausanne at the Cinémathèque Suisse. For almost 20 years now, its activities have been part of the national landscape in terms of promoting and developing the short-film format. Over the years, Base-Court has become a vital platform for programming Swiss and international short films by both established filmmakers and young talents. Thanks to its experience, the association has developed its own events, including the Court du Mois (‘Short of the Month’), and enhanced the Nuit du Court event in Lausanne, which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Base-Court also means a presence in the selection committee of the Pardi di Domani at Locarno, the Short Film Corner at Cannes and the short-film committee at the César Awards as well as, in the past, the Festival Tous Ecrans and the OFC. For the first time in Switzerland, Base-Court also initiated Regards Neufs, a sensitive approach to film. Since 2010, Regards Neufs has offered Swiss and international films with audio description and subtitles to facilitate access to culture for people with disabilities. www.base-court.ch
White Frame would like to thank the filmmakers and video artists. This project is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Christoph Merian Foundation and the Division of Cultural Affairs Basel-Stadt.
White Frame
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