these films have a self-awareness
of their own materiality
the kind that comes from
being
a dislocated creature
meta is not a flex
multiple consciousness is not because
we've lost
our commissural fibers
understanding the plurality
of our reality
is survival
is woven into
the ways that we create bonds with/
serve/protect
our bodies
our besties
our image
our reality
the ways we engage our spectators
our spectacle
like a QR code poem program description
that’s a shibboleth for dancing within the layers of The Material
we're so happy to bring this program to you in collaboration with 2220 arts + archives and isidore bethel. isidore is a dear friend who has directed and edited some of our favorite doc films of the last decade. living between europe and the US, we met isidore back at True/False in Feb of 2020 days before lockdown. he was screening the film So Late So Soon which he masterfully edited, and we were a part of T/F's inaugural PRISM fellowship. meeting isidore was one of the best things that came out of that festival.
this is our second iteration of our program, which we originally started as a series of public events for people like us. while the films we're making are still baking in the oven, we wanted to grow our community by having the conversations we love to have. we're very interested in matters of the spiritual movement inherent to the experience of displaced and diasporic peoples of the world, and this program specifically tackles intimacy in the 21st century.
From Isidore:
Each of these films is
clever, complex, and sincere.
Many are funny.
All of their authors are searching --
for connections, for relief, for sensation,
for history, for a relative, for themselves.
They embrace unfamiliarity and discomfort
as opportunities to invent new forms of intimacy,
sharing the fruits of their efforts
with generosity,
wit, and
heart.
Bodies and Besties Program
"Oliver Sees Indigo" (Ryan Clancy, 14 min.)
Ebbs and flows in visual ecstasy mirror a filmmaker's sinewy path through addiction.
"Untitled"/"one real life BEST friend" (Kina Sands, 4 min.)
After two years of lockdowns, Kina starts to wonder if she should spend less time with her online best friend, pickles.
"Reneepoptosis" (Renee Zhan, 10 min.)
At three different stages of life, a roly-poly Renee battles a self-consumptive urge.
"Old Country White" (Emerson Granillo, 4 min.)
A flow of paint resembles body fluids, food products, and Wite-Out as it covers the artist's body, making it hard for him to breathe.
"yous heres" (Betelhem Makonnen, 4 min.)
A playful critique of the problematic relationship between the camera and Black bodies.
"much handled things are always soft" (Derrick Woods-Morrow, 9 min.)
Derrick Woods-Morrow erects a living, heaving, panting memorial to historic cruising practices in Chicago's Washington Park. [contains sex]
"Masa, Non-chan, and me" (Lucas Habte, 22 min.)
Lucas Habte befriends a pair of Tokyo housing activists on the dance floor and with a microphone in hand.
"Estoy detrás de ti" (Manuel Barraza Cepeda, 8 min.)
Manuel Barraza Cepeda finds an old map that he hopes might lead to his grandfather, who disappeared long before his birth.
"Je n'ai pas trouvé l'Eldorado" (Sephora Monteau, 9 min.)
Helping an aunt prepare for her daughter’s online wedding ceremony, Sephora Monteau wonders what impacts moving to France would have on loved ones back home in Haiti.
"Untitled" (Abby Sun, 17 min.)
In the narrow spaces of a lamp-lit trailer, a bearded man shares his body and its history with a curious younger filmmaker. [contains nudity]
August 13. 2022 @ 1:30 PM PDT @ 2220 ARTS + ARCHIVES / los angeles, california