OFFoff Cinema: Johann Lurf, Twelve Tales Told

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OFFoff presents a retrospective regarding the short films of the Austrian structuralist Johann Lurf: At the moment that Johann Lurf shows his first feature film ★ at various film festivals in Europe, art cinema OFFoff and Bozar are organizing a retrospective of his work. In Lurf's films, cinematographic and urban space reinforce each other so that you can experience a purely cinematic reality and a pure landscape at the same time.

In EMBARGO, the camera explores a storage area at night. There are no people, only illuminated warehouses, parking spaces and factories. This cold, ghostly place is portrayed using time-lapse photography in which the images follow each other up rhythmically as they capture the anonymous location from different points of view. This seemingly purely cinematographic experience becomes more significant when the viewer knows that these places are hubs of international arms trade. The beautiful cinematic setting thus becomes the backdrop for sinister practices and the dark side of global capitalism. The immersion in the cinematic space is further enhanced when the films are shown in 3D.

Lurf's films are honest reflections, a form of poetic activism with a sense of humor. Like A to A (Kreis Wr. Neustadt) for which Lurf filmed about a hundred roundabouts from his scooter in industrialised Austria. The often eccentric designs of the roundabouts are consistently filmed in a circular motion, which, partly due to the monotonous humming from the scooter, induce laughter, while a bizarre and sobering map of an urbanized no-man's land passes by.

With ★, Lurf leaves the real world behind him and shows the infinity of cinematic space. His first feature film has the stars of cinema as subject, literally: from more than 500 films, Lurf took shots with starry skies and edited them together to create an hour-and-a-half reflection on cinema and its representation of ‘night'. The original soundtracks of the fragments form together the soundtrack of ? and are the only link to the original, 'real' setting of these stars.

Screening of ★ at Bozar Cinema, Tuesday February 27th, 20h

Johann Lurf will be present at the screenings.

Programme:

  • Twelve Tales Told, AT, 2014, 4', colour, 3D-DCP
  • Untitled, AT, 2003, 3', colour, digital
  • A to A (Kreis Wr. neustadt), AT, 2011, 5', colour, 3D-DCP
  • EMBARGO, AT, 2014, 10', colour, 3D-DCP
  • Reconnaissance, AT, 2012, 5', colour, no sound, 3D-DCP
  • Picture Perfect Pyramid, AT, 2013, 5', colour, no sound, 16mm
  • Capital Cuba, AT, 2015, 10', colour, no sound, 3D-DCP
  • 12 explosions, AT, 2008, 7', colour, digital
  • The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog, AT, 2009, 3', colour, digital

With the generous support of the Austrian Cultural Forum.

Venue: 

Sphinx Cinema - Ghent, Belgium

Dates: 

Monday, February 26, 2018 - 20:00 to Tuesday, February 27, 2018 - 19:55

Category: 

Dates: 

Monday, February 26, 2018 - 20:00 to Tuesday, February 27, 2018 - 19:55

Venue: 

  • Sint-Michielsplein 3
    9000   Ghent
    Belgium
    Phone: +32 9 225 60 86
    51° 3' 12.114" N, 3° 43' 9.8292" E