DATE: DeCeMber 13th, 6.30 pm.
DEAR MUM PERFORMANCE – 10′
“Dear Mum, when did you realise that you have hurt me?”
WILL YOU LOOK AT ME – Shuli Huang, 2022, 20′
Shuli Huang’s Will You Look At Me maps his post-college emotional turmoil as he contends with his parents’ disapproval of his homosexuality and his choice to pursue art over a more traditional career path.
Bringing together short bursts of scintillating Super 8 imagery with a confessional voice-over, Huang creates a spellbinding representation of his contradictory feelings toward his mother — he loves her but resents her unwillingness to fully embrace him — that doubles as a beautiful portrait of a rarely depicted Beijing that is populated by young artists. Because of its small gauge, much of Will You Look At Me’s delight results from its quick and engrossing rhythm, which Huang says manifested “its own shape naturally” after he put together a rough cut.
HEY SWEET PEA – Alee Peoples, 2023, 11′
Parental ageing and an existential wave collide in fun and surprising ways in the suburbs of LA. Dislocated B-roll, meandering voicemails, and readings from the 1984 children’s sci-fi movie The Neverending Story combine to situate our collective grief in the hazy mundanities of everyday life.
WASP – Andrea Arnold, 2003, 25′
In late summer, worker wasps no longer find enough food to feed their larvae. That’s why they look for sweets. Although they are not particularly aggressive, they will sting if irritated.
ICH DARF SIE IMMER ALLES FRAGEN (I MAY ALWAYS ASK HER ANYTHING)- Silke Schönfeld, 2023, 15′
The cutting down of a cherry tree becomes the starting point for an intimate dialogue about transgenerational trauma between mother and daughter. The line between the need for investigation and the desire for healing becomes blurry when a persistent camera depicts the felling of the tree.
ALPSEE – Matthias Müller, 1994, 15′, no dialogue
A childhood in the ’60s. A heart beats in the cabinet. Voices rain down on the city.
A tree grows on planet Mars. It’s a miracle.
Question and Answer – 15′
Program length: 120 min
Content Notes: sexual violence within the family, mention of child abuse