09 Oct 2013

Artecinema, 18th International Festival of Films on Contemporary Art

The 18th annual Artecinema International Festival of Films on Contemporary Art, curated by Laura Trisorio, will be inaugurated at the San Carlo Theatre in Naplesat at 8.30 p.m. on Thursday, 10 October 2013.

The Festival is scheduled to continue 11, 12 and 13 October at the Augusteo Theatre from 5.00 p.m. to midnight.

Some thirty documentaries on the leading artists, architects and photographers on the international scene will be presented in the categories of Arts and Environs, Architecture and Photography.


ARTECINEMA 2013
PROGRAMME


THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER - SAN CARLO THEATRE

8.30 p.m. inauguration


9.00 – art and environs
DAMMI I COLORI
by Anri Sala
Albania, 2003, 14', Albanian, English subtitles

Anri Sala's film traces the project of Edi Rama, artist and current prime minister of Albania, who decided to bring an end to his city's drab, discordant urban outlay when he was mayor of Tirana in 2003 by having the buildings painted in bright colours, demolishing illegally built constructions and recuperating many of the city's parks.

EDI RAMA: TAKE BACK YOUR CITY WITH PAINT
Greece, 2012, 15', English, Italian subtitles

In a conference organized by TED in Thessalonica, Edi Rama explains how, through the use of art, he managed to improve Tirana's social and urban conditions and instil a sense of community and hope for positive change in its inhabitants.

10.00 p.m. - art and environs
CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI*
by Alain Fleischer
France, 2013, 27', French

This film about the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) was filmed in the studio he donated to the French state in his will and which was faithfully reconstructed by Renzo Piano in 1997 in the external areas of the Pompidou Centre. Images of his works have been inter-mixed with some original footage realised by Brancusi himself between 1923 and 1939.

22.40 - photography
LE SIÈCLE DE CARTIER BRESSON*
by Pierre Assouline
France, 2012, 52', French, English

The unmistakable style of Henri Cartier-Bresson's reportages has influenced entire generations of photographers. In this documentary, with images of his photographs scrolling in the background, Cartier Bresson speaks about the most salient moments in his life such as his encounter with Gandhi, his first trip to Africa, the three years he spent as a prisoner of war in Germany and his encounter with Robert Capa and David Seymour with whom he founded the Magnum Agency.

FRIDAY 11 OCTOBER – AUGUSTEO THEATRE

5.00 p.m. – architecture
ESPACES INTERCALAIRES
by Damien Faure
France, 2012, 56', Japanese, French subtitles

Over the past few years, a significant architectural phenomenon, known as pets architecture, which aims to redefine urban space has developed in Japan. Instead of developing cities vertically, Japanese architects attempt to redefine existing space by utilizing all residual surfaces.

6.15 p.m. - art and environs
SALVADOR DALÍ GENIE TRAGI-COMIQUE*
by François Lévy-Kuentz
France, 2012, 52', French

A versatile artist, aficionado of science, performer, leading exponent of hyperrealism and psychedelic culture, Salvador Dalì drew his inspiration from a death wish and psychoanalysis. The film explores his oeuvre from the perspective of his personality and the myth which he built around himself over the course of his entire life.


7.30 p.m. - art and environs
DANIEL BUREN, M0NUMENTA 2012*
by Gilles Coudert
France, 2013, 52', French

In 2012, Daniel Buren had to face the challenge of preparing an exhibit in the 13,500 m2 of the Gran Palais in Paris upon invitation of Monumenta to set up a site specific installation.

8.45 p.m. - photography
PHOTO CONCEPTUELLE*
By Stan Neumann
France, 2013, 26', French
From the 1960s onwards, some avant-garde artists such as Bruce Nauman, John Baldessari, Jan Dibbets, Peter Fischli & David Weiss and Liu Bolin, decided to make use of the language of photography reduced to its most elementary expression. Through their use amateur cameras, these artists call into question the very concept of artistic creation.

9.30 p.m. - architecture
UNFINISHED SPACES
di Alysa Nahmias e Benjamin Murray
the United States, 2011, 86', English, Spanish

The ambitious project of Escuelas Nationales de Arte in Cuba was established in the 60s by architects Ricardo Porro Vittorio Garatti and Roberto Gottardi in the wake of the revolution led by Castro and Che Guevara, then only to be abruptly interrupted. In 2003, the site was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and various fund raising campaigns were initiated for its restoration and recuperation.


11.15 p.m. - art and environs
JOAN MIRÓ THE LADDER OF ESCAPE
by Carroll Moore
the United States, Spain, 2012, 33', English

The horrors of the twentieth century – the Spanish Civil War, fascism, the Francoist regime and the Second World War – had a strong impact on Mirò's artistic career. Footage of his works are alternated with archival films and photographs taken in Catalonia and leading figures of the world of art.

SATURDAY 12 OCTOBER - AUGUSTEO THEATRE

5.00 p.m. - architecture
SOL LEWITT
by Chris Teerink
Holland, 2012, 72', Dutch, Italian, English

Il director delves into the workings of the philosophy of Sol LeWitt, (1928-2007), one of the founders of conceptual art. LeWitt believed the idea behind a work of art was more important than its execution and decided to limit his own intervention to a minimum.


6.30 p.m. - art and environs
LIFE ARCHITECTURALLY
by Britt Arthur
the United States, 2011, 52', English

Life Architecturally follows the work of architect Robert McBride and his wife, designer Debbie Ryan, and explores the sources of inspiration for their futuristic constructions which are changing the face of Melbourne.


7.45 p.m. - art and environs
LES AVENTURES DE MUMO, LE MUSEE MOBILE
France, 2012, 70', French
by Gilles Coudert

MUMO is a mobile museum for children which was established in order to bring contemporary art to places where there are no museums. The artists invited to participate in the project - James Turrell, Ghada Amer, Daniel Buren, Yong Ping Huang, Pierre Huygue, Paul McCarthy, Nari Ward, Lawrence Weiner, Cherry Samba, Maurizio Cattelan, Jim Lambie and Roman Signer – created specific works centred on the theme of living together.


9.15 p.m. - photography
GREGORY CREWDSON: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS
by Ben Shapiro
the United States, Holland, 2012, 78', English

One single perfect shot. This is the elusive goal which the New York artist Gregory Crewdson seeks in each photo. For that one shot, he stages stunningly elaborate cinematographic 'scenes' with painstaking precision. His settings are timeless American neighborhoods, dense in atmosphere and the unspoken.

10.45 p.m. - art and environs
JOHN CAGE - JOURNEYS IN SOUND
by Alan Miller, Paul Smaczny
Great Britain, 2012, 58', English

In an unconventional manner, mixing archival material, interviews with admirers and the execution of some of Cage's most famous works, the directors narrate his life and the behind-the-scene stories of some of his most well known scores revealing the strategies Cage used to find the exact sounds he wanted.

SUNDAY 13 OCTOBER - AUGUSTEO THEATRE

5.00 p.m. - art and environs
SAGRADA - EL MISTERI DE LA CREACIÓ
by Stefan Haupt
Switzerland, 2012, 89', French, Spanish, English

The fascinating, controversial story of the Sagrada Familia, under construction since 1882 and never completed, which has required the labour of thousands of construction workers.


6.45 p.m. - photography
HOT SPOTS: MARTIN PARR IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH*
by Neal Broffman
the United States, 2012, 30', English

For six months Martin Parr wandered around Atlanta with his camera, guided by his instinct and sense of humour, and produced photographs which spotlight the customs and vices of the city's inhabitants.


7.30 p.m. - art and environs
L'IMMORTALE (GINO DE DOMINICIS)*
by Giorgo Treves
Italy, 2011, 49', Italian

The oeuvre of Gino De Dominicis is reconstructed through many of his works, the testimony of critics, friends and collectors including Achille Bonito Oliva, Maurizio Calvesi, Vittorio Sgarbi, Fabio Sargentini, Fabrizio Lemme and Italo Tomassoni.


8.50 p.m.- art and environs
SAVE THE ICON - ROXY IN THE BOX*
by Roxy in the Box
Italy, 2013, 11', Italian

In the Save the Icon project, artist Roxy in the Box uses her own body to bring the myth of Elvis Presley back to life. Her intention is to make people reflect on the advancement of a 'liquid world' which runs ever faster and undersells icons and our history by transforming them into T-shirts.


LA CRUCIFIXION, LE SCANDALE SACRÉ*
by Olivier Besse
France, 2012, 58', French, English

Representations of the crucifixion have always elicited heated debates.
The director leads us on a fascinating voyage through the history of art, from the first representations of the crucifixion to the desecrating image of Immersion Piss Christ by Andres Serrano.


10.15 p.m. – art and environs
LA TOILE BLANCHE D'EDWARD HOPPER
by Jean-Pierre Devillers
France, Holland, 2012, 52', German, French, English

This documentary, produced for a recent retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris, presents the ouevre of Edward Hopper (1882-1967) and outlines the portrait of an independent artist who was well aware of the risks of his times and hostile to the limitations posed by American art which was prone to abstraction. His figurative works transmit a sense of anticipation and solitude whilst making us reflect on what lies beneath the American dream.