Re-enacting the Future
Digital video, 10 minutes, English language, 2019 - co-authored with Kevin B. Lee
This is not just film criticism as an act of memory; it is an exercise in feeling historical and contemporary modes of mediated nationalism on the rise.
Tarah Judah (Sight and Sound Magazine)
A much-needed critical study about recreations and the role of cinema in the writing of the future History.
Filmadrid (Javier H. Estrada, Andrea Morán, Ramón del Buey)
This piece reflects on the powers of reenactment in terms of influencing the future for political events and also the way we perceive history. Rhymes will never be alike, the power is in the cut.
Carlos Natálio (À pala de Walsh)
Synopsis :
Re-enacting the Future is a video essay that pieces together a montage of historical re-enactments from early cinema through to recent years, many of which touch on nationalist themes. It examines the subjective nature of the memory and portrayal of historical events, the fine line between documentation and propaganda, as well as the wider question of re-enactments as entertainment. References to social media sites and information banners mimicking present-day TV news channels allude to the nature of today’s fast-paced contemporary media cycle, and speaks to […] the seeming lack of time available to us in which to process and reflect on contemporary events as they unfold before our eyes in ‘real’ time.
(Excerpt from the catalogue of the Yerevan Biennial 2020)
A review of the film by Tara Judah for Sight and Sound Magazine is available here.
This video essay was commissioned by the Critic's Choice program at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
It screened at the Underground Museum (US), the cinema REX in Bern (CH) ; it was included in programs and exhibitions at the Yerevan Biennial 2020 (AM), Dogmilk Films, the Broken Screen/Pantalla Rota Exhibition (AR), the Werkleitz Videorama Presentation (DE).