Carte blanche | CINEMA ARMATA
AS I WAS LOOKING ABOVE, I COULD SEE MYSELF UNDERNEATH
CH/XK 2022, D: Ilir Hasanaj, Doc, 62’, OV with english subtitles, DCP
The film depicts the stories of seven Kosovan LGBTQIA+-people from different backgrounds and generations. In their own words, and for the first time in a Kosovan film with their real names, voices and faces, they tell of the discoveries of being queer and their lives in an environment of non-acceptance and exclusion. It is about hopes and dreams, about loss and defeat and about the meaning of home. The contrasts between the stories of the younger and older protagonists reflect the social changes that Kosovo has undergone from the 90ies before the war up to the first Pride parade at Prishtina in 2017.
Di 12. Sept | CINEMA ARMATA Luru Kino in der Spinnerei |
| 7 PM | In the presence of Ilir Hasanaj € 6,5 (5,5 reduced) |
Retrospective | ANIMAL REALITIES
PRIMATE
US 1974, D: Frederick Wiseman, Doc, 105’, English OV, 16mm
Like so often, in PRIMATE, US documentarian Frederick Wiseman enters an institution to depict it in a sensual and less didactic way to the public with his observing methods: he enters Yerkes Primate Research Center for primate research. Wiseman is especially interested in the experimental procedures, less in the individual perspectives of the people working there. Its concentrated gazes upon animal experiments puts many a person to the test. “A mixture of horror- and science-fiction-film, in which a group of primates asserts their power over another group of primates.” (Hannes Brühwiler)
Tue 12. Sept | ANIMAL REALITIES Luru Kino in der Spinnerei |
| 9 PM | € 6,5 (5,5 reduced) |
BR/PT 2022, D: Joana Pimenta, Adirley Queirós, A: Joana Darc Furtado, Léa Alves da Silva, Andreia Vieira, 153’, OV with english subtitles, DCP
Chitara and Léa are half-sisters, live in Sol Nascente, a favela on the outskirts of Brasilia, and are “gasolinheiras”: with a group of women, they run a small factory, in which they illegally tap crude oil from pipelines, process it into gas and sell it.
Aesthetically a clever blend of documentary and fictionalised passages, we see pictures of nocturnal escapades and militarised police patrols – alternating with talks of the women about family, living conditions and the possibility of a future. Visually, the film borrows from the gangster genre or dystopian science-fiction à la MAD MAX. An uninhibited, political statement beyond any didacticism.
| Mon 11. Sept | Schaubühne Lindenfels |
| 9 PM | € 6,5 (5,5 reduced) |
Carte blanche | CINEMA ARMATA
PA VEND / DISPLACED
XK 2021, D: Samir Karahoda, 15’, OV with english subtitles, digital
I HAVE NEVER BEEN ON AN AIRPLANE
XK 2020, D: Redon Kika, 9’, OV with english subtitles, digital
JEHONË / ECHO
XK 2022, D: Ana Morina, 8’, OV with english subtitles, digital
SHPIJA / HOME
XK 2022, D: Flaka Kokolli, 7’, without dialog, digital
GARDHI / FENCE
XK/HR/FR 2018, D: Lendita Zeqiraj, 15’, OV with english subtitles, digital
KANGË E DEFA: FEMALE RHAPSODY IN KOSOVA
DE/XK 2014, D: Vincent Moon, Fatime Kosumi, 29’, Doc, OV with english subtitles, digital
Alush Gashi and Ilir Hasanaj have compiled a selection short films for GEGENkino, which gives an insight into the contemporary, cinematic work of Kosovo. Aesthetically, a wide spectrum of works is represented, starting with DISPLACED: A table-tennis club is forced to relocate again and again, because it has no regular training facilities. From old garages to vacant wedding halls – a subtly metaphorical study of young talent in an unwelcoming environment. Or the fictional FENCE in which a family meeting slowly drifts into chaos with the arrival of a young Roma boy and his dog. In a poetic trip, FEMALE RHAPSODY IN KOSOVA traces the sound of landscapes, the harmonies of a country’s traditional female rhapsodies. HOME addresses the wish to leave a home, but the home comes along and is present all the time. On top, involving I WAS NEVER ON AN AIRPLANE and JEHONË, two films of Kino ARMATA’s “Neo_ School”.
Mon 11. Sept | CINEMA ARMATA Schaubühne Lindenfels |
| 19:00 Uhr | In the presence of Alush Gashi and Ilir Hasanaj € 6,5 (5,5 reduced) |
Carte blanche | CINEMA ARMATA
In the course of an international cooperation, we welcome two guests from Prishtina: Alush Gashi, director of ARMATA, as well as Ilir Hasanaj, director and co-founder of the same, will present a programme of Kosovan films curated by them and talk to us about Kino ARMATA and the Kosovan film landscape on two days.
Kino ARMATA has existed in the Kosovan capital since 2018 and describes itself as a “public space, promoting alternative culture and social dialogue”. The building is state-owned and has been made available to the Prishtina municipality, which in turn leaves the programming to an independently working collective – a unique constellation in Kosovo. This enabled a reappropriation from below, after the building had served different purposes in the past. In the 1980ies, the Yugoslav army used it for film programmes, dance evenings, and cultural events (occasionally with a propagandistic ethos). With the worsening of the political situation between Serbia and Kosovo in the late 1980ies, Kosovo Albanians boycotted Serbian-supported cultural institutions until the house was closed to the public in 1988 and only internal events for Serbian clientele were held. In the 90ies it was used by the military during the Kosovo war – then after the official end of the war in 1999 by the UN for administrative purposes until 2017. Over all these years, the socialist interior of the cinema and the adjacent office buildings remained intact. The seats of the cinema are UN blue. This offers the possibility to reinterpret the cultural heritage: the community that has formed and is forming around the cinema is a living component in the classification of historical and social developments.
The two pillars of the programme are film and music. In addition to a film programme, they offer low-threshold accessible intensive courses in filmmaking, photo-graphy and audio production with the Neo_School platform. There is also the critical film club Kineto and the tape and vinyl label ARMATA Records, whose releases are produced on site or in cooperation with the resident team. Beyond ARMATA, Kosovan cinema has experienced remarkable development and growth in the years since the Kosovo war, reflecting the social and cultural changes in the small, vibrant Balkan country. The themes of Kosovan cinema often revolve around the aftermath of war, identity and social issues, and offer a glimpse into the country’s history and its current challenges.
Kosovan films have received international acclaim – despite financial constraints and limited resources, cinema there continues to flourish thanks to the determination and creativity of its filmmakers. Festivals such as DokuFest in Prizren and Prishtina International Film Festival (PriFest) have become important international platforms.
| 11.09.23 Schaubühne Lindenfels Kino 7 PM | Short film reel PA VEND / DISPLACED XK 2021, D: Samir Karahoda, 15’, OV with english subtitles, digital I HAVE NEVER BEEN ON AN AIRPLANE XK 2020, D: Redon Kika, 9’, OV with english subtitles, digital JEHONË / ECHO XK 2022, D: Ana Morina, 8’, OV with english subtitles, digital SHPIJA / HOME XK 2022, D: Flaka Kokolli, 7’, without dialog, digital GARDHI / FENCE XK/HR/FR 2018, D: Lendita Zeqiraj, 15’, OV with english subtitles, digital KANGË E DEFA: FEMALE RHAPSODY IN KOSOVA DE/XK 2014, D: Vincent Moon, Fatime Kosumi, 29’, Doc, OV with english subtitles, digital |
| 12.09.23 Schaubühne Lindenfels 7 PM | Germany Premiere KAH KQYRSHA PËRPJETË, E SHIHSHA VETEN PËRFUNI / AS I WAS LOOKING ABOVE, I COULD SEE MYSELF UNDERNEATH CH/XK 2022, D: Ilir Hasanaj, Doc, 62’, OV with english subtitles, DCP |
