When fancy is laced with realism
The Bangladeshi film enthusiasts felt that one could learn a lot about the progress of western videos from the three-day session. There were strange, thought-provoking subjects such as bees leaving their hives and flying back to them, presented in a digitally edited futuristic fashion, as seen in Anna Wekmeister's Move -2. At the outset one sat wondering what the sounds and images were all about but in the end the messages drove home.
Equally compelling was the film Moving Day by Susanne Kutter which showed a living room that was arranged in a construction container and the container was put into a lorry to be taken somewhere. The film is about the shaking and breaking of some of the furniture in the living room. Similarly engrossing was Phantom by Matthias Muller. This film depicted shadowy figures which trailed around a room like ghosts chasing each other. Annum per annum was another such amazing film in which the main figure tries to break through a repeating reality by taking pictures with a polaroid camera.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. In the same vein was Signy Rindsmagen by Bianca Rampas which contained the feminist story of the Icelandic fairy tale of Princess Signy who is changed into a cow's stomach and wonders about the world until she is rescued by a prince. The experimental video about the rise and fall of a German chancellor, Helmut Kohl, in Wahre Worte-Bose Bidler- Rauhe Rhythmen by Herald Schleicher was a contemplation on power, media and morality, reflecting patriotism and was not a story of just the fate of an individual.
Another amazing video was Platzkonzert by Reni Scholz. This presented the idea that art works and pictures, long before they are discovered, are hidden behind reality. It is the artist that brings them out and gives them a new context.
On the third day, on August 12, was the showing of experimental German Pop Music Video Clips. This presented a relationship between picture and sound. Since the 90s music videos are not just for promotional reasons but are made for their intrinsic content and form. The series of videos, termed To Save Pop Culture have been recycled to provide attractive picture combination to the average viewer. The viewing included Mouse on Mars by Zomba Records, Pingpong by Martin Ziebell and Vive la revolution by Philipp Stolzl.
The viewing of the videos was both entertaining and informative.