Breath/Light/Birth: Spirituality In Experimental Cinema
Thursday, October 14, 2010, 19:30h, Free entrance
Winnipeg Cinematheque
100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, MB R3B 1H3, Canada

Curated by Heidi Phillips. Followed by a panel discussion to follow with Heidi Phillips and Amanda Dawn Christie.

The climate of contemporary film has grown comfortable in its absence of religious themes. However, when a film appears that asks any sort of question about God or even alludes to the possibility of a great power, it stands out. Dealing with these concepts of religion and spirituality in an artistic manner becomes daring in its infrequency. The films in the program were selected both from their use of content and their form. Not only is their thematic content important but also how they were made. They would all be described as experimental as the artist pays particular attention to how he/she uses their medium of choice, balancing both form and concept.

- untitled 2 (the last jew of edenbridge) by Sol Nagler
- Breath/Light/Birth by Bruce Elder
- We are experiencing… by John Kneller
- Path by Elvira Finnigan
- Quiero Ver by Adele Horne
- The Architect by Rick Fisher and Don Rice
- Fair Trade by Leslie Supnet
- King of the Jews by Jay Rosenblatt
- Playing Jacob by Amanda Dawn Christie

Riding the Wave
Wednesday October 20, 2010, 19h
Waterside Project Space
Unit 8, Waterside
44-48 Wharf Rd, London N1 7UX

A screening of video works by Grupa Azorro, Grzegorz Drozd, Piotr Filipiuk, Rahim Blak, Krzysztof Kaczmarek, Julia Zborowska.
Maxa Zoller and Karol Sienkiewicz in conversation

The screening examines the way Polish and Eastern European artists appropriate and paraphrase western themes and motifs. There appears to be a resurgence of post-modern art making strategies. In an art scene relatively young to the ideas of markets and high-powered institutions, a number of artists make use of some well-tried strategies that nonetheless appear ‘fresh’ in the local context.

This practice creates a field for self-reflection and analysis of the Eastern European relationship with Western culture. In contrast with Grupa Azorro’s humourous lament that ‘everything has been done’, a series of works that shun the institutional context and do not engage in post-modern discourse become apparent. These works move between the absurdity of the familiar and universal pop cultural trends, from banality to surrealism.

The choice between local and global reflects the rejection and participation in the mainstream ‘western’ art history. A constant desire forms part of a nation’s identity, but is this search for the self unique to Eastern Europe?

Programme curated by Piotr Sikora

- Grupa Azorro, Everything has been done, 2003, 12'26"
- Grzegorz Drozd, Challenger, 2007, 3'15"
- Piotr Filipiuk, Playground, 2009, 4'06"
- Rahim Blak, National Museum. How to become a part of the History of Painting?, 2006, 10'45"
- Krzysztof Kaczmarek, Cheerleaders, Scene with the guys, Casting
- Julia Zborowska, Trwala parowa (Hot Perm), 2009, 30'