Dystopian Dreams

Dystopian Dreams

This event centres on three elements of life which have seen renewed curiosity - Spiritualism, Nuclearism and Futurism. At a time where the dizzying effect of life is reaching tumultuous levels this event will bring together film, food, performance and critical thinking taking audiences on an immersive journey that considers our time and place. It will fuse together concepts of feminism, mythology, mysticism and ecology with place and genre in order to create an experiential event.

The films will be accompanied by a rope performance by Scottish company, Spinal Chord, who will choreograph a piece pulling out key themes from the films. It will also include edible bites of curiosity inspired by Alice in Wonderland’s magic mushrooms, each bite will include a quote from prominent thinkers such as Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Franz Fanon, and more. Audiences will be prompted to eat these and engage with the texts throughout the event. The screenings will be followed by a post screening discussion.

This event will take place in person and online. Please book in advance so that we can ensure to create enough cakes for the event.

19 June 6.30pm, in person event hosted in Barras Art and Design, Glasgow.

Access information: The films will all be closed captioned. Tickets are based on a sliding scale of pay what you can. Some of the films contain flashing lights. The edible bites will be vegan cakes.

This screening is part of Film Feels Curious, a UK-wide cinema season, supported by the National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network. Explore all films and events at filmfeels.co.uk.

Held in collaboration with Spinal Chord.

Films in the programme include:

Spiritualism

Peyote Queen, Storm De Hirsch, US 1967, 9m

Director Storm De Hirsch was a key figure in the New York avant-garde film scene of the 1960s. Although often overlooked by historians, in recent years she has been recognised as a pioneer of underground cinema. De Hirsch circumvents the camera by painting or etching directly onto celluloid, creating textured and colourful imaginary and juxtaposing animation with live action, figuration with abstraction.

Peyote Queen is the second and best known part of de Hirsch's trilogy, The Color of Ritual, the Color of Thought. It is preceded by Divinations (1964) and Shaman (1966). The film's imagery is abstract, consisting of both live action footage and animated sequences which de Hirsch created by painting and etching directly on the 16mm film stock. Split screens, kaleidoscopic lenses, and abstract animations are used to create a psychedelic effect.

Bare Bones , Meryem Lahlou, USA 2020, 9m

In a hostile environment where humans are indistinguishable and spaces force constant reflection, artist Meryem Lahlou questions our values and confronts our anxieties. Using spatial design as her medium, she creates an impressive animation that examines what defines our identity and our interaction with our surroundings. Bare bones is a story of interpreting, extending, and questioning what makes us human.

Nuclearism

Uranium Hex, Sandra Lahire, Canada 1987, 11m

Sandra Lahire (1950-2001) was an important feminist experimental filmmaker. Using a kaleidoscope of experimental techniques, Uranium Hex explores uranium mining in Canada and its destructive effects on the environment and the women working in the mines. The film encapsulates a range of images, from the women at work to spine-chilling representations of cancerous bodies which are accompanied by unnerving industrial sounds and information about the effects of uranium mining.

Your Greenham, Beeban Kidron, UK 2007, 10m

In 2007 the Guardian commissioned Beeban Kidron to document the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp online. Throughout the 1980s the peace camp attracted hundreds and thousands of women who protested against the deployment of cruise missiles at the USAF Greenham Common base until they finally left in 1991. ‘Your Greenham’ is an archive of 80s films and images alongside new interviews with women about their experience of the peace camp and non-violent direct action protest. Far from nostalgic, the new films record the enduring legacy of Greenham on the lives and politics of women who took part in the protest.

Futurism

Finding Fanon Part Two, Larry Achiampong, David Blandy, UK 2015, 9m

Finding Fanon Two collides art-house cinema with digital culture’s Machinima, resulting in a work that explores the post-colonial condition from inside a simulated environment – the Grand Theft Auto 5 in-game video editor. This video work combines several stories, including how the artists’ familial histories relate to colonial history, an examination of how their relationship is formed through the virtual space, and thoughts on the implications of the post-human condition.

They Charge for the Sun, Terence Nance, US 2016, 16m

This is a film set in a dystopian future.

A future where everything is a

product to be bought and

sold.

Even the sun.