The Contemporary Art and Cinema Festival directed by Silvia Lucchesi brings to Venice a program of works signed by important international artists and filmmakers which were presented in the latest edition of the Florentine review, now selected for the Venetian public together with Palazzo Grassi.
It begins on 16 March at 6 pm with nΊκαρος (Icarus) by Giorgio Andreotta Calò, in the presence of the artist: the first medium-length film by the Italian artist starts from the myth of Daedalus and Icarus to stage a symbolic and performative act within the ‘former butterfly pavilion of the Rensenpark in Emmen. At 7 pm A Flower in the Mouth by Éric Baudelaire, a film in two acts, between documentary and fiction, which begins with images of the largest flower market in the world, in Holland, to arrive at a dialogue set in a Parisian café and inspired to Pirandello’s The Man with the Flower in His Mouth. At 8.15 pm Back to Basquiat by Pierre-Paul Puljiz, a new look at the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat through a journey in search of the identity of the legendary African-American artist between his Caribbean origins and the American scene of his time.
Friday 17 at 18 Time as Perspective by Rosa Barba, filmed in the Texas desert, which raises social and political issues related to the exploitation of natural resources. Following The Empirical Effect, by the same director, set in the area around Vesuvius where the survivors of the last eruption of 1944 still live in an area at risk. At 7 pm Marina Abramović & Ulay: No Predicted End by Kasper Bech Dyg, testimony of the historic meeting between Marina Abramović and Ulay, which took place 30 years after the end of their iconic collaboration, for an honest and unfiltered conversation about their art, their life and their legacy, filmed shortly before the German artist’s disappearance by a crew from the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
Saturday 18 to 17 Foragers. Al-Yad Al-Khadra by Jumana Manna: the latest film by the American artist of Palestinian origin highlights the contradictions of the conflict between the Israeli authorities responsible for the nature reserves of the Golan Heights and the Palestinian people who traditionally gather in those fields edible plants. At 6.10 pm there is Agrilogistics by Gerard Ortín Castellví, a work that analyzes the transformations of contemporary industrial agriculture by following the life of a greenhouse which by day looks like an automated and optimized set for the mass production of fruit and flowers, but by night welcomes unexpected presences that take control. To Unveil a Star by Juul Hondius at 18.45 revolves around the large star-shaped steel sculpture that has been located in front of the NATO headquarters in Brussels since 1971.
Sunday 19 at 17 A Clay Sermon by Theaster Gates, reflection on the different meanings of clay and its material and spiritual heritage, from biblical narratives to its role in the history of colonialism and African communities. Closes the review at 17.30
The Melt Goes On Forever: The Art and Times of David Hammons by Harold Crooks and Judd Tully, on the journey of the great African-American artist David Hammons which began in the 60s in Los Angeles up to his arrival in New York in the 80s and to fame international.
