Film Countries Archives: New Zealand

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Shorts 8: Architecture – Versions of Home

  Various

  France, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Ukraine, United States     77 minutes

Synopsis

In celebration of this year’s Chicago Architecture Biennial, this program tracks how we establish strong connections to a place, and the complications of staying in it. Featuring works by Camille Authouart, Mariia Ponomarova, Lloyd Lee Choi, and Ufuoma Essi.

An artist explores, observes, and draws scenes of La Défense, a neighborhood west of Paris whose large-scale public artworks constitute the largest open-air museum in Europe, in The Great Arc (France). Former residents remember happier times in a beloved apartment in Three Windows on South West (The Netherlands, Ukraine). Closing Dynasty (U.S.) follows a day in the life of a streetwise kid named Queenie as she navigates her own path through New York City. And Is My Living In Vain (U.K., France, New Zealand) explores the Black church as a site of personal and political belonging through portraits of communities across west Philadelphia and southeast London.

 French, Mandarin, Russian, Ukrainian with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Virtual Screening

This program will be available to stream from October 16 at 12:00pm CT to October 22 at 11:59pm CDT.

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An overhead view of a woman sitting cross-legged on a bench in a backyard. Her palms lay on her knees facing up.

Africans With Mainframes [short film]

  Kima Hibbert

  United States     15 minutes

Synopsis

This mockumentary follows LaJoye Watkins, a reclusive Brooklyn woman with an unwavering determination to unearth a hidden truth that challenges conventional music history: that electronic music owes its roots to the ingenious innovation of black Southerners during the 1920s. Within the walls of her modest apartment, she harbors a treasure trove of forgotten records and fragmented memories. LaJoye’s historical tour de force explores themes of loneliness, revenge, and reclamation, taking us on a journey toward spiritual awakening.

This film screens as part of the Shorts 7: Black Perspectives – Resonance program.

  

 English