News 23 February 2021
At present, thousands of visitors at a festival, as was usual at the European Media Art Festival before the Corona pandemic, is not even remotely conceivable. Our curators are therefore planning various online formats in addition to the events and exhibitions in our real space. They will be available online from April 21 - at emaf.cinemalovers.de. The films, installations and talks will be available beyond the duration of the festival until May 2.
In addition to the films in the International Competition, this year's highlights surely include the film series curated by Anja Dornieden and Juan David González Monroy on the festival theme, "Possessed". The series explores how the cinematic apparatus is bound up with us human beings and takes possession of us - in films by Ruy Guerra, Amy Halpern and Eva C. Heldmann, among others. In addition, the series "Show Us the Money and We Will Resist", compiled by Nour Ouayda, focuses on the history of video art in Lebanon. Works by Akram Zaatari, Mohamed Soueid, Chantal Partamian and others illuminate the interrelationships between television, artistic experimentation and alternative media.
At Kunsthalle Osnabrück, curator Inga Seidler will present works that address colonial and capitalist impulses on the themes of domination, control, ownership and property in a variety of ways, taking a particular look at the role of technologies - for instance in Vladan Joler's "New Extractivism" or Nora Al Badri's "Babylonian Vision". Patricia Dominguez's altar-like video installation fuses myths, symbols and rituals with visions of extraction and indigenous land rights, cultural appropriation and nature destroyed by industrialisation.
Art and culture have not exactly been at the top of the priority list in the political sphere in recent months. But they are important elements of social discourse, creating meeting spaces and promoting social cohesion. With its programmes and themes, the EMAF 2021 stands for this aspect as well.
"The EMAF traditionally has a very international audience. Through the online programme, we can make as many films and contributions as possible accessible to a broad audience - without anyone having to get on a train or a plane", says Alfred Rotert, member of the festival management.
We warmly invite you to join us at the EMAF 2021, whether online or, if possible, on site!
