- The two creators’ participation in the 15th (S8), being held from 31st May to 9th June, ensures the uniqueness of the Galician festival.
- The Mostra will also be celebrating the international seminar “Films Undone. Elements of a latent cinema” (“Películas inacabadas. Elementos de un cine latente”), which will take place on 1st and 2nd June.
Morgan Fisher. Margaret Honda (Photo: Susan de Leo)
Two of the greatest practitioners of experimental cinema and contemporary art, the US Americans Morgan Fisher and Margaret Honda, are headlining the first announcement for the programme in the (S8) Mostra Internacional de Cinema Periférico, which is holding its 15th edition from 31st May to 9th June in the city of A Coruña. This will be an unrepeatable occasion in Spain to get more familiar with the work of the two creators, which has appeared in the most reputable international artistic venues. (S8) cannot hide its satisfaction at being able to count on two such respected and admired figures this year, who share their vision of cinema as a conceptual exercise and a unique experience. One of the retrospectives’ highlights will be the exhibition for the first time in Spain of Spectrum Reverse Spectrum by Margaret Honda, made in 70 mm and which can only be seen in its original format. As for Morgan Fisher, by now a historical figure in experimental cinema, the public will be able to enjoy a wide overview of his work and a masterclass on 8th June in the Filmoteca de Galicia venue. (S8) is also announcing another of this year’s noteworthy activities: the international seminar “Films Undone. Elements of a latent cinema”, which will be held on 1st and 2nd June.
(S8) is celebrating fifteen editions, creating a unique space for experimental cinema in Spain and giving the opportunity to become familiar with the work of international points of reference. Morgan Fisher (Washington DC, 1942) has had programmes dedicated to him at the Tate Modern (London), the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), the Film museum (Vienna), the Centre Pompidou (Paris) and more. Since 1968, Fisher has given a twist to what is known as metacinema, with films questioning the ways of making industrial cinema and its very material nature, using ingenuity and humour. Knowing the backstage of Hollywood cinema, its production processes and industrial standards, Fisher shoots the very tools and resources of film production in close-up to construct works in which irony is a fundamental element.
Standard Gauge (Morgan Fisher, 1984)
The audiences at(S8) will be able to enjoy the films that have made Fisher essential in avant-garde cinema, including his first works from 1968: The Director and His Actor Look at Footage Showing Preparations for an Unmade Film and Phi Phenomenon, Production Stills (1970), as well as Standard Gauge (1984). In addition to an extensive look at his work, the festival will also host a masterclass with Morgan Fisher himself on Saturday 8th June in the Filmoteca de Galicia venue, in which he will talk about the creative process of his latest works. Another relevant side to the American is painting, for which he has held individual exhibitions in North American and European galleries in recent decades.
SPECTRUM REVERSE SPECTRUM, THE FIRST TIME IN SPAIN
One of the most notable aspects of this 15th (S8), directed by Ana Domínguez and Angel Rueda, will be the presence of Margaret Honda (San Diego, 1961). This creator’s approach to cinema stems from her interest in its material side: the type of film, the photochemical process, and colourimetry. Her works cannot be played except in their original format on celluloid; the way Honda conceives and approaches her work more closely resembles a sculptural piece in a museum than a film at a festival. (S8) has accepted the challenge of showing a piece such as Spectrum Reverse Spectrum, made on 70 mm film, which can only be screened in its original format. It is a sensory experience that has been enjoyed very few times in history and which will be taking place for the first time in Spain at (S8) thanks to the facilities and apparatus of the Coruña scientific museum Domus.
Spectrum Reverse Spectrum (Margaret Honda, 2014)
The work by the Californian Margaret Honda, similar to an artistic installation, has been seen at events such as the Berlinale, the Toronto Festival, Courtisane and the BFI London Film Festival, as well as in institutions such as the Anthology Film Archives (New York), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Harvard Film Archive, the KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin) and more. In addition to presenting her creations in 16 mm, 35 mm and 70 mm, Honda will be talking in depth about the foundations for her work in a special session to be held on the morning of Thursday 6th June at the Domus in A Coruña.
Spectrum Reverse Spectrum (Margaret Honda, 2014)
FILMS UNDONE: INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ABOUT PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN TRUNCATED, CURSED OR DISAPPEARED
Over the next few weeks, (S8) will announce the entire programme and those appearing in this 15th edition, faithful to the spirit with which the festival was launched: lending visibility to artistic creation in the sphere of cinema. Slow cooking, which those in charge of (S8) refer to on recalling its track record, has made this event an inimitable, unique space in the entire peninsula, in which support for creation and the training aspect play a prominent role. Hence, on 1st and 2nd June, the first weekend of the festival, the Domus will be hosting International Seminar “Film Undone. Elements of latent cinema”, curated by Philip Widmann (Germany) and whose first edition was held at the Arsenal Berlin.
A Non-coincidental Mirror (Carmen Amengual 2023). Research material. Courtesy by the artist
The seminar, aimed at artists, curators, filmmakers, programmers, teachers, researchers, archivists and students, with access free of charge, revolves around films that were left unfinished or whose completion was truncated for political, financial or personal reasons, taking us through lands such as Iran, Morocco, South Korea and Spain. It will be able to count on participation from international filmmakers, programmers, researchers and archivists like Katie Kirkland (USA), Léa Morin (France), Tara Najd Ahmadi (Iran), Concha Barquero and Alejandro Alvarado (Spain). The latter two will present their research concerning the unfinished projects of Fernando Ruiz Vergara, with a special dedication to Rocío, a documentary film from 1980, which was selected for the Venice Film Festival and seized shortly after by a Sevillian court for including testimonies that gave the names and surnames of those responsible for the repression in 1936 in Almonte (Huelva). Those attending the seminar will be able to see not only the documentary, but also the piece 28F Andalusia (1981) by Nonio Parejo.
FESTIVAL SUPPORTS (S8) XV MOSTRA DE CINEMA PERIFÉRICO 2024
The 15th (S8) Mostra de Cinema Periférico is organised by the eSe8 Cultural Association and has the backing of the A Coruña City Council, the Tourism and Congresses Consortium, the A Coruña Provincial Council (Deputación), the Galician Agency for Cultural Industries of the Xunta (Regional Government) of Galicia, the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) through its PICE programme for the internationalisation of culture, and the Luis Seoane Foundation. With the special collaboration of Cervezas Alhambra.
