Special Program Catastrophe: Details

[Kurzfilmtage]

48th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, 2-7 May 2002
SPECIAL PROGRAM CATASTROPHE

”The concept of progress must be rooted in the idea of catastrophe. That 
things are ‘status quo’ is the catastrophe. It is not an ever present 
possibility but the given in each case. [...] Rescue is contingent on the 
small jump in the ongoing catastrophe.”
(Walter Benjamin)

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CONTENTS:

IN SHORT: short program description
CATASTROPHE AND PROGRESS: history
REPRESENTATIONS OF CATASTROPHE: program approach

The programs (curated by Florian Wuest):
DEATH ON THE SCREEN
SNOW CRASH
ANTHROPOLOGY OF DOOM
AFTER THE WAR
THE FUTURE OF FEAR
DOCUMENT AND REALITY
TRAUMA(TA)

Guest programs and presentations:
TERROR AND SPECTACLE (curated by Keith Sanborn, USA)
CRISIS MANAGEMENT (curated by Ben Cook, UK, and Florian Wuest)
STATE OF EMERGENCY (curated by Ben Cook, UK, and Florian Wuest)
ENVIRON/MENTAL (curated by Ælab, Canada)
GEOGRAPHIES OF SURVIVAL (curated by Ursula Biemann, Switzerland)
PSYCHOLOGY OF FAILURE (curated by Babak Afrassiabi, Netherlands)
FORECASTING CATASTROPHE (presentation and films by Mathias Thiele, D)
NEW TERRITORIES IN THE SKY (presentation and films by MVRDV, Netherlands)
HOW WILL I KNOW HER? (internet project by Miranda July, USA, and Emma 
Hedditch, UK)

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Accreditation forms are available on request at niewalda at kurzfilmtage.de
Accreditation deadline: 7 April 2002

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IN SHORT
Why do catastrophes fascinate people? And what do images in the media 
contribute to this ambivalent attraction? How and to what ends do 
television, the media arts, cinema  in short, all kinds of moving 
images  present the catastrophe? These questions will be pursued in the 
special program ”Catastrophe” at the 48th International Short Film Festival 
Oberhausen in 15 individual programs encompassing all varieties of the 
short form  from historical advertising films to new video clips  and with 
thematic approaches ranging from ”After the War” to ”Terror and Spectacle”.

CATASTROPHE AND PROGRESS
The idea of catastrophe is one of mankind’s earliest conceptualisations. 
The greatest of all imaginable catastrophes is the Apocalypse, merging fear 
of the end of the world with hope that doomsday will be followed by the 
coming of a new world  the kingdom of God. The Lisbon earthquake of 1 
November 1755 raised doubt of God’s fundamental goodwill toward man. 
Reassurance was sought in the conviction that sound government, scientific 
progress and technical advances could ensure survival in a world full of 
danger. Such progress brought not only an increase in the number and kind 
of possible catastrophes, however -- the very power to bring about the end 
of the world now rests in our own hands.
REPRESENTATIONS OF CATASTROPHE
The depiction of horrors in cinema today knows no bounds. But on television 
as well, more and more images  live and in full colour  of every possible 
kind of catastrophe fill our living rooms: floods, volcanoes, terrible 
accidents, battlefield scenes, the selection is endless. We can’t help 
feeling irresistibly attracted to such scenes  as outside observers, that 
is. Viewers shudder at images of the victims’ suffering, while the 
righteous envisage the horrible fate of the sinners, torn between 
fascination and fear.

The special program ”Catastrophe” examines the representation of 
catastrophes in the media, their fabrication for political ends as well as 
their artistic depiction and reworking. The program shows stories of 
devastating events, whether war, ecological disaster, terrorism, 
emergencies, or personal catastrophes such as trauma, social blunders, or 
simply missing the person one loves. ”Catastrophe” is devoted to individual 
survival strategies as well as utopian and dystopian visions of the world 
of the future. It draws on all varieties of short film, ranging from an 
historical advertisement for electricity to documentaries, video clips or 
an Internet project. ”Catastrophe” shows how images regulate the 
ambivalence between fear and attraction.

THE PROGRAMS:

DEATH ON THE SCREEN
This program explores the conspiratorial connection between media image and 
historical event, between myth and spectacle: from the crash of the airship 
‘Hindenburg’ in 1937 to ironic appropriations of the assassination of John 
F. Kennedy, and even a simulated inferno in a major city.
With films and videos by Bruce Conner (USA), Jean-Claude Bustros (Canada), 
T.R. Uthco and Ant Farm (USA), David Hoffos (Canada), and others.

SNOW CRASH
The introduction of new technologies is both salvation and curse: 
unexpected consequences for both the human body and psyche are often 
noticeable only after years have passed. This program spans an historical 
arch from the boon of world electrification to horrific visions of human 
dependency on digital systems and multinational computer corporations.
With archive material from the Edison Manufacturing Company and films and 
videos by Kristin Lucas (USA), Alexander Hahn (Switzerland), Doug Aitken 
(USA), Thomas Mitscherlich and Franz Winzentsen (Germany), and others.

ANTHROPOLOGY OF DOOM
A risk-based society, expansive capitalism, wars for hegemony  the 20th 
century left no doubt that plenty of money could  and will  be made from 
both potential and real catastrophes. A program dealing with the 
schizophrenia of (self-)destruction in civilisation’s thought processes and 
actions.
With films and videos by Harun Farocki (Germany), Rox Lee (Philippines), 
Stan Vanderbeek (USA), and others.

AFTER THE WAR
This program relates how war spreads from the battlefield into civilian 
life: from documenting the impossible homecoming of soldiers, to a 
political satire of an American family who rely on military means in their 
daily battle to survive life in the suburbs.
With films and videos by Anri Sala (France), Sherry Millner (USA), Zelimir 
Gvardiol (Yugoslavia), and others.

THE FUTURE OF FEAR
The fear of social disorder or of the loss of commercial and cultural 
values does not hesitate to point its finger at the alleged Other, an 
outside enemy who must be kept away or blocked out at all costs. The 
commercialisation of domestic security is giving rise today to the spectre 
of a surveillance society that, thanks to modern information technologies, 
is subject to ever fewer limitations.
With films and videos by Ashley Hunt (USA), John Watt (USA), and others.
DOCUMENT AND REALITY
Images of misery and desperation bring out the innately voyeuristic in all 
of us. The cameraman lights the anguished faces to the best effect and 
directs our curious eyes toward their suffering. At the same time, those 
being portrayed know full well  today more than ever  that they have the 
opportunity to consciously and unpredictably focus attention on themselves. 
This program discusses the impossible borderline between reality and 
representation, between truth and deception.
With films and videos by Luis Buñuel (Spain), Sharon Lockhart (USA), 
Donigan Cumming (Canada) and Olivier Zabat (France).

TRAUM(ATA)
The ghosts of childhood haunt adult lives, a diffuse pain eats away at 
one’s being. But there’s still that defiant belief in life and those 
colourful dreams that guide the way out of the grey routine of destructive 
relationships with one’s parents and partners.
With films and videos by Tony Oursler/Sonic Youth (USA), Barbara Albert 
(Austria), Ann Course/Paul Clark (UK), Phil Solomon (USA), and others.


GUEST PROGRAMS AND PRESENTATIONS:

TERROR AND SPECTACLE
curated by Keith Sanborn (USA)
This program focuses on the dynamics of violence in the media and 
strategies of response. From the internalised terrors of religion to the 
external acts of terrorism perpetrated by the state against its opponents 
and by its opponents against the state. Work in this program engages in a 
direct dialogue with mainstream media on the terrain which joins 
documentary to more experimental modes of production. The subject matter 
ranges from the Heaven’s Gate suicide cult to the events of September 11, 
2001 in New York.
With films and videos by Peggy Ahwesh (USA), François Bucher (Colombia), 
Jonas Mekas (USA), Guy Maddin (Canada), and others.
Keith Sanborn is a filmmaker and video artist from New York.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT
curated by Benjamin Cook (UK) and Florian Wuest
Civil defence and disaster protection in the nuclear age have always served 
foremost to stabilise the respectively propagated social order. In 
countless educational films and television spots we were warned ad nauseam 
to be prepared, to follow the instructions of the trained personnel if we 
want to survive. This program pursues the unpleasant suspicion that, at the 
moment a real nuclear catastrophe hits, any help will come too late.
With films and videos by Peter Watkins (UK), Werner Kreiseler (DDR), Aleesa 
Cohene (Canada), an advertising spot from the Allianz Insurance Company, as 
well as British and US civil defence films.
Benjamin Cook is the current director of the new Lux, London.
STATE OF EMERGENCY
curated by Benjamin Cook (UK) and Florian Wuest
The program demonstrates how the memory of catastrophes and living with 
catastrophes can become a cultural fetish, an element binding together an 
otherwise hybrid collective identity  whether it’s a Sunday excursion to an 
earthquake simulator, moments of silence on national days of remembrance, 
or daily life in a never-ending war.
With films and videos by Christoph Draeger and Martin Frei (Switzerland), 
Elia Suleiman (Palestine), Humphrey Jennings (UK), Yael Bartana (Israel), 
and others.

ENVIRON/MENTAL
curated by Ælab (Canada)
People realise today that the natural environment is dying, mostly as a 
direct result of human activity. Extractive economies continue to exploit 
non-renewable resources and to infringe on collective mental space, as an 
underlying cultural death-wish becomes apparent. This program proposes a 
change of attitude.
With films and videos by Steve Matheson (USA), Sandra Lahire (UK), 
Adbusters (Canada), Michel Gondry (France), and others.
Ælab was initiated in 1996 as a research and communication unit by artists 
Stéphane Claude and Gisèle Trudel, with the regular participation of other 
collaborators.

GEOGRAPHIES OF SURVIVAL
curated by Ursula Biemann (Switzerland)
This program maps out a geography of subjective experiences of conflict, 
expulsion and exile as well as personal survival strategies in response to 
these experiences.
With films and videos by Alia Arasoughly (Palestine), Marina Grzinic and 
Aina Smid (Slovenia), Irina Pekeli (Macedonia) and Abraham Ravett (USA).
Ursula Biemann is a video artist and freelance curator who lives and works 
in Zurich.

PSYCHOLOGY OF FAILURE
curated by Babak Afrassiabi (Netherlands) and Florian Wuest
This program is devoted to interpersonal situations in which a failure to 
fulfil social prerogatives or self-imposed ideals is inevitable, whether 
deliberate or unintentional, whether permissible or strictly forbidden. The 
tour de force made up of accidents, faux pas and rueful confessions leads 
from initial good intentions, which seem all the more destructive for their 
inability to be realised, to liberation in succumbing to bodily exhaustion.
With films and videos by Knut Åsdam (Norway), Eija-Liisa Ahtila (Finland), 
Bas Jan Ader (Netherlands), and others, and with Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy.
Babak Afrassiabi is an artist from Iran, who lives and works in Rotterdam.
FORECASTING CATASTROPHE
Menacing Scenarios in the Media in the Context of the Migration Discourse
Presentation illustrated with films, by Matthias Thiele (Germany)
Day by day the media broadcast statistics on migration, extrapolating 
trends out of demographic data and projecting menacing scenarios based on 
these so-called facts: including a deluge of immigrants on the one hand and 
the dying out of the German race on the other. On the basis of numerous 
television clips, this presentation will demonstrate what kinds of images 
and representations are used in television to visualise the forecast 
catastrophes and endow them with a narrative.
Matthias Thiele, who studied Film and Television in Bochum, is currently 
working on his doctorate on ”The discourse and visualisation of 
refugees/immigration in German and US television”.

NEW TERRITORIES IN THE SKY
Presentation and film screening by MVRDV (Netherlands)
Predictions based on statistical data often end directly in a projected 
scenario of ecological disaster that can only be averted through 
relentlessly innovative solutions. MVRDV thus believes the only solution 
for ensuring an adequate food and oxygen supply for mankind in the future 
lies in mini-ecosystems piled on top of each other to form skyscrapers. 
Winy Maas, one of the founders of MVRDV (who designed the Netherlands 
Pavilion at the Expo 2000), presents here visions of stacked landscapes and 
ultra-compact cities.
With the videos Metacity/Datatown (1999), Pig City (2001), and others.
 From its office in Rotterdam, MVRDV produces designs and undertakes 
studies in the fields of architecture, urban planning and landscape 
architecture.

Internet project:
HOW WILL I KNOW HER?
An Internet project by Miranda July (USA) and Emma Hedditch (UK)
How Will I Know Her? is a web-based exhibit about being far from the one 
you love, for reasons that are out of your control. If this is the most 
common catastrophe, it is also the original muse, and certainly a good 
reason to make a movie. 15 girls living in Oberhausen, London, and Portland 
are featured. They are photographed holding photographs of the people they 
miss, their sad tales are below. Please notice the real glamour of these 
missing people, and the captivating shapes of the holes they create.
Miranda July (USA) and Emma Hedditch (UK) are both video- and performance 
artists and operate alternative distribution networks for women moviemakers.


THE CURATOR
Florian Wüst, born 1970 in Munich, is an artist, filmmaker and curator for 
experimental film and video art. He studied Fine Arts at the Braunschweig 
School of Art and participated in the Master of Arts Program at Willem de 
Kooning Academy, Rotterdam. In collaboration with Marcel Schwierin, he put 
together the film and video programs for the 4th Werkleitz Biennale 2000 
real[work].. His work focuses on issues of the construction of collective 
memory and its fixation in the form of images. This year he will work 
together with Felix S. Huber to realise the media project re:site projects 
for kunstprojekte_riem, Munich. Florian Wüst lives in Rotterdam.

Press contact: Sabine Niewalda, niewalda at kurzfilmtage.de


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