Filmabend #2: Catching the real. Ausgewählte Filmarbeiten. Vorgestellt von Chantal Molleur, White Frame. 

“You only are free when you realize you belong no place — you belong every place — no place at all.” - Maya Angelou

As human beings, we are relational to the core. As a social species, we look for a place to belong. Besides love, belonging may be the second essential component of our social structure. As individuals, we face the paradox of wanting to belong and, at the same time, standing alone. As warriors in their extraordinary everyday lives, artists are experts in standing alone, and in striking that fragile balance between belonging and standing alone. Artists produce art that can be a language shared by individuals, nations and cultures. Art can generate powerful questions about outsider status, legality, and identity. We all experience the desire to belong in so many ways: wanting to fit in, wanting to be a part of something, wanting to do our part with others; and we search for commonalities — in groups, religions, neighborhoods and communities.

Naming this program “Catching the real” was my first attempt to answer Ines Goldbach’s questions about belonging, such as  'What could our places of longing be?' I realized that it was pointless to search for definitive answers, for catching the real is as elusive as permanence and certainty. Instead, I decided to find multiple answers in films and videos that portray the divisive and disjointed nature of our world, whilst showing how fruitful and inspiring it can also be, capturing the balance we need to be able to thrive as individuals and connect with each other.

 Program in order of presentation

- Airport, Michaela Müller, Switzerland / Croatia, 2017, 11 min, without dialogue, animation

Airports — the pinnacle of modern society, places where the limits of borders, security and tolerance are constantly tested. While for some the journey starts, for others it abruptly ends

- En La Boca, Matteo Gariglio, Switzerland, 2016, 25 min, spanish with english subtitle, documentary

In Buenos Aires, the Molina family lives and works in the shadows of the legendary Boca Juniors stadium. Selling fake tickets to the soccer games, they constantly get in conflict with the corrupt police. As her family sinks deeper into this underworld, the mother tries in vain to keep them all from falling apart

- Free, White and 21, Howardena Pindell, 1980, 12 min 15, english, performance, courtesy Garth Greenan Gallery, N.Y.

In Free, White And 21, Howardena Pindell recounts bias incidents she has experienced as an African American woman in educational institutions, employment offices, and in various social settings.

- Semiotics of the Kitchen 2011 (Barbie Stop Motion), Thressa Willett, USA 2011, 5 min 40, English, animation

 Martha Rosler 1975 Semiotics of the Kitchen revisited.

- In a Nutshell, Fabio Friedli, Switzerland, 2017, 5 min, without dialogue, animation

From a seed to war, from meat to love, from indifference to apocalypse. An attempt to capture the world in a nutshell.

- Where Euphrates and Sava Flow together, Andreas Muggli, Switzerland, 2016, 15 min., Arabic with english subtitles, documentary

Mid-February 2016, a few days before the closure of the Greek-Macedonian border. Along the Sava river, the last stage of a long trip on the refugee’s route through the Balkans.

- E.B.C. 5300m, Léonard Kohli, Switzerland, 2017, 15 min, without dialogue, documentary

5300 metres above sea level, at the Everest Base Camp. Through the use of clips, the film focuses on camp life and organisation, exposing the contrast between this fleeting micro-village and its savage, mystical setting while proposing a reflection on the development of extreme forms of tourism.

On White Frame and Chantal Molleur

Chantal Molleur is the founder and curator of White Frame, a non-profit nomadic association operating at the intersection of video art, cinema and photography. Since its foundation, White Frame has produced and curated more than twenty exhibitions in collaboration with Swiss and international artists, curators and institutions. Before moving to Switzerland in 2005, Chantal Molleur worked in the Canadian media art for twenty years.