Just two days more until the beginning of the 2015 Courtisane Festival (April 1-5, Ghent, Belgium). Now in its fourteenth year, the festival keeps a solid programme as ever with their 'Artists in focus' section, dedicated to Thom Andersen and Pedro Costa. Each filmmaker will be the protagonist of a series of different events including screenings of their work, masterclasses and carte blanches. 

The festival will also present a selection of over 50 films from the L.A. Rebellion movement, including works by Charles Burnett, Haile Gerima, Larry Clark and Billy Woodberry. The Selection strand will feature films and videos by Basma Alsharif, Mary Helena Clark, Beatrice Gibson, Ernie Gehr, Morgan Fisher, Ute Aurand and Luke Fowler, among many others. 

A central figure in the Berlin experimental film scene since the 1980s, Ute Aurand is one the most vital filmmakers active in the diary and portrait tradition today. For Aurand, who works in 16mm just like her precursors Jonas Mekas, Margaret Tait and Marie Menken, “the diaristic form develops out of an inner dialogue with my surroundings, a silent visual conversation. The source of inspiration is daily life, the fountain which never stops and offers itself to everyone. It is a great joy and challenge to transform my inner dialogue into film.”

The playful and poignant films of German filmmaker Ute Aurand, a key figure in Berlin’s experimental film scene since the 1980s, emerge from her intimate relationship with people and places. Drawing on traditions of the diary film, feminism and artisanal practices, her handcrafted 16mm films are filled with joy at the small details of life – from observations of landscapes to friends filmed over many years. Her exuberant films reflect on memory as much as they celebrate the here and now. These screenings presented by the artist will highlight the range and breadth of Aurand’s filmmaking.

Curated by George Clark, Assistant Curator Film, Tate Modern