Goran (2014), by Roberto Santaguida
Special film sessions in 19th Festival’s final week
On December 1, 2 and 3 (from Tuesday to Thursday), special Film Programs sessions will mark the final week of the 19th Contemporary Art Festival Sesc_Videobrasil | Southern Panoramas, at Sesc Pompeia’s Theater. Eleven pieces by artists selected from the open call and five films by the guest artist Gabriel Abrantes will be shown in sessions at 4:30pm and 7pm. At Galpão VB, the screenings will take place on December 1 (Tuesday) at 4:30pm and 7pm. The 19th Festival exhibits will continue at both venues only until December 6 (next Sunday).
Film Program | Selected Works feature works by authors known to the public, like Ali Cherri (Lebanon) — one of the winners of the 18th Festival (2013) — and Leticia Ramos (Brazil), who, in addition to having been featured in past Festival editions (2013 and 2011), has several video pieces in the Videobrasil Collection. Others are making their first-ever appearances in São Paulo, like Karolina Bregula (Poland), whose work appeared in the 2013 Venice Biennale and won a residency prize in the ongoing edition of the Festival, and the filmmakers Kush Badhwar (India) and Chulayarnnon Siriphol (Thailand). The 11 artworks in these Programs are divided into three overarching themes: Landscapes and Territories, Developments of the Real, and Frictions.
The Film Program devoted to Gabriel Abrantes, one of the 19th Festival guests, brings together works created from 2006 to 2014 and provides a great introduction to this up-and-coming Portuguese artist’s filmic output. Shot in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Angola, Sri Lanka, and Haiti, the films are marked by sarcasm and parody. Abrantes manipulates clichés from mass culture products and peripheral scenarios into films that deal with colonialism, imperialism, and culture/gender identities.
See the schedule and film summaries (Selected Works and Gabriel Abrantes).