The last days of Almost Cinema
Friday the 19th of October
Day 11 of Almost Cinema. Tonight we’ll be presenting the finest in VJ art with the British duo Semiconductor, who have been a household name at international AV festivals for years. they’ll be presenting two separate projects, while also having work (All the Time in the World) on display at the Almost Cinema exhibition. In the second part of the evening, we’ll be showing the film Synken by Transforma and O.S.T., in association with Cimatics, the Brussels AV festival. The film has already been shown at a number of film festivals, but will be accompanied by a live stage presentation at Vooruit. It’s the second year in a row that we’re working on project together with Cimatics. Last year, we were proud to present Life ‘n’ Loops, an impressive adaptation of Michael Glawogger’s film Megacities by director Timo Novtny. Novotny, who hails from the VJ universe, brought a live version of the film to the stage with a soundtrack performed by the Sofa Surfers. Life ‘n’ Loops was a most memorable performance.
Tomorrow is the last day of Almost Cinema. We’ll be rounding up the event with a smashing party with Squadra Bossa feat. Buscemi and Livingstone. Before the party kicks off, you’ll be able to enjoy one last project; the new film by Nele Keukelier, a young video artist from Ghent, will première at 9.30 pm in the Domzaal.
P.S. This is your last chance to experience Salt Lake by Tom Heene and Yacine Sebti, which proved quite a success. Salt Lake, a one on one performance is a sort of immersive machine which you surrender yourself to for 7 minutes. The work deals with the image overload people are confronted with every day, without hurting your eyes. Quite on the contrary, experiencing the images from the inside is almost intimate.
Semiconductor – All the time in the world
Semiconductor – Sonic Inc + Brilliant Noise / Transforma & O.S.T. – Synken
Slotparty met Squadra Bossa feat. Buscemi and Livingstone
Tom Heene & Yacine Sebti – Salt Lake
Volker Gerling returns!
Wednesday the 17th of October
When In Vitro cancelled their show at the last minute, we had to look for a suitable replacement. We decided to ask Volker Gerling, whose Daumenkino was a huge hit at the Almost Cinema festival. Volker will return to Vooruit on the 27th and the 28th of October.
Aki Onda, Noël Akchoté & Jean-François Pauvros – Cinemage / ZimmerFrei – The Focus Puller
Tuesday the 16th of October
The theme of this second week of Almost Cinema is music in pictures. Tomorrow, we’ll be welcoming Sigur Rós, who will be presenting their documentary, Heima, preceded by a short live set. However, this event doesn’t exactly need any more publicity; it’s been sold out for weeks.
On Thursday we can proudly present a true Almost Cinema creation. Sound always plays an important role in the work of the Italian collective ZimmerFrei. For the Focus Puller, they took inspiration from the soundtracks of eight movie to create an entirely new film. Eight locations in Ghent (the Zuidpark, the Korenlei, the boekentoren, the harbour, etc.) became the setting for new interpretations and new scenes. ZimmerFrei works with a combination of specially selected extras and accidentals passers-by. On Thursday, the film will be shown in combination with a number of subtle live interventions and musical additions.
Before the screening of The Focus Puller, we’ll be presenting the audiovisual project Cinemage, for which Aki Onda uses his own life as a leitmotiv. Slideshows containing pictures from Onda’s life are projected on a large screen and create the illusion of a slowly developing film. The filmic atmosphere is emphasized by the improvisations by guitar virtuosos Noël Akchoté and Jean-François Pauvros.
Aki Onda, Noël Akchoté & Jean-François Pauvros – Cinemage / ZimmerFrei – The Focus Puller
FrictiesSalon with Nina Folkersma & Daria Martin
Friday the 12th of October
Tonight, Paul McCarthy’s controversial new exhibition will be opening at the SMAK (Ghent Museum for Contemporary Art). The American video artist Daria Martin will also be presenting new work. As a part of the Almost Cinema festival, we’ll be inviting Daria Martin to Vooruit’s FrictiesSalon next Sunday. First, we’ll be showing some of her older work. Afterwards, Nina Folkersma, guest director of the SMAK, who put Martin on the SMAK calendar, will interview her.
FrictiesSalon – with Nina Folkersma & Daria Martin
Drama, cinema and flipbooks!
Thursday the 11th of October
Tonight, we’ll be presenting Alexandra Bachzetsis’s new performance, a collaboration with Swiss performer Yan Duyvendak. Creator of the piece Alexandra Bachzetsis already tackled genres such as the musical and karaoke. Once, she took inspiration from classical plays, using only the visual stage directions to create an entirely new play. Duyvendak’s work focuses on the world of music and film: soundtracks, TV culture and the dynamics between the good guy and the bad guy. In Mainstream, they team up to criticise the idiosyncrasies of classic movie storytelling. Making use of typical Hollywood techniques, they break down relationship clichés and try to find out whether cinematic clichés work outside the world of cinema as well.
In the Balzaal, Volker Gerling will be performing his ‘Daumeninkographie’, a late storytelling session, in a club setting. Gerling travelled around the world for a couple of years, recording the people he met on the way in flipbooks or Daumeninkos. He talks about his travels while the flipbooks come to life, creating the illusion of moving images. Watching the portraits come to life is simply magical. That magic, combined with Gerling’s storytelling talent, will guarantee a wonderful late night performance.
Alexandra Bachzetsis / Yan Duyvendak – Mainstream
Semiconductor – Sonic Inc + Brilliant Noise / Transforma & O.S.T. – Synken
Wednesday the 10th of October 2007
A quote from the Cimatics newsletter:
“Probably the most interesting production in live A/V for the year 2007 is Transforma and O.S.T.’s “Synken”, and we’re not only saying that because it’s our own product, but because it’s true: Live cinema will never be more in your face than this. Within the framework of the International Filmfestival in Ghent, Almost Cinema presents the fringe of the alternative cinema and performance art at Vooruit. On Friday October 19th, in a double bill with Semiconductor, Synken live has its Belgian premiere in the Ballroom. Afterwards, Cimatics DJ’s and VJ’s from The Massive Central are spinning the wheels of steel at the Café.”
Semiconductor – Sonic Inc + Brilliant Noise / Transforma & O.S.T. – Synken
Almost Cinema kicked off yesterday
Wednesday the 10th of October 2007
Yesterday’s opening night was an emotional one. You could hear a pin drop during the screening of Sand and Sorrow, and when Rasha took the stage for her speech, she decided that what she wanted to say was too insignificant compared to the suffering of the people in Darfur. However, she did find the strength to express her feelings during the concert after the break.
Tonight, we’ll be putting the Almost Cinema video and installation trail in the spotlight.
Cinema and media art, it’s a passionate marriage. They’re like magnets: they attract and repel each other. The artists showing their work at this exhibition refer to the world of film with technical gadgets, a trompe l’oeil, using an ironic or simple approach. All the works put cinema in a different light and invite you to change the way you watch a movie.
At 10 pm, we’ll be holding a vernissage for the video and installation trail and the opening movie of A Look Apart. The Film Festival Ghent, Cis Bierinckx and Vooruit will offer you a complimentary drink. The trail opens at 6 pm.
Tom Heene & Yacine Sebti – Salt lake
Tuesday the 9th of October 2007
An installation / one-on-one performance that’s not to be missed. We organised a preview to hear what people thought about it and to make last minute changes if necessary. The test audience loved the performance, so don’t miss it!
Tom Heene & Yacine Sebti – Salt lake
Sand and Sorrow / Rasha
Tuesday the 9th of October 2007
For the opening night of the Film Festival Ghent in Vooruit, we always try to combine an interesting documentary with a fitting concert. Two years ago, we showed the widely discussed documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, about the manic depressive musician’s struggle with his illness. We asked Das Pop, a Flemish pop band, to pay tribute to the musician. The evening was a hit and Das Pop was later asked to perform the Johnston songs at other occasions as well. Last year, the festival kicked off with loudQUIETloud, a documentary about the Pixies, afterwards, several Flemish artists played their own version of Pixies classics.
This year, our opening evening has a more political subject, which takes us back to the days of our Yizo Yizo evenings. Yizo Yizo is a South African soap about life in the townships that raised controversy because it talked frankly about socio-economic issues.
When watching this year’s selection of documentaries, Sand and Sorrow stood out immediately. It’s an intriguing documentary about the ongoing crisis in Darfur.
Wim Wabbes, Vooruit’s music programmer, went on the look for a fitting musical act to complete the bill and found Rasha, a singer from Khartoum, Sudan, who fled the region and settled in Madrid ten years ago.
Aki Onda, Noel Akchoté Jean-François Pauvros – Cinemage / ZimmerFrei – The Focus Puller
Friday the 5th of October 2007
In the mean time, the shooting of The Focus Puller by ZimmerFrei is going very well. Luckily, the weather turned surprisingly sunny the past week. So far, they’ve shot scenes in the harbour, in the Zuidpark, in the Boekentoren and on the Korenlei. This weekend they’ll be filming scenes in the Ghent night life. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the enthusiastic extras!
Aki Onda, Noel Akchoté Jean-François Pauvros – Cinemage / ZimmerFrei – The Focus Puller
Almost Cinema is coming!
Friday the 5th of October 2007
The history of cinema is that of constant change. Recently, film has moved out of traditional cinemas, thanks to new distribution channels.
The second edition of Almost Cinema will continue along the path set out by the first edition. None of the artists on the programme are involved in traditional cinema, but they have all been influenced by it in one way or another. For the Film Festival Ghent, Vooruit explores the limits of cinema, media art and live performances, together with a whole new group of artists. We’ll be doing this by means of an installation trail, a theatrical dance performance which deconstruct the laws of cinema, a late night storytelling session with flipbooks and a series of audiovisual performances which try to interpret whatever cinema might be.
What’s new this year, is that we’ll be holding a conference on The cinematic experience in association with Ghent University / Interface and St. Lucas Brussels / Transmedia. Old Vooruit favourites (Uitgelezen, the Critical Forum, the FrictiesSalon, the CaféDansant) will stay in tune with the Film Festival, so you have absolutely no excuse not to show up!
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