Program: Humanness
Curated by Alyssa Micha
TRT: 62 min
Time To Leave (Léwuga Benson, 7.5 min., 2019, USA)
Aggressively escorted out of a bank, at the age of 16, after inquiring about opening a bank account, the narrator ( also the filmmaker) boldly confronts and examines that discriminatory moment from his past. That it, indeed, changed his perspective on race forever is what is on full display in this film. This looking back and forth at one's own personal and social history also leads the narrator to ask whether it is fair to be seen - or treated - as a threat or criminal before we even do anything wrong? Exploring as well as highlighting the struggles and complexities around the issues of race; stereotypes, and belonging this experimental essay film demonstrates how connected those larger issues are to the personal, lived experience. Ultimately, with emphasis on the present and the future of race relations in America, the film challenges and encourages us to constantly question and reimagine our own positional privilege.
Between Us (Sally Waterman, 2 min., 2018, United Kingdom)
The ‘Twenty’ project (2017-18) serves as a reflection upon the artist’s long term relationship with her partner in the light of his treatment for heart failure. Shot a year on, ‘Between Us’ (2018) is a celebration of his recovery, yet recognition of his vulnerability, viewed through a loving, female gaze. Based on the poem, ‘Loving You’ by Frances Horovitz, this black and white video acts as an intimate love letter to her partner, comprised of twenty-one still images to signify their twenty-one years spent together. The film can also be shown as a looping video installation so credits have not been added.
Faces without Visage (Hesam Rahmani, 8 min., 2019, Islamic Republic of Iran)
How come a somber silence drowns me and my memory? How come the faces lose visage in this dark dungeon of memory?
Shore (ORILLA) (Veronica Paz, 3 min., 2020, Argentina)
How to return to what is lost, what is not? It seems that we can only recover fragments and assemble pieces. But how can we know that what returns is what had disappeared. / ¿Cómo regresar a lo perdido, a lo que no está? Parece que sólo podemos recuperar fragmentos y montar retazos Pero cómo saber que lo retorna es lo que había desaparecido.
Too Much Fun (Grace Mitchell (12 min., 2020, USA)
Lesbian Farmer (Carleen Maur, 2.5 min., n/a, n/a)
A brief meditation on coyotes, my mother, and conservative talk radio.
Luci: The Girl with Three Hearts (Katina Bitsicas, 8 min., 2019, USA)
Luci Cook is the recipient of three heart transplants, at ages 11, 23, and 28. She is now 31, finishing college, and has a fear of wasting time since she is not a candidate for a fourth heart transplant. A conversation about the trauma and PTSD involved with transplants is seen as taboo, and she has been told numerous times that she should just be grateful to be alive. Through direct collaboration with Luci, I aim for this film to create the room to discuss these issues and provide Luci the ability to reclaim her traumatizing hospital experiences. She also describes how each donor’s heart feels different and has a different personality depending on the donor. This film is divided into three sections, one for each donor, and visually reflects the feeling and location of each heart.
Invisiotomy (Eeva Siivonen, 8 min., 2020, Canada)
Invisiotomy reflects on a space of encounter with a nocturnal nonhuman realm in which “human” subjectivity is erased and absent, present only as a haunting spectral figure through language and the disembodied gaze of the trail camera. This disembodied subjectivity–negotiated through the eye of the camera–moves through bodies that are neither exterior nor interior, present and absent, living, or dead.
Becoming (Alex Morelli, 11 min., 2020, USA)
As the US ramps up border enforcement and detention during summer 2019, a formerly undocumented activist prepares for her naturalization test with the help of her filmmaker-partner. In impressionistic scenes that span North Carolina and the Arizona borderlands, jingoistic displays of patriotism, and creative acts of revolt, the film playfully interrogates the paradoxes of citizenship.
Curated by Alyssa Micha
TRT: 62 min
Time To Leave (Léwuga Benson, 7.5 min., 2019, USA)
Aggressively escorted out of a bank, at the age of 16, after inquiring about opening a bank account, the narrator ( also the filmmaker) boldly confronts and examines that discriminatory moment from his past. That it, indeed, changed his perspective on race forever is what is on full display in this film. This looking back and forth at one's own personal and social history also leads the narrator to ask whether it is fair to be seen - or treated - as a threat or criminal before we even do anything wrong? Exploring as well as highlighting the struggles and complexities around the issues of race; stereotypes, and belonging this experimental essay film demonstrates how connected those larger issues are to the personal, lived experience. Ultimately, with emphasis on the present and the future of race relations in America, the film challenges and encourages us to constantly question and reimagine our own positional privilege.
Between Us (Sally Waterman, 2 min., 2018, United Kingdom)
The ‘Twenty’ project (2017-18) serves as a reflection upon the artist’s long term relationship with her partner in the light of his treatment for heart failure. Shot a year on, ‘Between Us’ (2018) is a celebration of his recovery, yet recognition of his vulnerability, viewed through a loving, female gaze. Based on the poem, ‘Loving You’ by Frances Horovitz, this black and white video acts as an intimate love letter to her partner, comprised of twenty-one still images to signify their twenty-one years spent together. The film can also be shown as a looping video installation so credits have not been added.
Faces without Visage (Hesam Rahmani, 8 min., 2019, Islamic Republic of Iran)
How come a somber silence drowns me and my memory? How come the faces lose visage in this dark dungeon of memory?
Shore (ORILLA) (Veronica Paz, 3 min., 2020, Argentina)
How to return to what is lost, what is not? It seems that we can only recover fragments and assemble pieces. But how can we know that what returns is what had disappeared. / ¿Cómo regresar a lo perdido, a lo que no está? Parece que sólo podemos recuperar fragmentos y montar retazos Pero cómo saber que lo retorna es lo que había desaparecido.
Too Much Fun (Grace Mitchell (12 min., 2020, USA)
Lesbian Farmer (Carleen Maur, 2.5 min., n/a, n/a)
A brief meditation on coyotes, my mother, and conservative talk radio.
Luci: The Girl with Three Hearts (Katina Bitsicas, 8 min., 2019, USA)
Luci Cook is the recipient of three heart transplants, at ages 11, 23, and 28. She is now 31, finishing college, and has a fear of wasting time since she is not a candidate for a fourth heart transplant. A conversation about the trauma and PTSD involved with transplants is seen as taboo, and she has been told numerous times that she should just be grateful to be alive. Through direct collaboration with Luci, I aim for this film to create the room to discuss these issues and provide Luci the ability to reclaim her traumatizing hospital experiences. She also describes how each donor’s heart feels different and has a different personality depending on the donor. This film is divided into three sections, one for each donor, and visually reflects the feeling and location of each heart.
Invisiotomy (Eeva Siivonen, 8 min., 2020, Canada)
Invisiotomy reflects on a space of encounter with a nocturnal nonhuman realm in which “human” subjectivity is erased and absent, present only as a haunting spectral figure through language and the disembodied gaze of the trail camera. This disembodied subjectivity–negotiated through the eye of the camera–moves through bodies that are neither exterior nor interior, present and absent, living, or dead.
Becoming (Alex Morelli, 11 min., 2020, USA)
As the US ramps up border enforcement and detention during summer 2019, a formerly undocumented activist prepares for her naturalization test with the help of her filmmaker-partner. In impressionistic scenes that span North Carolina and the Arizona borderlands, jingoistic displays of patriotism, and creative acts of revolt, the film playfully interrogates the paradoxes of citizenship.
