Facilitation: Zelda Hannay (Sheffield University)
Speakers
Dr Sue Vice (Sheffield University
Abstract: Landscapes on Screen: Filming Spatial Memory
In this paper, I will explore the potential for location film footage to represent historical memory, even in the absence of testimonial utterance. My central example will be that of filmic Holocaust witness, through comparing the role of domestic architecture in Chantal Akerman’s films Dis-Moi (1980) and No Home Movie (2015), with that of landscapes in Claude Lanzmann’s unused outtake footage from his documentary Shoah (1985). While Akerman’s second-generation perspective is represented by the imagery of balconies, stairs, doorways and survivors’ living-rooms, Lanzmann’s camera searches out the enigmatic detail of public spaces while avoiding official monuments.
I will conclude by pointing to the wider practice of using location footage to convey or supplement the testimonial memory of atrocity on the part of other filmmakers, including Sergei Loznitsa, Raúl Ruiz and Andrea Štaka, each of whom uses location footage to convey aspects of, respectively, Ukrainian, Chilean and Balkan history. My final question will be to ask how the imagery of landscapes can represent a specifically communal spatial memory.
Alush Gashi
Abstract: Kino ARMATA, a public space in Prishtina, Kosovo, promotes alternative culture and social dialogue. Kino Armata is an independently run cultural institution, with the space being owned by the state (managed by the Ministry of Public Administration), given to the Prishtina Municipality for use, and managed by the independent Foundation (Fondacioni Armata) that is in charge of the program and operations. This is a unique scenario in Kosovo where the authorities from the state, municipality and local community have joined forces to create an independent cultural institution. More specifically the presentation will discuss Neo_School, Kino ARMATA’s non-formal education platform that aims to help Kosovo youth develop theoretical and practical skills in documentary and experimental film making, audio production, photography, journalism, video essays, etc.
Tefvik Rada
Abstract: Kino Lumbardhi has a very complex history which entangles with the political and cultural history of the country. As a modern cinema and one of the first mass cultural buildings of the city, it became a public space which was and continues to be sensitive to the local and cultural changes. However, interpretation of its history has transformed through the changing meanings and realities of the public space throughout the years. This talk will trace some of the recent changes that happened in Kino Lumbardhi connecting it with the recent cultural transformations in the idea of the cinema. It will also show the possibilities as well as limitations that the building represents in the struggle for the public space in a time of rapid privatization of the city.