Sun, 01.10.2023
19:00–20:30
WARSAW UNDER CONSTRUCTION 15
Bar Studio
free admission
Film review: 20ºC/68ºF
The film review, curated by Jonathan Pouthier, the film program curator at the Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Pompidou in Paris, is part of the 15th edition of the WARSAW UNDER CONSTRUCTION festival.
In his essay concerning the political orientation of the 21st century, Bruno Latour delves into the issue of capitalist societies’ denial in the face of increasingly violent manifestations of climate change, which jeopardize our capacity to sustain a harmonious environment for all life forms. The philosopher posits a poignant question: “Where can we find refuge?” as habitable lands become scarcer by the day. In the epoch of the Anthropocene, where humankind has ascended as the paramount geophysical force, surpassing even the natural forces, the Earth’s surface carries indelible imprints of both past and present human endeavors. These marks, akin to symbols etched onto the landscape, beckon us to decipher them, offering glimpses into an uncertain yet palpable future.
The artists and filmmakers featured in this program embark on a journey to explore the potential of film in crafting alternative narratives in response to our ecological predicament. They investigate the geological layers beneath the Earth’s surface, seeking to gauge the world’s condition, as Rosa Barba does. They observe the operation of an artificial sun and contemplate the nature of time, as Yto Barrada does. They anticipate the emergence of synthetic ecosystems, much like Ben Rivers. They also give voice to the non-human entities, allowing them to articulate their own perspectives, echoing the works of Basim Magdy and Cauleen Smith. In their collective pursuit, these artists and filmmakers aim to harness the power of film to offer fresh narratives and solutions amidst the ecological quandary we face.
- Rosa Barba, Time as Perspective, 2012, 35mm (transfered to digital file), color, sound, 12min
- Yto Barrada, The Power of Two or Three Suns, 2020, 16mm (transfered to digital file), color, sound, 11 min 11
- Ben Rivers, Urth, 2016, Super 16 (transferred to digital file), color, sound, 20 min
- Basim Magdy, Many Colours of the Sky Radiate Forgetfulness, 2014, Super 16mm (transferred to digital file), color, sound, 11 min
- Cauleen Smith, Songs for Earth and Folk, 2013, video, color, sound, 11min
Photo: Rosa Barba, Time as Perspective, 2012, 35mm (transfered to digital file), color, sound, 12min © Rosa Barba
Jonathan Pouthier is in charge of programming the film collection at the Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Pompidou in Paris since 2011. He is the author of numerous articles on the relationship between film and the visual arts, including Objet mental. Film, projection et interférences (in Philippe Decrauzat, Delay, Walther König, 2022), David Claerbout. The Silence of the Lens (Hannibal Books, 2022) and L’histoire d’une histoire du cinéma (Paris Expérimental/Centre Pompidou, 2023, co-edited with Enrico Camporesi). He has curated several exhibitions, including The Site of Film (KANAL-Centre Pompidou Brussels, 2018), Ericka Beckman (KANAL-Centre Pompidou Brussels, 2019), Jean Pierre Bertrand, Diamon’d (Centre Pompidou Paris, 2019) and more recently Le reste est ombre. Pedro Costa, Rui Chafes, Paulo Nozolino (Centre Pompidou, 2022, co-curated by Philippe-Alain Michaud).