Questions of place, belonging, landscape and perception anchor this screening of two trance-like films. Whether using scent or psychedelic visual effects, these films expand experiences of place in equally profound and sensory ways.
Basma Alsharif’s hypnotic film Deep Sleep allows the mind to travel to different places at once. It was created in a moment in which the artist was restricted from travelling to Gaza and decided to experiment with auto-hypnosis as a means of bi-locating. Using a combination of 8mm footage of ancient architectural ruins, field recordings and binaural beats, the film invites the viewer to use cinematic space as a vehicle to transcend geographical borders and question historical narratives.
Philip Warnell’s The Flying Proletarian documents the visual and olfactory marvels of lavender harvest and distillation in France’s Drôme region. The imagery is accompanied by a voiceover narration on the nature of place and belonging, written by Warnell’s frequent collaborator Jean-Luc Nancy. Depictions of agricultural and artisanal production are interrupted by historical footage of canine space travel and the recurring appearance of a beak-masked plague doctor wandering through the forest.
Phillip Warnell The Flying Proletarian 2017, film still. Courtesy the artist
Basma Alsharif, Deep Sleep 2014, film still. Courtesy the artist
Basma Alsharif, Deep Sleep 2014, film still. Courtesy the artist
Programme
Discussion with Phillip Warnell, moderated by Mark Peranson, Head of Programming, Locarno Film Festival, and Editor and Publisher, Cinema Scope magazine
Basma Alsharif, Deep Sleep 2014, Super 8 transferred to HD, colour, sound, 13 min
Phillip Warnell, The Flying Proletarian 2017, Super 16mm transferred to DCP, colour, sound, scent, 36 min
Please note that this programme contains flashing lights and scent.
