Mud, Drones and Spirits

Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival 2019

Curated screening programme and workshop, 8 June 2019

BIMI Birkbeck Cinema

A workshop jointly organised by the Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM), University of Westminster and Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival, and hosted by Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image (BIMI) + curated shorts programme.

In partnership with CREAM, University of Westminster, Aperture hosts a second workshop continuing discussions arising from the first Asia Through The Aperture Workshop held last year. Asia Through the Aperture is an ongoing discussion series exploring contemporary and historical Asian moving image culture and art and reframing discussions around ‘curating Asia’ and moving image practice.

Speakers, panellists and moderators include Hyunjin Cho (London Korean Film Festival), George Clark (CREAM), Laila Dickson (London Australian Film Festival), Victor Fan (Kings’ College, Chinese Visual Festival), Sonali Joshi (Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival, Day for Night), Janet McCabe (BIMI, Essay Film Festival), Eric Sasono (King’s College London/NANG 6), Jasper Sharp (Writer & Curator, NANG 5), Kate Taylor (London Film Festival).

The workshop aims to create time for conversational exchanges drawing on the experiences, perspectives, research and practice of all participants. Contributions from invited speakers are intended as catalysts for broader dialogues on the day, and with a view to exploring potential collaborations in the future. We invite active participation as workshop attendants interested in sharing experiences and perspectives, and in exploring the scope for collaboration with Aperture and CREAM’s joint initiative.

+ curated shorts programme: Mud, Drones and Spirits


Who is your primary audience? Is it human? This screening presents a selection of recent works of artists’ moving image from Asia that stages a dialogue between human and nonhumans. These works see the beyond human as also entities that embody history, speculate futures, and tell their own stories. Together they question the assumption that humans are the only audience of cinema.

With works by Tanatchai Bandasak (Thailand), Zai Tang and Simon Ball (Singapore), Rei Hayama (Japan) and Korakrit Arunanondchai (Thailand).

Curated by May Adadol Ingawanij and Julian Ross.

Asia Through the Aperture Organising committee: May Adadol Ingawanij, Julian Ross, George Clark, Janet McCabe, Sonali Joshi

Schedule:

Saturday 8 June, 10.30am-2pm
Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1H 0PD

10.30am-10.40am: Introductions
Janet McCabe (Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image)
Sonali Joshi (Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival, Day for Night)
George Clark (CREAM, University of Westminster)

10.40am-11.40am: Approaches to Curating
Sonali Joshi (Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival, Day for Night)
Kate Taylor (London Film Festival)
Hyunjin Cho (London Korean Film Festival)
Laila Dickson (London Australian Film Festival)
Moderator: Janet McCabe (Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image)

11.40am-12.15am: Break

12.15am-1.15am: NANG – words and images on cinema
Jasper Sharp (Writer & Curator, NANG 5)
Eric Sasono (King’s College London, NANG 6)
Victor Fan (King’s College London, Chinese Visual Festival, NANG 7)
Moderator: George Clark (CREAM, University of Westminster)

1.15pm-2pm: Screening
Mud, Drones And Spirits

  • Recording of a Screening for a Spirit (Tanatchai Bandasak, Thailand 2015, 3 min)
  • Escape Velocity II (Zai Tang & Simon Ball, Singapore 2018, 9 min)
  • The Knot of Meridian (Rei Hayama, Japan 2015, 11 min)
  • Painting with History in a Room Filled with People with Funny Names 3 (Korakrit Arunanondchai, Thailand 2015, 25 min)

curated by May Adadol Ingawanij and Julian Ross (CREAM, University of Westminster)

The second part of this screening programme, Between the Living and the Dead, takes place at Close-Up at 8.30pm