Aug 24–Nov 4, 2007
New York - States of Mind: Film Programme
An extensive film programme makes up the second part of "New York - States of Mind". It comprises 63 films in all, ranging from the first silent films documenting the rise of the world-famous Manhattan skyline in the 1920s to feature films by the likes of Woody Allen, Spike Lee and Wayne Wang. Short and art films join documentary, silent and feature films to round out the bill.
The selected films provide insight into the tension-filled relationships between the people, the city and the cultures that make up New York's pulsating urban life. Curator Shaheen Merali: "More than ever, the world is conditioned by moving pictures. In this century news networks and, very recently, movie-on-demand offerings determine our readings of culture – for that reason, the film programme is part of our curatorial concept as we take stock of the arts in New York."
New York's cosmopolitanism and urbanity is reflected in the work of the city's filmmakers. The chosen films attest to the reciprocal effects that New York, as a space of differing political, sexual and ethnic identities, has on art production. Through art and film these identities attain visibility and simultaneously set aesthetic developments in motion.
The films in the programme are bundled into five different thematic focuses. One of these focal areas, "Director's Night", illustrates how New York became an essential urban setting for American independent film. Another focus, "Trans-Borders", deals with crossing frontiers. Documenting the life of a Pakistani street vendor, Man Push Cart by Ramin Bahrani examines conditions in the underground economy. Stanislav Mucha's Absolut Warhola explores Andy Warhol's roots in the Ruthene territory of the former Czechoslovakia. Mira Nair's latest production, The Namesake, is about the clash between different cultures and lifestyles in the diaspora and in the new 'homeland'.
The three further thematic focuses – "Slow Motion", "Blitz Cinema", and "Counter Cinema" – are concerned with aspects of migrant diasporas and the reciprocal overlaying and influence between various cultures and subcultural movements. The film programme features works by such directors as Woody Allen, Frederick S. Armitage, Abigail Child, Francis Ford Coppola, Laura Cottingham, Robert Flaherty, Jim Jarmusch, Mary Jordan, Martina Kudlacek, David LaChapelle, Spike Lee, Joseph F. Lovett, Sarah Morris, Jennifer Reeves, Julian Schnabel, Martin Scorsese, Brian de Palma, Mario Van Peebles, Michael Winterbottom and Wayne Wang.
Curator: Shaheen Merali
The films "The Wedding Banquet" and "Eat a Bowl of Tea" are among the events of "Asia-Pacific Weeks 2007 – Asia-Pacific: Changing the World". Asia-Pacific Weeks receives funding from the Stiftung Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin DKLB.