DANCE/NYC
"Near Life Experience"
Nov 3, 8pm
Nov 4-6, 7:30pm

The U.S. premiere of choreographer Angelin Preljocaj's "Near Life Experience." This full-evening work explores how an instant of abandon -- a fainting spell, an ecstatic moment, a trance, an orgasm -- offers the opportunity for both intense bodily sensation and detachment.

Set to an original composition by French electronica duo Air, "Near Life Experience" focuses on altered states of mind and soul. Through precisely rendered movements, nine performers travel a delicate line veering from tense physical contact to spiritual, body-abandoning sensations, as corporeal realities give way to the transcendent.

There will be no intermission, so, make sure you keep that in mind, before the transcendent boomerangs back to corporeal realities.

Angelin Preljocaj commentary, via official site:

"Near Life Experience" is a quest into different states of the body, states which relate to intermediary sensations. We verge on these states when we near zones which hover on the edge of existence, to which we have access in moments of fainting, during a trance, in the instant of ecstasy, or orgasm.

The notion of both rapture and ravishment, of both intensely luminous sensation and the carrying off of the individual, comes close to this experience. The subject is elsewhere, carried off from himself, he is ravished.

"Near Life Experience" evokes all of this, an attempt to remove oneself from space and time. A sort of eclipse of the self, a quest through this imaginary amnios - a new expression in the space left by the body.

Photo: Guy Delahaye

Find it: BAM - Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Get info: (718) 636-4100

Find out about other dance events in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

ART/Venice
"Metamorph"
Through Nov. 7

Apart from the lure of the city, itself, there's another good reason to visit Venice this month: "Metamorph."

The Biennale di Venezia's 9th international architecture exhibition, "Metamorph," presents the work of over 170 architecture studios. More than 200 projects will be on show, including photographs, videos and eight special installations by architects Ben van Berkel, Peter Eisenman, Kengo Kuma, Juan Navarro Baldeweg, Massimo Scolari, Ron Arad, Wilkinson - Eyre, Sauerbruch + Hutton and others.

"Metamorph" explores fundamental changes underway in contemporary architecture, in both theoretical and practical design.



Shown: EOM, Eric Owen Moss Architects: Jose Vasconcelos Library of Mexico, Mexico City, 2003

The premise of the program: architecture becomes livable only when it adapts its limits to its environment, the same way as the primary components of life, cells. This new morphology of living spaces is taking over "the era of Vitruvian architecture", leaving room for new scenarios in the construction of new types of spaces in today's world.

Due to informed research into materials possessing variable, reactive qualities, much architecture is changing its nature. It assumes curvilinear forms and the function of its 'shells' mirrors that of living membranes.

"Metamorph" is divided into two settings: the Corderie, and the Giardini della Biennale.

The Corderie in the Venice Arsenale is the venue for works that have transformed the discipline of architecture since the 1970s, from those of Peter Eisenman (with his terrestrial automatisms), Frank O. Gehry (with buildings that transform themselves into fish), Aldo Rossi (architecture as memory), and James Stirling (the constructivist collage), to the latest trends and projects.

The historical perspective presented here investigates the means by which architecture modifies its own processes of invention and execution, acquiring the ability to adapt, and to operate under radically new circumstances.

The exhibit is separated into sections. Starting with the transformation of existing buildings and broadening out to include the new topography, the spaces of the Corderie will also host sections dedicated to detailed sub-sections: surfaces, atmosphere and hyper-projects.

Step by step, this succession traces the evolution of architecture. Hyper-projects represent the greatest complexity yet achieved, both for their internal organization and for their seamless extension into the surrounding territory; architecture as living organism, adapting to new environments.

The Italian Pavilion in the Giardini della Biennale presents installations commissioned from various designers, offering specific examples of recent transformations in architecture.

These installations reveal metamorphoses in new types of building; new materials and construction systems, both in the form of depictions and actual realizations of architectural innovations.

Also on view, the photographic section, "Morphing Lights, Floating Shadows,"
which presents the works of over 60 photographers divided into topics associated with the exhibition's themes.

For a century, the role of photography in architecture was associated mainly with accurate documentation or, in some particularly interesting cases, of the distribution of an architect's point of view about his own work via publications.

However, in recent years, exchanges and collaboration between photographers and architects are increasingly frequent. Photographers are able to reveal atmospheric, ephemeral but significant aspects in their images, providing architects with new stimuli for expression in their projects.

Within the Italian Pavilion, the section entitled "News from the Interior," groups together domestic Italian architecture. On show will be the latest transformations of home/work interior, displaying the work of 40 architects.



Shown: Wilkinson Eyre Architects: Royal Ballet School Bridge, London, 2003

Lastly, the "Cities on Water" section. What's that? Cities on water; architects from 20 cities that share an important relationship with the sea, lakes and rivers - from Bilbao to Buenos Aires, Lyons to Seoul - present their respective reviews of the metamorphoses undergone by their respective urban waterfronts.

The layout of the "Cities on Water" section takes the form of a floating pavilion, a sort of large 'ship' anchored in the Arsenale basin in the shadow of the Gaggiandre.
It offers a broad survey of the projects of "water cities" in one of the most historically significant water cities of them all, offering insight into the special problem of maintaining a viable, inhabited city, against the vagaries of a vast body of water: the Mediterranean. High tide, anyone?

Shown above/header image: UN Studio: La Defense Offices, Almere, The Netherlands 1999-2004

Find it: Venice Arsenale (Corderie and Artiglierie), Giardini della Biennale
Get there: ACTV lines 1/51/61/82/41 from Piazzale Roma and Ferrovia
stops: Arsenale; Giardini

Get info: +39 041 5218846, +49 7531 90730

Find art events in other cities, in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

DANCE/NYC
“Whole Sky”
November 10–13 at 7:30pm

Choreography Risa Jaroslow takes on the issue of community; she researched issues specific to a range of groups, from seniors to gay and lesbian teens to survivors of domestic violence. “Whole Sky” threads their answers through Jaroslow's stunning choreography and a lush multimedia landscape. Bodies take root and bloom, communities emerge and dissolve, and dozens of stories come to life, experiences which are specific -- but also universal.

Find it: DTW - Dance Theater Workshop
219 West 19th Street
New York NY, 10011
Get info: (212) 691-6500

Find other dance events, in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

Dance/NYC
"Dry Flower"
Nov. 3-6, 8pm

Tokyo-based interdisciplinary art collective Nibroll draws equally from the talents of its choreographer, composer, videographer, lighting and fashion designers to produce spectacular, multi-layered works rooted in Japan's raging cultural contradictions.

For the American premiere of "Dry Flower," spiky dance phrasing shares the stage with animated projections of drifting petals -- and stampeding gazelles.

Photo: Nobutaka Sato

Find it: The Kitchen (btwn 10th/11th Aves.)
512 West 19th Street
Get there: A/C/E/L to 14th St./8th
Get info: (212) 255-5793

Find more dance events in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

LIFE/Life on the rocks
Icebar Milan

Stoli on the rocks? Sure. The new Icebar at Town House 12, Milan, is chock full of rocks; the entire bar is made of ice, right down to the artwork, the cocktail glasses, and the ice cubes for that perfectly chilled vodkatini. Ciao, regazzi! Brrr...

All the ice is imported from the Torne river, in northern Sweden, which is the source for the Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, which first 'opened’ in 1989.

The Icehotel is re-built from scratch every November. Weird? Well, consider what there is to do in northern Sweden during the ramp-up to the next long, brutal, depressing winter. Makes sense now, eh?

Haute couture patrons of the new Milan bar, beware: due to the temperature of the bar
(-5°C/23°F), everyone stopping by for a swig is handed a pair of ice boots and a padded cape with attached gloves. The accoutrements keep the chill off while you chill out.

The cape also deflects the effect of body heat in the aggregate. Otherwise the central seating would go into quick meltdown:

“I thought you were gonna save me a seat.”
“I was, until it...melted.”

There’s also an Icebar in Stockholm -- as if what they need up there is more ice.

Shown above: Icebar, Stockholm. (l.) The Icebar features walls, artwork, seats and even cocktail glasses made of ice; (r.) Visitors cape up for happy hour.
Photo: Icehotel.com

Read more real-life odd news, in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

DANCE/Richmond
Grupo Corpo: "Nazareth/21"
Oct. 26-27

Grupo Corpo brings an in-your-face spirit and dynamism to the stage, along with powerful, visually striking tableaus. Like an explosion at a Willy Wonka factory.




Shown above: "Nazareth"

A fortunate combination of modern dance, Afro-Brazilian dance and ballet. They'll be performing "Nazareth" and "21."

Find it: Modlin Center for the Arts
50 Crenshaw Way
University of Richmond
Richmond, VA. 23173
Get info: (804) 289-8980

Find out about other dance events, in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

NYC/KGB Bar/Reading
Oct. 20, 7pm

The Fantastic Fiction series, curated by Ellen Datlow and Gavin J. Grant, is on the third Wednesday of every month at 7pm at KGB. Come early.

Reading: Lucius Shephard, "Two Trains Running"
About the book: This collection of fact and fiction was inspired by the time science fiction writer Lucius Shepard spent with Missoula Mike, Madcat, and other members of a controversial brotherhood known as the Freight Train Riders of America.

Shepard rode the rails throughout the western half of the United States with the disenfranchised, the homeless, the punks, the gangs, and the joy riders for the magazine article "The FTRA Story." That original article is presented here, along with two new hobo novellas, "Over Yonder" and "Jailbait."

"Jailbait" is a hardcore tale of deception, lust, revenge, and murder in the seedy underbelly of rail yards and train hopping.

In "Over Yonder," alcoholic Billy Long Gone finds himself on an unusual train...

Also reading: Scott Westerfeld, "So Yesterday"

Find it: 85 East 4th Street (just off 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
Get info: (212) 505-3360

Read more books/writers content in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

FILM/FESTIVALS/Leeds (UK)
Leeds International Film Festival
Oct. 28 - Nov. 7

This year's program: 77 feature films, 65 documentaries, over 150 shorts, and 26 events, performances, and exhibitions.

In addition to the main program, more fun stuff, like genre cinema eyeball extravaganza Fanomenon, and The Fringe, for exo-cinema viewing in bars and clubs like The Wardrobe and The Hi-Fi. Waiting on the advent of film screenings in mobile ex-ambulances, but maybe that'd be taking it a bit far.

Although that would lend some pedal to the floor in getting folk to make screenings on time. If not - there you'd be, standing on the curb like a fool.

Right. Back to the actual facts. There'll be eight UK premieres in the first Golden Owl Competition; these include Austrian travelogue "Handbikemovie," Brazilian documentary "The Prisoner of the Iron Bars," and psychological drama "Days of Santiago."

The Official Selection also profiles acclaimed, established directors whose work has rarely surfaced in the UK: for 2004, the featured directors are Iciar Bollain, Spain's leading woman filmmaker, and Franco Piavoli, creator of the magical Italian film, "The Blue Planet."

HIGHLIGHTS:

"Koi No Mon/Otakus in Love"
A funny and ironic portrait of a subculture, "Koi No Mon" is a love story for manga fanatics. Aoki Mon is an artist so obsessed he draws on stones. He meets Koino, a girl with the same passion, they fall in love and start to work together. And then...competition looms as a testing ground for their feelings. Legendary Japanese directors Shinya Tsukamoto and Miike Takashi make guest appearances in two excellent cameos. Takashi's new film, "Izo," will also be screening at the festival.




Shown above: "Una de Zombis"
Aijon and Caspas are dying to make movies. Unfortunately, they're missing two vital elements: money and talent. But this is the least of their worries as they've stumbled into the middle of an undead gang war.

A villain known as The Spirit, and psychopathic Mafia gang The Antichrists, who, incidentally, are zombies, are bashing it out on the streets. Amidst all the distraction and flying body parts, will Aijon and Caspas finish their script? With death, chaos and general lunacy and run-amukishness all around them - they might even miss their deadline.




Shown above: "Tears of Kali"
The dark side of the New Age. A mysterious cult, The Taylor-Eriksson Group, encourages its members to achieve self-fulfilment through extreme physical and psychological experiments. The cult gradually disintegrates when members go missing, but the terrible secrets of the cult are revealed in three stories, each told with increasing horror. Director Andreas Marschall started his career as a comic book artist for "Heavy Metal." He also designed film posters, book illustrations and record covers. He shot his first music video in the early 90s. This is his first feature film.




Shown above: Director Zhang Yimou discusses a scene with Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, "House of Flying Daggers"

"Shi Mian Mai Fu/House of Flying Daggers"
"'Hero' was an experiment, 'House of Flying Daggers' is the real thing," director Yimou Zhang has said of his second martial arts epic. The year is 859AD and China's Tang Dynasty is in decline. Unrest rages everywhere and the forces of corrupt governors are locked in battle with rebel armies.

The largest of the rebel armies is the fearsome "House of Flying Daggers." Police captains Leo and Jin are ordered to capture its mysterious new leader. They hatch an elaborate plan involving a beautiful, blind dancer called Mei, who is suspected of having ties to the "House of Flying Daggers."

Then, of course, all hell busts loose. Love, jealousy, lots 'o swordplay, big drama, bigger blizzards and a tragic ending. Voila. Epic.

The literal translation of the title is actually "Ambush from Ten Directions," but presumably the "Daggers" bit sounded...sharper. The film hits U.S. screens in December.




Shown above: "Le Conseguenze Dell'Amore/Consequences of Love"
In a Swiss lakeside hotel, middle-aged Titta Di Girolamo has been a permanent resident for eight years. He seems to be a man without identity and with very little to do, apart from smoking and coolly observing the hotel's denizens. But what's the story behind the mysterious suitcases delivered to his door?

Shown/header image: "House of Flying Daggers"

Find it/Venues: Too many to list. The festival office (number below)
will answer all inquiries about venue locations and screening dates/times.
Get info: 011-3-247-8398 or 011-3-224-3801

Find other film festivals/screenings worldwide, in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

FILM/Festivals/London
Oct. 20-Nov. 4
Times/bfi Filmfest

Talk about unwieldy names. The Times bfi London Film Festival will feature 180 features and 103 shorts from more than 60 countries. Well-organized. Right now, their biggest problem is finding a filmfest name that doesn't tap out every letter on the keyboard.

The -- let's call it the Times/bfi Filmfest -- features two weeks of international cinema; the drama onscreen might have played originally in theatres from Angola to Uruguay, Hackney to Hollywood Boulevard.

This year's line-up includes work from emerging directors Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Tawfik Abu Wael, Zach Braff and Nicole Kassell. Then there are films by old timers Eric Rohmer, Ousmane Sembene, Theo Angelopoulos, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Lukas Moodysson, Sally Potter, Takashi Miike, Lucretia Martel and Francois Ozon, Mike Leigh, David O Russell, Jonathan Demme, Zhang Yimou and Mira Nair.

Highlights: Feature films

"Everybody is a Killer/Pour le Plaisir"
Bartering sex therapy for car maintenance, psychiatrist Vincent offers car mechanic François some friendly advice on how to please wife Julie, who has fantasies about making love to a killer.

François, Vincent decides, would get the best results by telling Julie he has just killed someone. He does. It works. But then…a local bully is killed, whom everyone in town wanted to see dead, and the mechanic becomes suspect number one -- and the town hero.

Farcical black humor from director Dominique Deruddère, best known for the film "Crazy Love," based on stories by Charles Bukowski.

"Woman is the Future of Man/Yeojaneun Namja Ui Miraeda"
Heonjun meets up with old friend Munho at a local café. A striking woman standing in the snow captures their attention, and the conversation turns to Sunhwa, a woman they were both in love with. They decide to track her down, but flashbacks reveal that they remember the same exact girl in very different ways.




Shown above: "Vital"

"Vital"
Hiroshi suffers amnesia after a car crash, and loses much of his memory. He can barely remember his own parents, friends, or memories about himself. The discovery of old anatomy textbooks leads him to take a course in anatomy, as he tries to salvage knowledge of himself. Who is he? What did he believe?

The coursework includes dissection of a human cadaver - to his shock, he recognizes the corpse under his knife - it is a former girlfriend, Ryoko. Hiroshi fills the empty space of lost memories by creating 'new' ones, by mentally re-living the relationship they might have had.

Highlights: Experimental

"In the Realms of the Unreal"
Documentary about the late Henry Darger, a reclusive artist who lived and worked alone for 60 years, leaving behind a 15,000-word fantasy. Director Jessica Yu creates both a documentary about a contemporary hermit, and journeys into the realms of the surreal.

"Zwerk"
An abstract, computer-generated work produced by using mathematical formulas.

"The Time We Killed"
A meditation on life, death and a chosen state of solitude. Lisa Jarnot plays Robyn, an agoraphobic writer. The reclusive narrator fears that her private visions are beginning to be reproduced in the national psyche of the United States.

When the Twin Towers fall on 9/11, she walks the streets, just to be with other New Yorkers, but the escalation of fear drives her back into her shell. "Terrorism got me out of the house," she says," but the war on terrorism drove me back in."

Robyn's agoraphobia confines her to her apartment, but the film explores a different kind of interior - the visions in her mind. Robyn has a history of breakdowns, but as the film progresses, we see that the fear which keeps her trapped in her apartment is not neurotic - it begins to seem eerily… rational. Written and directed by Jennifer Reeves; she is seeking US distribution for this film.

"Textism"
A rather program in three chapters, combining striking images and dark stories with a text which is 'narrated' by a Text-to-Speech program.

Shown/header image: "The Time We Killed"

Find it/Venues: Too many to list. Ring the festival box office (number below) for venue info and screening times.
Get info: 020 7928 3232 or box.office@bfi.org.uk

Find out about other film festivals/screenings worldwide, in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

THEATRE/San Francisco
Astrid Hadad
Oct 23, 8 pm

A legend in her native Mexico and abroad, this loopy performance artist combines ranchero, bolero, rumba, rock and jazz into a campy and visually mind-bending show.

Taking her inspiration from the vivid tableaus of artist Frida Kahlo, she delivers a mad, inspired blend of cabaret theatre/homage -- her over-the-top costumes serving as 'portable sets.' Hadad puts in an appearance in an informal cabaret setting, for one night only. Rat-a-tat-tat.

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 982-8522

Find other dance/theatre events in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

DANCE/NYC
"La Máquina del Tiempo/The Time Machine"
October 20-23, 27-30, 7:30pm

Merián Soto's visionary fusion of choreographed and improvised movements transforms everyday life experiences, memory and history into glorious works of dance and theater accentuated by intense drama and passion.

Accompanied by live Cuban music, Soto's newest work, "La Máquina del Tiempo/The Time Machine," merges salsa and sexuality, fusing the dancing body with popular music and dance forms as conduits and synthesizers of history and culture. Post-performance discussion on October 20th.

DTW - Dance Theater Workshop
219 West 19th Street
New York NY, 10011
Get info: (212) 691-6500

Find more dance events in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

DANCE/San Francisco
Cullberg Ballet

Oct 14-16, 8 pm
Oct 17, 5 pm

A rare U.S. appearance by the Cullberg Ballet, so if oddball modern ballet is your thing, here's your chance to catch it in Cali, without having to fly to Warsaw or Copenhagen. The company presents a mixed-repertory program featuring works by new Artistic Director Johan Inger, but the main draw is "Solo for Two."

Originally titled "Smoke," which actually makes more sense, "Solo for Two" is the intimate study of a couple whose memories are interwoven with their current conflicts. Excellent, if you like melancholy love duets, set to moody music by Estonian composers. If it is - move fast, because Cullberg is in town for three nights only. Well, three nights and one evening matinee.

Shown: "Solo for Two"

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 982-8522

DANCE/NYC
“Amaramália Abandono”
Oct. 12-17, 8pm

Portugal's late beloved queen of fàdo, Amália Rodrigues, is celebrated in “Amaramália Abandono,” performed with profound poignancy by this brilliant company of 16 dancers of the Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporâneo. Starting with the voice that touched the soul of Portugal, contemporary choreographer Vasco Wellenkamp creates a revelatory work that captures the dramatic force of fàdo with vitality and theatricality.

Find it: The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street
New York, New York 10011
Get info: 212-868-4488

Find more dance events, in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

FILM/Festivals/Vienna
Viennale
Oct. 15-Oct. 27

Vienna cafes are no doubt percolating overtime; here come 289 films from 44 countries, all of which get jammed into two weeks' worth of the Viennale. The main program encompasses about 100 films, roughly half of which are documentary films.

Two new programs this year, in addition to the main sections: Bonus Tracks, which is just an extra day of programming -- and free breakfast for all, because what the hell -- and Propositions. Now, the Propositions section is tagged for films that "risk having unusual forms in cinema, stories and aesthetic and political strategies."

Which...uhm? But the mouthful of officio-speak becomes crystal clear once you've examined the handful of films that made the line-up: "Tarnation," which seems to be playing damn near everywhere, "Pin Boy," and Mark Milgard's "Dandelion." Ah. Odd films. Solid proposition.

There are a handful of venues screening films, but fest central is the Urania. Someone with common sense also decided that most venues would be located within walking distance of the Ringstrasse. Jump a tram, and 'round Vienna you go. Tour it in one.

Highlights: Feature films

"5x2"
Most love stories have a happy beginning, but happy endings aren't so common.

"5x2" is like a mathematical formula solved in reverse, in which we see five crucial events in a modern relationship, as director François Ozon ("8 Women," "Swimming Pool") rewinds the story from brutal parting to questionable beginning.

Like the recollection of a familiar story, we are taken from the fresh memory of divorce to the happiness of a beginning idealized through the fuzziness of memory.

"Man-Yan/Pirated Copy"
The discreet charm of DVD bootleggers. Set during a cold winter in Beijing. People selling illegal DVDs are everywhere: in shopping centers, on viaducts, around the bars, and at the university. The film follows a series of characters and their lives, tagged to their favorite films.




Shown above: Maggie Cheung, in "Clean"

"Clean"
Drug addict Emily Wang loses her partner to an O.D. and goes to jail. She's lost almost everything she has; the last thing she has left is her son. She's determined not to reclaim him until she has remade her life. Actress Maggie Cheung ("Irma Vep") plays Wang.

"A Tale of Two Sisters"
Two sisters return home to a distant father and cruel stepmother. Dreams about their late mother awaken one of them. And then, strange things begin to happen. Based loosely on a Korean folk tale, director Kim Jee-Woon's contorts the source material into a narrative jigsaw puzzle that leaves audiences guessing until the very end.

Highlights: Documentaries

"Sylvia Kristel - Paris"
On the surface, a portrait of Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel, typecast by her role in 1970s erotica/cult series "Emmanuelle." More interestingly, a commentary on the difficulties in plotting a coherent narrative for something as complex as a human life.

For two years, director Manon de Boer recorded the stories of Kristel. At each recording session, Kristel spoke about a city where she’d lived: Paris, LA, Brussels, Amsterdam. The collection of stories were meant to make up an informal biography. Over time, it became a demonstration of the inherent faultiness of biographical works, as details from the same stories surfaced, faded, overlapped, or remained irretrievably lost, even in the re-telling.

"Darwin's Nightmare"
A factory owner shows off his mechanical fish that sing "Don't Worry, Be Happy," while homeless orphans fight over grains of rice in the dirt outside. This is just one of many moments in "Darwins Nightmare" where director Hubert Sauper finds dark irony in the most despairing of situations. A scathing commentary on…appalling inequities that result from the endless pursuit of profit. (Review: Dimitri Eipides)

"Salvador Allende"
September 11, 1973, is a deeply symbolic date for Chile. President Salvador Allende's government was overturned in a coup détat and it is maintained that Allende committed suicide. The determination of this man to above all maintain democratic rule was also what led to his death. "Salvador Allende" retraces the life of this determined Marxist-humanist, delving into the supposed implication of the United States in the coup d'état.

Shown/header image: "Salvador Allende"

Find it: Urania
1st District Vienna, Uraniastrasse 1
Get there: U1,U4 Schwedenplatz - Trams 1, 2, Schwedenplatz
Get info: +43-1-526 59 47, +43-1-513 13 58

Find more film festivals/screenings worldwide, in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

FILM/Festivals/Chicago
Select Media Festival 3”
Oct. 13-22

Attention, fans of politikino -- Select Media Festival 3 is waitin' on you.

This grassroots fest features the art of dissent on celluloid. Documentaries, short narratives, experimental works, animation, music videos, video installations, and short video programs…a whole lotta takes on culture, politics, and technology.

There you go. Bust out your best t-shirt and have a blast.

Now, we're all for semi-orderly dissent and the random poli-brawl. Entertaining. Particularly if there's popcorn involved. But, nota bene for any planning to get up a spontaneous flash mob to chant "Bullocks to Bush," "Kerry is an Asshat," (or v/v) "No to Nader," or "Arise, Comrade, Death to the Bourgeois Pigs": for the love of God, do it during intermission. Thank you.

HIGHLIGHTS:

"Cultural Counter Intelligence" (Shorts program)
Program includes "Deep Blue," "Society of the Spectacle," "Closer," "Drug War Reality Tour" and "30 Seconds of Hate."

"Unconstitutional"
Oct. 20
Unconstitutional is an hour-long documentary detailing the shocking way that the civil liberties of American citizens have been infringed upon, curtailed, and rolled back since 9/11 -- all in the name of national security. In the rush to pass the USA PATRIOT Act, intelligence agencies have been empowered to "protect freedom and democracy" by destroying freedom and democracy. Real stories depict the personal loss of American civil liberties and present citizens who are resisting those efforts

"Weapons of Mass Deception"
Oct. 21
There were two wars in Iraq: a military assault and a media war. The former was well covered; the latter was not. Independent filmmaker Danny Schechter turns the cameras on the deceptive role of the media in reporting on, and promoting, the invasion in Iraq. His latest film, "WMD" is an outspoken assessment on whether Pentagon propaganda and media complicity tried to sell war to the American people.

Shown: "Weapons of Mass Deception"

Find it: Gene Siskel Film Center
164 North State Street
Chicago, Illinois
Get info: (312) 846-2600

Find more film festivals/screenings in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

ART/Miami
“Shatter”
Oct. 14-Oct. 31st

In “Shatter,” Worm-Hole Laboratory presents a series of works that refer to the breaking and rupturing of images and materials to create visually distorted artwork.

The artists in Shatter investigate the ideas of power and mystification of mirrors, reflections, movement and deconstructed realities. The exhibit presents new work by Evan Greenfield, A Booboo and Fifi Hijinx, Aimee Jones, Pepe Mar, Erika Somogyi and Ruby Sky Stiler.

Find it: Worm-Hole Laboratory
The Newton Building
3901 NE 2nd Ave, Miami Design District
Miami, FL
Get info: (305) 975-0915

Find more art events in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".

ART/London
"Haunted"
Through October 30th
Mon-Sat, 12-6pm

Artist statement: "Since I was a child, I have always been interested in ghosts and other aspects of the paranormal. Since I moved to England, my interest has increased, fuelled by such a rich history of hauntings and amazing otherworldly phenomena.

What fascinated me the most was the fact that several books quoted various people who had experienced the same sensations -- being cold, feeling a draft, visions -- sometimes even years apart from each other. Even a vision of Francis Bacon's chicken was seen by two people on separate occasions! (The last sighting being in 1975.)

I started with my ghost project two years ago. I photograph the reported haunted location and then photograph my friends and acquaintances posing as the described manifestation. For the animals, I use my friends' pets or visit the zoo. I photograph with a 35mm Nikon SLR Camera.

The two negatives (location and manifestation) are scanned and superimposed digitally, although I am avoiding any further computer manipulation of the images in an attempt to maintain what I consider to be the "psychic integrity" of the location shots.

The outcome is my own imagination of how the manifestation would appear. In a way it is a very modern equivalent to Victorian ghost/seance photography.

I have never seen a manifestation at any of these sites, although once when tracing a haunted "phantom hitchhiker" road, my car did get very cold, the headlights faded, and the fuel gauge dipped to zero -- it was quite unnerving, lasting for (a very long) 2 minutes. Also since half a year ago my video recorder seems to turn itself on in the middle of the night.

It is an ongoing project, and I do not concentrate on English sites alone. The photographs are all black and white and measure 12"x16". I was lucky to obtain a collection of tape recordings of seances from the 1950s. I plan to have these playing when the project is exhibited."
- Ruth Bayer

Find it: The Horse Hospital
Colonnade (btwn Guilford/Bernard St.)
Bloomsbury, London
Get there: Metro to Russell Square, Piccadilly Line
Get info:(020)7833-3644

Find more art events in the OCT/NOV issue of "Arte Six".