Catastrophe

Program Details

        
      "The concept of progress must be rooted in the idea of catastrophe. That things are 'status quo' is the catastrophe. It is not an ever present possibility but the given in each case. [...] Rescue is contingent on the small jump in the ongoing catastrophe." (Walter Benjamin)

In Short

Why do catastrophes fascinate people? And what do images in the media contribute to this ambivalent attraction? How and to what ends do television, the media arts, cinema - in short, all kinds of moving images - present the catastrophe? These questions will be pursued in the special program "Catastrophe" at the 48th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in 15 individual programs encompassing all varieties of the short form - from historical advertising films to new video clips - and with thematic approaches ranging from "After the War" to "Terror and Spectacle".

Catastrophe and Progress

The idea of catastrophe is one of mankind's earliest conceptualisations. The greatest of all imaginable catastrophes is the Apocalypse, merging fear of the end of the world with hope that doomsday will be followed by the coming ofa new world - the kingdom of God. The Lisbon earthquake of 1 November 1755 raised doubt of God's fundamental goodwill toward man. Reassurance was sought in the conviction that sound government, scientific progress and technical advances could ensure survival in a world full of danger. Such progress brought not only an increase in the number and kind of possible catastrophes, however -- the very power to bring about the end of the world now rests in our own hands.

Representations of Catastrophe

The depiction of horrors in cinema today knows no bounds. But on television as well, more and more images - live and in full colour - of every possible kind of catastrophe fill our living rooms: floods, volcanoes, terrible accidents, battlefield scenes, the selection is endless. We can't help feeling irresistibly attracted to such scenes - as outside observers, that is. Viewers shudder at images of the victims' suffering, while the righteous envisage the horrible fate ofthe sinners, torn between fascination and fear.

The special program "Catastrophe" examines the representation of catastrophes in the media, their fabrication for political ends as well as their artistic depiction and reworking. The program shows stories of devastating events, whether war, ecological disaster, terrorism, emergencies, or personal catastrophes such as trauma, social blunders, or simply missing the person one loves. "Catastrophe" is devoted to individual survival strategies as well as utopian and dystopian visions of the world of the future. It draws on all varieties of short film, ranging from an historical advertisement for electricity to documentaries, video clips or an Internet project. "Catastrophe" shows how images regulate the ambivalence between fear and attraction.

The Programs:

DEATH ON THE SCREEN

This program explores the conspiratorial connection between media image and historical event, between myth and spectacle: from the crash of the airship 'Hindenburg' in 1937 to ironic appropriations of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and even a simulated inferno in a major city. With films and videos by Bruce Conner (USA), Jean-Claude Bustros (Canada), T.R. Uthco and Ant Farm (USA), David Hoffos (Canada), and others.

SNOW CRASH

The introduction of new technologies is both salvation and curse: unexpected consequences for both the human body and psyche are often noticeable only after years have passed. This program spans an historical arch from the boon of world electrification to horrific visions of human dependency on digital systems and multinational computer corporations. With archive material from the Edison Manufacturing Company and films and videos by Kristin Lucas (USA), Alexander Hahn (Switzerland), Doug Aitken (USA), Thomas Mitscherlich and Franz Winzentsen (Germany), and others.

ANTHROPOLOGY OF DOOM

A risk-based society, expansive capitalism, wars for hegemony - the 20th century left no doubt that plenty of money could - and will - be made from both potential and real catastrophes. A program dealing with the schizophrenia of (self-)destruction in civilisation's thought processes and actions. With films and videos by Harun Farocki (Germany), Rox Lee (Philippines), Stan Vanderbeek (USA), and others.

AFTER THE WAR

This program relates how war spreads from the battlefield into civilian life: from documenting the impossible homecoming of soldiers, to a political satire of an American family who rely on military means in their daily battle to survive life in the suburbs. With films and videos by Anri Sala (France), Sherry Millner (USA), Zelimir Gvardiol (Yugoslavia), and others.

THE FUTURE OF FEAR

The fear of social disorder or of the loss of commercial and cultural values does not hesitate to point its finger at the alleged Other, an outsideenemy who must be kept away or blocked out at all costs. The commercialisation of domestic security is giving rise today to the spectre of a surveillance society that, thanks to modern information technologies, is subject to ever fewer limitations. With films and videos by Ashley Hunt (USA), John Watt (USA), and others.

DOCUMENT AND REALITY

Images of misery and desperation bring out the innately voyeuristic in all of us. The cameraman lights the anguished faces to the best effect and directs our curious eyes toward their suffering. At the same time, those being portrayed know full well - today more than ever - that they have the opportunity to consciously and unpredictably focus attention on themselves. This program discusses the impossible borderline between reality and representation, between truth and deception. With films and videos by Luis Bunuel (Spain), Sharon Lockhart (USA), Donigan Cumming (Canada) and Olivier Zabat (France).

TRAUM(ATA)

The ghosts of childhood haunt adult lives, a diffuse pain eats away at one's being. But there's still that defiant belief in life and those colourful dreams that guide the way out of the grey routine of destructive relationships with one's parents and partners. With films and videos by Tony Oursler/Sonic Youth (USA), Barbara Albert (Austria), Ann Course/Paul Clark (UK), Phil Solomon (USA), and others.

Guest Programs and Presentations:
TERROR AND SPECTACLE

curated by Keith Sanborn (USA)
This program focuses on the dynamics of violence in the media and strategies of response. From the internalised terrors of religion to the external acts of terrorism perpetrated by the state against its opponents and by its opponents against the state. Work in this program engages in a direct dialogue with mainstream media on the terrain which joins documentary to more experimental modes of production. The subject matter ranges from the Heaven's Gate suicide cult to the events of September 11, 2001 in New York. With films and videos by Peggy Ahwesh (USA), François Bucher (Colombia), Jonas Mekas (USA), Guy Maddin (Canada), and others.
Keith Sanborn is a filmmaker and video artist from New York.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

curated by Benjamin Cook (UK) and Florian Wüst
Civil defence and disaster protection in the nuclear age have always served foremost to stabilise the respectively propagated social order. In countless educational films and television spots we were warned ad nauseam to be prepared, to follow the instructions of the trained personnel if we want to survive. This program pursues the unpleasant suspicion that, at the moment a real nuclear catastrophe hits, any help will come too late. With films and videos by Peter Watkins (UK), Werner Kreiseler (DDR), Aleesa Cohene (Canada), an advertising spot from the Allianz Insurance Company, as well as British and US civil defence films.
Benjamin Cook is the current director of the new Lux, London.

STATE OF EMERGENCY

curated by Benjamin Cook (UK) and Florian Wüst
The program demonstrates how the memory of catastrophes and living with catastrophes can become a cultural fetish, an element binding together an otherwise hybrid collective identity - whether it's a Sunday excursion to an earthquake simulator, moments of silence on national days of remembrance, or daily life in a never-ending war. With films and videos by Christoph Draeger and Martin Frei (Switzerland), Elia Suleiman (Palestine), Humphrey Jennings (UK), Yael Bartana (Israel), and others.

ENVIRON/MENTAL

curated by ?lab (Canada)
People realise today that the natural environment is dying, mostly as a direct result of human activity. Extractive economies continue to exploit non-renewable resources and to infringe on collective mental space, as an underlying cultural death-wish becomes apparent. This program proposes a change of attitude. With films and videos by Steve Matheson (USA), Sandra Lahire (UK), Adbusters (Canada), Michel Gondry (France), and others.
?lab was initiated in 1996 as a research and communication unit by artists Stéphane Claude and Gisèle Trudel, with the regular participation of other collaborators.

GEOGRAPHIES OF SURVIVAL

curated by Ursula Biemann (Switzerland)
This program maps out a geography of subjective experiences of conflict, expulsion and exile as well as personal survival strategies in response to these experiences. With films and videos by Alia Arasoughly (Palestine), Marina Grzinic and Aina Smid (Slovenia), Irina Pekeli (Macedonia) and Abraham Ravett (USA).
Ursula Biemann is a video artist and freelance curator who lives and works in Zurich.

PSYCHOLOGY OF FAILURE

curated by Babak Afrassiabi (Netherlands) and Florian Wüst
This program is devotedto interpersonal situations in which a failure to fulfil social prerogatives or self-imposed ideals is inevitable, whether deliberate or unintentional, whether permissible or strictly forbidden. The tour de force made up of accidents, faux pas and rueful confessions leads from initial good intentions, which seem all the more destructive for their inability to be realised, to liberation in succumbing to bodily exhaustion. With films and videos by Knut ?sdam (Norway), Eija-Liisa Ahtila (Finland), Bas Jan Ader (Netherlands), and others, and with Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy.
Babak Afrassiabi is an artist from Iran, who lives and works in Rotterdam.

FORECASTING CATASTROPHE

Menacing Scenarios in the Media in the Context of the Migration Discourse
Presentation illustrated with films, by Matthias Thiele (Germany)
Day by day the media broadcast statistics on migration, extrapolating trends out of demographic data and projecting menacing scenarios based on these so-called facts: including a deluge of immigrants on the one hand and the dying out of the German race on the other. On the basis of numerous television clips, this presentation will demonstrate what kinds of images and representations are used in television to visualise the forecast catastrophes and endow them with a narrative.
Matthias Thiele, who studied Film and Television in Bochum, is currently working on his doctorate on "The discourse and visualisation of refugees/immigration in German and US television".

NEW TERRITORIES IN THE SKY

Presentation and film screening by MVRDV (Netherlands)
Predictions based on statistical data often end directly in a projected scenario of ecological disaster that can only be averted through relentlessly innovative solutions. MVRDV thus believes the only solution for ensuring an adequate food and oxygen supply for mankind in the future lies in mini-ecosystems piled on top of each other to form skyscrapers. Winy Maas, one of the founders of MVRDV (who designed the Netherlands Pavilion at the Expo 2000), presents here visions of stacked landscapes and ultra-compact cities. With the videos Metacity/Datatown (1999), Pig City (2001), and others.
From its office in Rotterdam, MVRDV produces designs and undertakes studies in the fields of architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture.
Internet project:
HOW WILL I KNOW HER?

An Internet project by Miranda July (USA) and Emma Hedditch (UK)
How Will I Know Her? is a web-based exhibit about being far from the one you love, for reasons that are out of your control. If this is the most common catastrophe, it is also the original muse, and certainly a good reason to make a movie. 15 girls living in Oberhausen, London, and Portland are featured. They are photographed holding photographs of the people they miss, their sad tales are below. Please notice the real glamour of these missing people, and the captivating shapes of the holes they create.