Baltic Cinema: Talking To Monuments

Baltic Cinema: Talking To Monuments

Thu 9 October | 18:30

£6 Full price / £4 Students, under 18s, unwaged and 65+

What are monuments for? What are they trying to tell us? Is it possible to open up a conversation with them — and if so, could we change what they stand for? History is littered with demonstrations for and against monuments, commemorating their construction and celebrating their eventual removal.

In the context of Ali Cherri’s representation of monuments and the monumental in How I Am Monument, here three films by leading artists each explore the legacy of monuments and the function of memorialisation via playful conversations with public artworks.

London-based Georgian artist Sophio Medoidze rejects the idea that monuments only have singular meanings, instead weaving a story that claims a now-demolished Tbilisi landmark for herself. The Indonesian artists in Sebastián Díaz Morales’ film continues in a similar vein, appealing to Jakarta’s monuments not just as mute witnesses but as confidants — and Once in the XX Century plays mischievously with the act of memorialisation itself.

Once in the XX Century

Dir. Deimantas Narkevičius Lithuania 2004 7’56

No dialogue | Analogue video transferred to digital video

"This film is based on pre-existing video material which I acquired from the Lithuanian National TV archive documenting the action of taking down the statue of Lenin. In addition, I bought video footage of the same event from a freelance video reporter. So, there is a two-camera perspective on the event. In this work, the materials are edited in such a way that it looks as if the crowd were preparing, and then celebrating, the erection of the statue of Lenin." —Deimantas Narkevičius

Andropov’s Ears

Dir. Sophio Medoidze UK 2014 7’

English | Digital video

A modernist monument in Tbilisi nicknamed Andropov’s Ears (after the then-head of the KGB, Yuri Andropov) has recently been demolished by the neoliberal Georgian government to be replaced by the symbol of capitalist prosperity: a shopping mall. Medoidze opts out of this double negativity by filming both the remnants of Brutalist architecture in London and her sculpture of the missing monument, focusing on the interchangeability of real and imaginary references.

Smashing Monuments

Dir. Sebastián Díaz Morales Indonesia 2023 50’

Indonesian with English subtitles | Digital video

Argentinian artist Sebastián Díaz Morales’ film follows five members of the Indonesian art collective ruangrupa (which directed Documenta to controversy in 2022) as each walks to talk to a monument in Jakarta — each of which, from Pizza Man to the Welcome Monument, embodies a transformative moment in the nation’s political history.

‘Smashing Monuments is many things: homespun performance art, social essay, and a pop-cultural study of Indonesian footwear.’ — International Film Festival Rotterdam

Doors open 18:30; Film starts 18:45. Baltic Kitchen is open until 18:30 for drinks, which you are welcome to take up to the cinema.

Please note we cannot offer refunds on this event.

Baltic Cinema

Baltic Cinema is a new year-round cinema programme at Baltic, lighting up our Level 1 Cinema with the best new and archive films. Bringing otherwise rarely-screened work to the North East, Baltic Cinema also expands our exhibitions, offering a chance to explore further some of the themes they raise.

Baltic Cinema has five strands:

Currents presents new work from across the world

Sources expands on our exhibitions

Selected shows films selected by our artists and partners

Quayside Kino is a monthly screening for families and children

News From Home offers films on and from the North East, for the people who live here

All regular screenings take place in our Level 1 Cinema. In addition, you can catch free drop-in films in Front Room every week. See full programme of screenings here.

Baltic Cinema is supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.

Accessibility

We want our events to be inclusive and accessible. If you have any accessibility requests or questions, please email myexperience@balticmill.com. Ahead of your visit, you can find out about Baltic's facilities and accessibility here.