Ophelia
2020, Single-Channel Video (4K), 8 Minutes, Sound (Language: English)
Ehibition view: Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
Video still
Through a monologue recited in reverse, the video deals with discriminatory gender roles in art history. In a river scene, resembling John Everett Millais‘ famous painting of Shakespeare’s dying character Ophelia, the filmmaker appears. Entering the body of water, she speaks constantly into the camera with her eyes focused on the lense.
Her speech remains abstract until the video plays backwards and elicits the syllabels and words in their original order, revealing a monologue about the complex entanglements of language, images and the creation of social roles. On different levels, the video moves forward and backward in time.
Funded by nordmedia – Film- und Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen Bremen GmbH
Gender&Queer-Award, Blicke Film Festival, Bochum, DE
Art Award of the Lüneburg Regional Association, DE
Special Mention: Wild Out Video Festival, Taipei, TW
Special Mention: BIDEODROMO International Experimental Film and Video Festival, Bilbao, ES
Credits:
Director, Script, Performance, Editing: Meike Redeker
Camera: Agnese Kušnere
Sound: Emre Meydan
Production Assistance: Fumiko Kikuchi
Color Grading: Ole Plönnigs
Screening history:
2022
– Brussels Independent Film Festival, Brussels, BE
2021
– International Kansk Video Festival, Kansk, RU
– Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS, LV
– Bremen Film Fest, Bremen, DE
– Cadence: Video Poetry Festival, Seattle, US
– AVIFF Cannes Art Film Festival, Cannes, FR
– Façade Video Festival, Plovdiv, BG
– International Video Poetry Festival, Athens, GR
– OBSKUUR Ghent Film Festival, Ghent, BE
– Moscow Shorts International Short Film Festival, Moscow, RU
– Balkan Can Kino, Athens, GR
– Art Visuals & Poetry Film Festival, Vienna, AT
– International Video Poetry Festival, Athens, GR
– Experimental Film Guanajuato: Selection 2020, Fundación Calosa, Irapuato, MX
– Paraperception – Nakanojo-Biennale 2021, Nakanojo, JP
2020
– Blicke Filmfestival des Ruhrgebiets, Bochum, DE
– Wild Out Video Festival, Taipei, TW
– The Film and Video Poetry Symposium, Los Angeles, US
– Bideodromo International Experimental Film and Video Festival, Bilbao, ES
– International Poetry Film Festival of Thuringia, Weimar, DE
– Experimental Film Guanajuato, Guanajuato, MX
– FILE Electronic Language International Festival, Sao Paulo, BR
– I never promised you a rose garden, Performance Garten, Alte Feuerwache, Cologne, DE
– Festival ECRÃ, Rio de Janeiro, BR