It has to be Cinema
Your programming and combination of films also directs the view of the audience. How would you describe the hallmarks of your work as a curator?
Sex and politics. Sensuality and the body. And it has to be cinema. That means, conceived images. As in Bai Niao (White Bird) by Wu Linfeng. You can tell how much thought the director has put into the images and the rhythm by simply looking at the film. Exactly like in Notre Héritage. The protagonist in Bai Niao is HIV-positive. When a distant relative comes to visit, he sleeps with her. During the final seven minutes of the film, tiny shifts are traceable in the focus of the images that cover up morality with a white towel. The border between documentary and fictional material is subverted, making possible a glimpse of the in-between.
Nimit Luang (Prelude to the General) by Pimpaka Towira from Thailand is also very precise in its editing, composition, mise-en-scène and yet it remains mysterious. In the context of Thai history, the film becomes an expression of collective trauma. The past anticipates the future, thus making it impossible for the protagonist to escape in spite of a warning voiced at the start.
My dream would be to watch the programme in full – without any interruptions, preferably without any credits or black in between – simply transitioning from one mood to the next, from one colour to another. For 90 minutes. For 120 minutes. All day short.