2022.05.20 - 05.22 @ C-LAB - Taiwan Sound Lab
Due to their opposing characteristics, light and dark have been employed throughout the history of filmmaking to create shadow and visual effects. However, the visual characteristics of “black” often make us “blind” to it. From a re-exploration of the development of filmmaking techniques, there is ubiquitous use of black in film production and screening, from the effects of metallic silver grains to the evolution of formal film language and the arrangement of screening spaces.
The curatorial theme of this experimental film festival is black. By rethinking the visible and the invisible in film media, four units, each with a distinctive topic, have emerged: Darker than Night: From Cinematic Material to Space focuses on the technical aspects and esthetic experience of black, Actually, It’s Shadow that Casts Light analyzes the inexplicable relationship between light and shadow in films, Seeing in the Dark creates an alternative viewpoint by focusing the symbolic meanings of black to reflect on the political connotations of images, and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark highlights films for young audiences. Moreover, through forums and workshops, the use of black in film is explored from multiple and diverse perspectives.
Program 1: 比夜更黑：從電影材質到空間 Darker Than Night : From Cinematic Material to Space
What is “black” in movies? Where does it come from? For this unit, six experimental short films of different genres were selected to present the relationship between film and “black” from different perspectives. Black is produced with the use of metallic silver grains, illusory methods, and film language. It is also the condition of the space in which films are projected. On this movie night, in which we are enveloped, it is darker than night, making people forget about reality as they enter a realm of sensory experiences and imagination.
．All Over / Emmanuel Lefrant
France｜2001｜16mm (Super 8mm original)｜7 mins
．Room 11a, Ortona Armoury / Lindsay McIntyre
Canada｜2017｜Digital (16mm original)｜1 min
．觀星 Stargazing/ Tzuan Wu
Taiwan｜2017｜Digital (16mm original)｜5 mins
．Night Without Distance/ Lois Patiño
．Black /Aneta Grzeszykowska
．空一格，戲院 Phantom Cinema / Li-Ming Cheng
Program 2: 其實是黑影映出光 “Actually, It’s the Shadow Casts the Light”
In painting, black is the sum of all colors. However, in the field of optics, the collection of all colors results in transparent white light. Is shadow produced by covering light or does light flow from a hole or gap surrounded by shadows? Pier Paolo Pasolini once said that films are a question towards the sun. Therefore, are the films we see light or shadow? There are positives and negatives, plus and minus. In the concepts of tai chi, two modes are generated, namely yin and yang, and from these two modes are generated RGB. This unit features experimental short films focused on the concepts of shading and shadow, including handmade prints created through a complicated process similar to that of woodblock printing, matte box experiments, the paradox of mirror projection and shading, and color separation. Through this collection of visual illusions, we aim to explore from the perspectives of shading and shadow.
．渋谷－東京 Shibuya- Tokyo /Tomonari Nishikawa
．截斷面 No.444 Ten Thousand Miles Away / Chun-tien CHEN
Taiwan｜2021｜Digital (8mm, 135 film original)｜8 mins
．The Mystic /Lyra Hill
USA｜2011｜Digital (16mm original)｜8 mins
．The Exquisite Corpus /Peter Tscherkassky
Austria｜2015｜Digital (35mm original)｜19 mins
．MILK AND GLASS /Sarah Pucill
．二頭女−映画の影 The Woman with Two Heads / Shuji Terayama
Japan｜1977｜Digital (16mm original)｜15 mins
．黑盒子 The Black Box /Shih Chieh Lin
Program 3: 摸黑 Seeing in the Dark
The symbolic meanings of black such as the unknown, the indistinguishable, or far-reaching memories, are like its physical phenomena, the absence or complete absorption of visible light, implying the loss or questioning of visible (controllable) reality. In this unit, we attempt to explore the symbolic meanings of “black” from its various representations in genre films, video technology, and narrative text, as well as the involvement of psychological, political, and historical issues, in an attempt to respond to the political questions of “black.” Deja-vu, Black Cinema, the third space and consciousness in films, and challenges to inherent gender, knowledge systems, and ethnic frameworks are introduced to explore the symbolic power of black.
．Sometimes It Was Beautiful /Christian Nyampeta
USA ｜2018｜Video｜38 mins
．Afronauts /Nuotama Bodomo
Ghana｜2014｜Digital| 14 mins
．Intermittent Delight /Akosua Adoma Owusu
USA／Ghana ｜2007｜Video｜5 mins
．Notes on Travecacceleration /Ode
．嘿！吉米 Hey Jimmy /Ming Chieh Sung
．多哥咖啡 Café Togo /Musquiqui Chihying & Gregor Kasper
Taiwan/Germany｜2018｜Digital (16mm original)｜27 mins
Program 4: 不要害怕電影裡的黑 Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
Film is an art form that combines light and shadow and is valued by many discerning artists. It has become the best mode for the perfect integration of other art forms such as drama, paper-cutting, and shadow puppetry. However, the symbolic meaning of black makes it a source of fear and oppression in films, such as the German expressionist films of the 1920s and the American noir films of the 1940s and 1950s. In this unit, there is an eagerness to break down this black wall between the world of imagery and audiences. What “black” presents is another vision: In Cinderella, black silhouettes are filled with vitality to construct a magical and mysterious fairy tale world. In 3part Harmony: Composition in RGB #1, such silhouettes exude colorful light, changing the level of dance imagery. Taiwanese director De-Chuen Wu, who won a Golden Horse Award for Best Animated Short Film, has long incorporated black and white tones into his works. A Piece of Cake, through the use of puppets, the Hoklo (Taiwanese) dialect, and a child’s viewpoint, is infused with affection and nostalgia. Therefore, black is no longer synonymous with fear but, rather, with another way of looking at the world and expressing emotions.
．Cinderella / Lotte Reiniger
UK｜1954｜Digital (35mm)｜11 mins
．Julia and the Fright /Anja Sidler
．I Am Always Connected /Phillip Barker
Canada｜1983｜Digital (Super 8mm)｜4 mins
．簡單作業 A Piece of Cake /De-Chuen Wu
．3part Harmony: Composition in RGB #1 /Amanda Dawn Christie
Workshop: Moving Images Light Box
How to play with light and shadow? This workshop will be led by Taiwanese animation film director Yung-Shiuan Yang. The artist will teach children how to build their own light box and how to create the moving shadows with the box. A wonderful chance for children to discover the beauty of shadows and “face the dark”.
19:30 Darker Than Night
10:30 Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark ★ Workshop（楊詠亘）
13:30 Actually, it’s the shadow casts the light
16:00 Seeing in the Dark ★ Q&A（宋明杰）
19:00 Darker Than Night ★ Q&A（Li-Ming Cheng／史惟筑）
13:30 Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark ★ Workshop（楊詠亘）
16:00 Actually, it’s the shadow casts the light ★ Q&A（陳君典/ 吳梓安）
19:00 Seeing in the Dark
Venue: 空總臺灣當代文化實驗場（C-LAB）——臺灣聲響實驗室Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-LAB) - Taiwan Sound Lab: No. 177, Section 1, Jianguo South Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City
Darker Than Night / Actually, it’s the shadow casts the light / Seeing in the Dark: NTD 200 per admission (NTD 500 for a package of 3)
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark: NTD 500 (includes 2 tickets + workshop materials)
* Ticket Purchase: OPENTIX and at the venue.
Organizer：目聶映像文化 Bâk-Nih Audiovisual Lab Ltd.
Sponsor： National Culture and Arts Foundation, Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government, Goethe-Institut Taipei
Co-host：Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-LAB) - Taiwan Sound Lab