press releases
EMAF Newsletter April 13, 2017
EMAF 2017 – the film programme
Advertising pillars, electrical junction boxes and pubs in and around Osnabrück are now ablaze with brash “CMYK: 0/100/50/0” – our festival motif in the shape of posters, postcards and programme flyers!! After all, “CMYK: 0/100/50/0” is the colour used by our new graphic designer from Bremen’s Cabinet Gold van d’Vlies to create our new visual image.
There’ll be more to see in around two weeks – when the 30th European Media Art Festival kicks off! And while we wait for the catalogues to come hot off the press and for the arrival of the first artists, we have for you a few snippets of information about the film programme:
PUSH | Living in the hyper information age
The film programme in the 30th year of the European Media Art Festival ranges from colourful music videos to structural experimental films, from traditional video art to carefully researched documentary films, and from personal reflection to social discourse.
The four-member film committee led by film and video curator Ralf Sausmikat has selected more than 130 films from 2,000+ submissions – among them seven world premieres, 21 European premieres and 42 German premieres.
This year’s festival slogan “PUSH | Living in the hyper information age” is reflected not only in the three film programmes PUSHED, PUSH FORWARD and PUSH BACK, but will crop up again and again in all of the other programmes. In entertaining, sometimes confusing, but always exciting programmes, the filmmakers show us how moving media are transformed into art.
César Vayssié’s “UFE (UNFILMEVENEMENT)” (FR 2016), for example, is about the radicalisation of a theatre group that – as an art project – questions the social role played by TV and politics. It becomes radicalised by abducting the TV weatherman to provoke revolutionary turmoil.
In Julian Radlmaier’s “Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes” (DE 2017), a dodgy bourgeois guy confesses how he turned from a doting filmmaker into an apple picker, a traitor to the revolution and, finally, a canine. We promise you a political comedy with magical twists!
Daniel Kötter’s “HASHTI Tehran” (DE 2016) explores the urban fringe of Tehran, revealing sides of Iran that you are unlikely to come across otherwise. In four episodes, the camera records how the city is changing and, with it, the country, society and the world.
Madsen Minax’s extremely weird first feature-length film “Kairos Dirt & the Errant Vacuum” (US 2016) will be screened at the Filmtheater Hasetor as part of the “Hasekult” series. A group of eccentric misfits comes together on account of their abstruse sexual dream fantasies with an asexual phantom from the afterlife. A film that describes human relationships to media and technology, eroticism and power, magic and myth.
Irene Langmann’s “Pawlenski – Der Mensch und die Macht” (DE 2017) tells the story of action artist Pavlensky, who set fire to the door of the KGB in Moscow – as a signal against the political apathy of contemporary Russian society.
This year’s retrospective is dedicated to the experimental filmmaker Werner Nekes, who passed away early this year. Besides making films, Nekes, one of the most important artists and filmmakers of the German post-war avant-garde, was also heavily preoccupied with the early history of film and visual media.
The four film programmes compiled by Media Campus EMAF INIT are concerned with real-life topics. And yet they also invite the audience to immerse and lose themselves in other worlds. Maggots with a smartphone addiction, a bizarre sect and monumental tombs are just some of the things waiting to be discovered.
Once again, many of the creators from all over the world will visit the festival to present and discuss their films. And in the meantime, two juries will select the works that will be presented with one of three awards at the Lagerhalle on Saturday evening.
The international jury will award the “Dialogpreis” of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the promotion of intercultural exchange as well as the EMAF Award for a trend-setting work in media art. The jury of the German Film Critics Association will present the EMAF Media Art Award for an outstanding German film.
As always, entrance to the award ceremony is free of charge, as is the “Best of EMAF No. 30” on Sunday evening – a colourful evening featuring the award-winning films of EMAF 2017 and a number of treats from the festival’s thirty-year history.
Tickets are available on +49 541 21658 and, from 26 April, 16:00, at the Lagerhalle. Just one more thing: guided tours of the exhibition in the Kunsthalle Osnabrück will be given each day from 27 to 29 April at 15:00 and at 19:00, as well as on 30 April at 16:00. We also offer guided tours between 2 and 21 May – appointments by arrangement.
We warmly invite you to take part, and look forward to welcoming you to the festival!
Happy Easter from the EMAF team - enjoy the holiday weekend!!
The entire festival programme is available here.
EMAF Newsletter 30 March 2017
EMAF 2017 – the exhibition
The two metre forty high sculpture by “Stanza” has already left London; several household objects belonging to the installation “Internet ´In´ Things” are currently being boxed up in Canada – their destination: Osnabrück!
With less than four weeks to go until the opening ceremony, the sense of anticipation ahead of the 30th European Media Art Festival is growing, which we naturally want to share with you – with the first snippets of information about the exhibition. Let’s go:
PUSH | Living in the hyper information age
Do we need the truth police to clean up fakes and hates, or would we be better off with truth skills? Does digital consensus offer a better form of democracy, or are artificial intelligences set to take on government functions soon? The digital image changes how we relate to the body, empathy and violence.
These are just some of the thematic areas and issues that will be addressed in the exhibition curated by Hermann Nöring and Franz Reimer. The artists do not provide definitive answers. But they do give an indication of whether reality is discernible behind the images, or which possibilities of reflection, critical focus and societal relevance arise – as well as the potential and enrichment opened up by digital media and the aesthetics of the digital.
These artists will be presented at the EMAF this year:
Benjamin Adams (D) // Ruben Aubrecht (AT) // Marco Barotti (IT) // Adam Basanta (CA) // Lilli Carré (US) // Yvon Chabrowski (D) // Olivier Cheval (F) // Florent Deloison (F) // Stephanie Glauber (D) // Thomas Hirschhorn (CH) // Sara Hoffmann (D) // Christoph Holtmann (D) // Fabian Kühfuß (D) // Elli Kuru? (D) // Carolin Liebl (D) // Mahan Mehrvarz (IR/US) // Nika Oblak & Primoz Novak (SI) // Julian Öffler (D) // Stefan Panhans (D) // Mario Pfeifer (US/D) // Jon Rafman & Daniel Lopatin (CA) // Veronika Reichl (D) // Stefan Reiss (D) // Alexandra Ehrlich Speiser (D) // Stanza (UK) // Finn Wagner (D) // Stella Wagner (D) // Anne Weyler (D) // Pinar Yoldas (US)
At the beginning of the exhibition, Stanza’s sculpture called “The Reader” will enable visitors to experience three-dimensionally the inspirational wealth of data flows. “O.T. 875” by Stefan Reiss also illustrates the potential and enrichment opened up by digital media and the aesthetics of the digital. Ruben Aubrecht prints out on paper the digital code of a one-minute broadcast. The 60 books full of zeros and ones that go to make up his “Television Signal (One Minute)” demonstrate impressively the huge quantities of data that fill the media space
Is a selfie a certificate of authenticity or just a copy of made-up media images and staged emotionality, asks Adam Basanta in his interactive installation “A Truly Magical Moment”. The issue of empathy and being personally moved by media content is also broached in Thomas Hirschhorn’s “Touching Reality”. In his video installation, Stefan Panhans focuses on the occasionally comic/absurd movements and dysfunctionalities of avatars and game figures. Alexandra Ehrlich Speiser and Mario Pfeifer devote themselves to the 3D printing of weapons, to which they attribute not only enormous disruptive power, but also a potential for glitches and self-destruction. In her work “Jill”, Lilli Carré investigates the intractable program code of an animated figure, ever-increasing autonomy, and the destructive potential of machines and software programs. Just a few snippets about the installations on show at the Kunsthalle Osnabrück from 26 April onwards.
Several pieces of work are dedicated to the topic of “virtual reality” – one example being “Switch Reality” by the Media Design Hochschule Berlin. This involves visitors viewing the Kunsthalle through VR glasses – as an exact replica of itself. After a while, however, they are inundated by news images und digital effects. Visitors will be able to view more works on this topic at the BBK Kunstquartier.
In addition, the EMAF Media Campus INIT showcases brand-new pieces by young, emerging media artists. This year, work will be exhibited by students from the University of the Arts Bremen, KHM | Academy of Media Arts Cologne, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences (Media & Interaction Design) and Offenbach University of Art and Design – in the vaults of the Kunsthalle Osnabrück, in Galerie hase29 and in the Bürgergehorsam Tower.
We also offer several “Artist Talks” during the festival, where interested visitors to the Kunsthalle Osnabrück will have the opportunity to listen to artists giving background information about their works, and how they evolved.
Guided tours of the exhibition at the Kunsthalle Osnabrück will be offered at 15:00 and 19:00 from Thursday to Saturday during the festival, and on Sunday at 16:00. EMAF also offers special guided tours to groups and school groups – dates by arrangement.
The entire festival programme is available here.
EMAF Newsletter 02 March 2017
30 years of EMAF: looking back – Part 3
Thirty years of EMAF – not just a cause for celebration, but also a reason to look back at what the festival has achieved over the past decades. One of the people who were instrumental in establishing the European Media Art Festival is Alfred Rotert, currently responsible for organising the conference and the archives.
To him, the festival’s conferences are a kind of concentration point. “It becomes particularly exciting when controversial discussions are also initiated; when contemporary topics are taken up,” stated Alfred Rotert, citing the example of the 2003 conference on the topic of “Art and biotechnologies” – a subject that continues to be hotly debated to this day, thanks to the new technical possibilities and their ethical limits. “If you can broach such a topic in a conference, if it stimulates debate in the audience, and if it has a social relevance, then you know that you’ve found the right topic,” explained the organiser of the EMAF conferences.
When Alfred Rotert looks back over the past three decades, he primarily remembers the brilliant performances staged at EMAF – such as the performance by “De La Guarda”, an Argentinian group that created what at the time was a completely new format, a format that was later adopted by other performance troupes. Rotert’s highlights also include Erik Hobijn’s “Dante Organ” from 1998: “That was a hugely spectacular performance on the site of former barracks in Osnabrück, where 15 metre high pillars of fire were produced, while the scenery was illuminated with a great deal of noise.
What do you wish the festival for the future? Several wishes spontaneously occur to Alfred Rotert: “I wish the festival the ability to always represent and highlight the latest developments in contemporary art.” To achieve this, it goes without saying that the festival must have secure funding from its sponsors. The festival director also attaches great importance to strengthening its cooperation with art and media academies.
A “gift” that the festival is already able to share with its guests is a piece of good news from the German Federal Film Board (FFA). This institution has included EMAF in its list of festivals for which filmmakers from Germany can now score points for qualifying for funding by the FFA. “That’s great news for filmmakers, of course, and delights us, too,” enthused Alfred Rotert.
EMAF film programme at Martini|50
“Is home where the heart is?!” – this is the title of a film programme that EMAF will be screening at Osnabrück’s Martini|50, a forum for architecture & design, at 19:00 on April 5th.
Here, nine artistic positions explore the topic of “The home as living space” in its various facets in media creations – for example the movie „Living a Beautiful Life“ by Corinna Schnitt. After all, we shape our environment and the places in which we live to suit our common, social and individual ideas and preferences. In the process, the zeitgeist of the time plays a by no means insignificant role – as do education, social and professional status, and personal inclinations and sensitivities. The aesthetic and substantive spectrum of the films ranges from formal structures and pure craftsmanship to personal and universally valid (own) experiences and desires.
We promise some inspiring entertainment!
EMAF Newsletter 16 February 2017
30 years of EMAF: looking back – Part 2 and an outlook
A reflection on the medium; visual innovative and aesthetical structures and a focus on cross-social themes are the important criteria and elements which the films presented at EMAF should have, states filmcurator Ralf Sausmikat.
“A good film often lies in the eyes of the beholder,” states Sausmikat who together with his four-strong selection committee chooses the pieces for the program. “We look for films that reflect society, but that also present individual approaches and tell personal stories – not necessarily chronologically, but always in conjunction with the image, sound and cut and a whole host of image processing options,” he explains.
Asking which film stayed in his head after 30 years EMAF he spontaneously answers: “´Stachoviak!` by Philip Gröning at that time student at the University of Television and Film Munich, which tells the story of a man who is at odds with himself, ultimately turning him into a spree killer. Ralf Sausmikat appreciates the special aesthetics of this film, “shot in Super 8 with extremely close-ups and blown up afterwards to 16 and 35mm. A working process famous Derek Jarman used for his film “The Last of England” as well.
Berlin’s 451 Galerie is currently restoring Fernando Birri’s film “ORG” – using EMAF archival material. 1992 as an installation at EMAF premiered, Birri executed the presentation with a theatre performance with actors in especially designed costumes. “This is an example of one of the multi-media pieces that have left a lasting impression on me,” he reminisces.
PUSH Forward :: AV Salon Prelude
Under the heading “PUSH FORWARD :: AV Salon Prelude”, the EMAF and the Institute of Music at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences will join forces to present the AV Salon Prelude.
This concert will bring together new AV projects as a prelude to the upcoming festival. The musicians Saturated Momen & Gehirnbrand will conduct an audio-visual dialogue with the visual artists Kryshe & Henrik José, creating a unique sensual experience for the first time ever in this constellation. ´Modular Forest` is at its basic a hand built miniature forest and at its fullest, a miniature world which involves computer controlled lights, cameras and movements to create realistic looking scenes which in combination evokes a feeling of abstract mystique and nordic storytelling. The musical framework of the event will be provided by a DJ set with Mario Schoo & David Georgos in which obscure tones blend with more well-known tracks and rotating turntables cause all ears to tune in.
The evening starts 18 March 2017 at 20:00 h in Zimmertheater, Lohstraße 45a, 49074 Osnabrück.
EMAF Newsletter 01 February 2017
30 years of EMAF: looking back
The European Media Art Festival turns 30 this year. To prevent the festival team from becoming too absorbed in memories, we would like to share these memories with visitors and friends of EMAF.
Exhibition curator Hermann Nöring gets to go first. He has been with EMAF from the very beginning, and became involved in the Experimental Film Workshop back in 1985, which evolved into the European Media Art Festival in 1988. As such, Hermann Nöring has particularly fond memories of the first festival. Back then, the festival went on for a whole 13 days.
“At that time, one of the guest acts was a performance installation by the group Ponton, which showcased interactive TV and radio. A pirate station that ended up being targeted by the police. Things were tested out in lab-like fashion, and went on to become the Piazza Virtuale at the documenta,” states Hermann Nöring.
2009 was also a year to remember. Together with the Museum of Industrial Culture and Erich Maria Remarque Peace Centre, EMAF put together an exhibition on the topic of “media from the war” in an exhibition entitled “Image Battles”. In addition to shedding light on the topic from a historic perspective, the exhibition also showcased outstanding exhibits of media art. Christoph Büchel’s installation “PSYOP – Capture their minds and their hearts will follow” shows just how relevant today’s topics of fake news and propaganda were back then.
A reflection on one’s own medium; as yet unknown, new forms, and a focus on social or political themes – to Hermann Nöring, these are the criteria that make a good installation. The long-standing curator also considers references to the history of art or media art to be a good reason for including a presentation in the EMAF exhibition.
EMAF is turning 30. What do you wish the festival on this occasion? Hermann Nöring takes a moment to think. Then he says: “I wish that EMAF will remain fresh and young, that it continues to be able to pick up, present and, in particular, discuss interesting, exciting changes in international media art.” This discourse not only takes place during the conference, says Hermann Nöring, but also in the films and installations – always tying in with societal topics and new, contemporary tendencies in media art.
Programme “Emerging Artists” presents the third edition
With "Emerging Artists – Contemporary Experimental Films and Video Art From Germany" AG Kurzfilm – German Short Film Association and German Films present the third edition of their programme dedicated to short experimental works of young German artists.
The films were selected by well known representatives of German Film Festivals: Alfred Rotert (EMAF Osnabrück), Giovanna Thiery (Filmwinter Stuttgart), Insa Wiese (Internationale Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg), Gerhard Wissner (Kasseler Dokumentarfilm und Videofest) und Anne Turek (AG Kurzfilm) curated the programme with eight works from more than 120 submissions.
After the successful prelude in Stuttgarter Filmwinter and Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival we would like to offer the programme for further international screenings and would be delighted if we sparked your interest.
The programme is available for screenings at festivals, in museums or art galleries (DCP, Blu-ray Disc and other digital formats).
EMAF on the road
Ralf Sausmikat is at present visiting the International Film Fest Rotterdam. Alfred Rotert and Hermann Nöring are set to visit the Transmediale from 2 to 5 February and afterwards the Berlinale: Hermann Nöring from 9 to 12 February, Alfred Rotert from 10 to 15 February.
We are looking forward to keep you informed during the coming weeks and months and to welcome you in April in Osnabrück!
Press release May 24, 2016
European Media Art Festival 2016 – A Review
The 29th European Media Art Festival has now come to a close – our exhibition at Kunsthalle Osnabrück welcomed visitors for the last time on Sunday, 22 May 2016. The five fantastic days of the festival are behind us; a successful exhibition and some 14,500 visitors in all made EMAF 2016 a very special event in Osnabrück.
Once again, this year’s European Media Art Festival, featuring a highly diverse programme, attracted a greater number of visitors to Osnabrück than ever before. ”We are particularly pleased to note that more expert visitors attended the event this year,” stated Festival Director Alfred Rotert.
The event got off to a successful start at Kunsthalle Osnabrück, where over one thousand visitors attended the opening ceremony. Visitors were particularly struck by the new architecture of the exhibition, featuring suspended screens in the special exhibition space in the nave of Kunsthalle Osnabrück.
Feature-length films such as Omer Fast’s ”Remainder” and Laurie Anderson’s ”Heart of a Dog” were screened at the 29th EMAF before their official release in cinemas. In all, over 160 films were shown at the festival.
One of the most outstanding performances at the festival was John Kameel Farah’s ”Music for Organ and Synthesizers”. This performance, given in Osnabrück’s Bergkirche, was an amazing acoustic experience.
EMAF’s Campus area played an even more important role during the festival this year, thanks to an extended programme as well as close cooperation with universities and academies such as the University of the Arts Bremen, Offenbach University of Art and Design, and the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.
Another highlight was the ”Virtual Reality – From FullDome to VR-Video” project, which gave visitors the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in virtual worlds, wearing data glasses. Talks about the topic also offered greater insight into the production processes involved in creating complex 360° VR films.
During the conference, lectures and panels raised questions about the technologies that regulate, restrict and monitor users. Participants discussed whether data protection was slowly being undermined under the guise of the war against terrorism.
During the festival award ceremony, two juries awarded three prizes worth a total of €6,000 prize money:
EMAF Award:
Kabir Mehta – ”Sadhu in Bombay (IND, 14:45 min.)
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Dialogpreis:
Randa Maroufi – ”Le Park” (FR, 14:00 min.)
The EMAF Media Art Award of the German Film Critics:
Fabiano Mixo – ”Woman Without Mandolin” (D, 4:47 min.)
Emmanuel Trousse’s ”Sirènes/Short Walk” from the exhibition of the festival also received an Honorary Mention by the International Jury.
We would like to take this opportunity to once again congratulate all our award-winners.
Next year, we will be celebrating our birthday: in 2017, the European Media Art Festival will be hosted in Osnabrück for the 30th time. We very much look forward to celebrating this milestone birthday with numerous visitors, who can expect to experience exciting events and a selection of international short and feature-length films. We also have some innovations and specials up our sleeve. Just wait and see!
We would like to say a big ‘thank-you’ to all participating filmmakers and artists, our partners and assistants and, of course, our visitors – without whom this festival would not have been possible.
press release April 08, 2016
29th European Media Art Festival, Osnabrueck
Exhibition: 20 April - 22 May 2016
THE FUTURE OF VISIONS – Don't expect anything!
The Exhibition
// The EMAF 2016 exhibition at the Kunsthalle Osnabrück showcases visionary elements and the potential future of the visual. The exhibition is open to visitors until 22 May 2016.
Back in the 1990s, there was optimism about the assessment of the digital dissemination of knowledge and the democratic potential of the internet. Today, “sharing communities” and the “Internet of Things” are the latest business hypes.
A core element of all the works shown in the exhibition is the question concerning the significance/value of humans in a future world, their needs and uniqueness. The artists also look coolly at the outcomes of past visions. They peer suspiciously at machines and prostheses that have learned to adopt human abilities and emotions. They attentively consider the accelerating growth of artificial intelligence involving algorithms that are able to forecast the future of our consumption and social behaviour.
However, the exhibition does not only showcase sceptical, dystopian approaches. An entire section is devoted to the future of viewing, or visions of the visual. In the face of technological trends such as augmented and virtual reality, the moving image is confronted with revolutionary changes and new possibilities. Since time immemorial, humans – and artists alike – have sought to completely immerse themselves in an illusion. In collaboration with the Hessen State University of Art and Design (HfG Offenbach), EMAF showcases a selection of artistically interesting VR projects on data glasses.
In total, 32 works by 31 artists from nine countries will be displayed. The exhibition was curated by Hermann Nöring and Franz Reimer. The architecture of the EMAF 2016 exhibition was largely developed by co-curator Franz Reimer. With screens suspended at a variety of heights, he makes great us of the unusual dimensions of the Kunsthalle Osnabrück – once a Gothic church – and skilfully involves the surrounding benches installed in the nave by Michael Beutler as observer hotspots.
Some of the artists presented at this year’s EMAF include:
Martin Backes (D) // Ali Chakav (IR/D) // Verena Friedrich (D) // Susanna Hertrich (D) // Bastian Hoffmann (D) // Francis Hunger (D) // Esther Hunziker (CH) // Ji-Nin Lai (TW) // Julia König (D) // Avi Krispin (ISR/NL) // Leonie Link (D) // Wolfgang Oelze (D) // Rotraut Pape (D) // Esteban Rivera (RUS/D) // Larissa Sansour& Søren Lind (Palestine/UK) // Jennifer Lyn Morone (UK) // Federico Solmi (IT/USA) // Britta Thie (D) // Emmanuel Trousse (Monaco) // Damian Weber (D) // Lu Yang (CN)
In addition, we present various projects within the EMAF Media Campus “INIT”, which will be showcased at a variety of locations in Osnabrück during the festival, such as in the new gallery “hase29".
// Accreditations for the 29th European Media Art Festival in Osnabrück can be obtained from our website at www.emaf.de until 12 April 2016!
press release February 20, 2016
29th European Media Art Festival, Osnabrueck
20 – 24 April 2016
THE FUTURE OF VISIONS – Don't expect anything!
This year’s European Media Art Festival questions the general importance and impact of strategies for the future in its installations, film programmes, lectures and panels.
Since time immemorial, humans have been philosophising about our future. Authors create utopias and dystopias, scientists discuss the fate of mankind, and entire branches of research devote themselves to its development, predicting demographic data, technical progress and environmental changes almost daily.
Back in the 1990s, there was optimism about the assessment of the digital dissemination of knowledge and the democratic potential of the internet. Today, “sharing communities” and the “Internet of Things” are the latest business hypes.
In the public debate, however, emphasis is placed on the political impacts and the risks associated with global digitisation. In reality, cultures and cultural niches are giving way to an alignment of the culture industry; a small number of globally operating corporations control information and trade flows on an unprecedented scale ; and wars are mainly being conducted using interactive technologies and remote-controlled weapons. Since the end of the 20th century, the digital revolution has changed our lives almost completely.
In the exhibition, artists from a wide variety of countries will showcase their visions of future areas of activity, giving them an emphatic, aesthetic form. But they will also ask who is actually creating these future models, what purpose do they serve and who could benefit from them in the short or longterm.
The EMAF 2016 Conference will shed light on the developments of digital culture in media theory, aesthetics, philosophy, future research and programming. Lectures, panels,presentations and workshops will be used to discuss the artistic and scientific positions taken on current developments of our digital and media reality, broaching the topic of their social, economic and political impacts.
The film programmefor the 29th EMAF will be compiled by a selection committee of five members. Ralf Sausmikat has invited curators Katrin Mundt from Bochum and Stefanie Plappert from Frankfurt as well as Toby Ashraf from Berlin and Dutch artist Sebastiaan Schlicher to view and assess the contributions submitted by artists from all over the world. Programmes with short and feature-length films, documentaries, music clips and animations, including numerous premieres, will be screened at the festival in April.
Press release November 10, 2015
DVD Release: THE FILMS OF KLAUS TELSCHER
on Nov. 20th, 2015 at KINO ARSENAL, Berlin
We are happy to announce the release of the DVD with the experimental films of Klaus Telscher which is a joined project with arsenal, Institute for Film and Video-art, Filmgalerie 451 and EMAF, Osnabrück. The DVD includes his award-winning short films as well as his last experimental feature “La Reprise”.
"Klaus Telscher first appeared with the film ENTWICKLUNGSSTÜCKE (1979/80) at a time when a German experimental film was starting to blossom again. Telscher’s rich, original, witty, subtle, and sometimes cryptic work is characterized by a desire for the technically unorthodox and the sounding out of "unsuccessful" images; at the same time, the obsessive use of musical fragments and the eclectic references to photography and film history are equally typical of his style. His last film LA REPRISE was released in 1995. In 1988, he appeared in Stephan Sachs' Alpine film PARAMOUNT as an actor and was the cinematographer for Noll Brinckmann's 1989 Empathie und panische Angst". (Chr. N. Brinckmann)
On behalf of this release arsenal cinema shows four of his short films
in 16mm and “Paramount” by Stephan Sachs, 20th of Nov. at 19:30 h
in Kino arsenal 2, Potsdamer Straße 2, 10785 Berlin
Filmgalerie 451 - The Films of Klaus Telscher
Press release
European Media Art Festival, 22 - 26 April 2015
The Awards
An entertaining award ceremony marked the end of the 28th European Media Art Festival on Sunday evening, 26 April. About 170 art-works participated in the competition for the offered awards, two jurys awarded four prizes, all together with a prize money of 8500 euros.
An international jury awarded the EMAF Award and the ARTE Creative Newcomer Award and also the Dialogpreis of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This jury was made up of Abina Manning (USA), Olaf Stüber (D) and Peter Zorn (D).
This year, the EMAF Award, given to trend-setting works of media art, went to Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby and “Dear Lorde” (CA 2015), an installation that can still be seen at the EMAF exhibition until May 25, 2015. They also won a prize money of 3000 euros.
The ARTE Creative Newcomer Award, with 2.500 euro prize money, was awarded to Kevin B. Lee and his film “Transformers: The Premake (A desktop documentary)” (US 2015, 25:00 min). The money is supposed to support a new production of the prize winners that will then be shown at EMAF 2016 as well as on ARTE Creative.
The Dialogue Award, awarded by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote intercultural exchange, was equally assigned to two creative works: The film “La Fièvre” (F 2015, 40:00 Min) by Safia Benhaim and the art project “European Border Watch” by Georg Klein. They also shared the prize money of 2000 euros.
The Verband der Deutschen Filmkritik (VDFK e.V.) awarded the EMAF-Medienkunst-Preis of the VDFK for the best German art-work, along with 1000 euros, to Verena Westphal and „sry bsy“ (D 2015, 3:23 min).
Moreover, the jury honorably mentioned Stephan Köperl and Sylvia Winkler and their film “Smart Songdo Song”.
The “Verband der deutschen Filmkritik e.V.” appointed Dr. Günther Agde, Ruth Schneeberger and Carolin Weidner to the jury.
EMAF cordially congratulates all award winners and thanks the jurys for their great work.
For further information on the awards, please contact Kerstin Kollmeyer, presse(at)emaf.de.
For more information on jury comments and filmstills click here!
Press release
European Media Art Festival, 22 - 26 April 2015
Irony in Media Art – Subversive Interventions
Ironic interventions and major and minor rebellions in Media Art are the topic this year at the 28th European Media Art Festival from 22 to 26 April 2015 and in the accompanying exhibition from 22 April to 25 May 2015.
Irony in Media Art ranges widely, its cosmos is enormous. Not only does irony serve as background entertainment, it is also a means of analysis, classification and criticism. The stylistic device of irony is used by artists in order to criticise social conditions, to question policies, and to exaggerate portrayals to such an extent that the viewer gains completely new perspectives on the matter.
Artists’ intelligent wit, their none-too-serious handling of consumerism or of images from cultural history and their passion for discovery often provide unexpected solutions somewhere between subtle comments and biting sarcasm.
Choosing from a total of 2,400 entries, the curators are currently putting together a festival programme that will additionally portray the entire spectrum of contemporary media artwork. Newcomers and established artists will find a platform here for their latest positions.
This year, the film programme will once again be curated by a four-member selection committee: in this connection, EMAF’s Ralf Sausmikat will be supported by freelance curators Joke Ballintijn from the Netherlands and Stefanie Plappert from Frankfurt, and the Dutch artist Sebastiaan Schlicher. They are creating a varied programme consisting of short and feature-length films, music clips and documentaries.
The exhibition, curated by Hermann Nöring and Ralf Sausmikat, the main part of which will be hosted at the Kunsthalle Osnabrück from 22 April to 25 May 2015, will be spread over various locations in Osnabrück’s Old Town during the festival. The exhibition will showcase items by artists such as Emily Vey Duke & Cooper Battersby (CAN), Phil Collins (GB), Annette Hollywood (D), Etoy (CH), Paolo Cirio (IT), Istvan Kantor (CAN), Egill Saebjörnsson (ISL), Georg Klein (D), Roee Rosen (ISR), Christian Falsnaes (DAN), Christian Jankowski (D), Meggie Schneider (D) and Marcello Mercado (BRA/D), including light and sound art, video projections and objects that explore the topic of “Irony as subversive intervention”.
The subject of irony will also play a role in the festival’s conference, organised by Alfred Rotert. There will also be lectures and debates about other topics relevant to the media art scene.
The student-led element of the festival, Media Campus, is dedicated to a number of film programmes as well as the showcasing of various student artists’ installations in the exhibition. In this connection, EMAF will be cooperating especially this year with the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM), the Academy of Fine Arts Münster, Osnabrück University (School of Educational and Cultural Studies) and Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences (“Media & Interaction Design” study programme).
If you have any questions or require visual material, please contact Kerstin Kollmeyer at presse@emaf.de.
