From curator of international kebabs Emile Zile, also famous in Melbourne for FOOTSCRAY AUDIO-VISUAL SOCIAL CLUB is the fruits of his hanging out in Hong Kong during our Apocalypse PRD adventures with Samantha Culp and videotage.
Hong Kong doesn’t really have Halloween (okay, as of late it does have expat bankers getting even more drunk and obnoxious than usual on that particular night, their Armani suits topped off with a cheap pair of devil horns). Hong Kong does, however, have more tales and traditions of ghosts, demons, and the uncanny than you can shake a stick at. For instance, the concept of “ghost eyes”—the actual physiological difference in the eyeballs of those who can see ghosts or supernatural things. Since most of us are not blessed (or cursed) with “ghost eyes”, here is a substitute pair for you to try on. Mostly from Hong Kong (with a few from fellow superstitious nation Taiwan, and other international locales thrown in for colonial good measure), this selection of videos explore themes of horror, fear, and the grotesque in unique and surprising ways. Some are narratives that reveal ghosts or hidden evils, while others are more experimental works that play with darkness and the grotesque (sometimes in combination with comedy). This Halloween, enjoy a little (trick-or) treat from HK, and peer through the lens of “ghost eyes” for a short while.
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FOOTSCRAY AUDIO-VISUAL SOCIAL CLUB
eyes and ears together
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__ 31 october [tuesday] __ 6pm start ___
__ basement theatre ___
__ Footscray Arts ___
__ 45 Moreland St. Footscray __
__ Melways map ref. 42 D6
__ FREE ___
__ refreshments provided __
SCREENING EVENT:
“Ghost Eyes (Yam Yeung Ngaan): Strange Visions from Hong Kong and Beyond”
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Curated by Samantha Culp, FUSE Artist-in-Residence at Videotage, Hong Kong, October 2006. With additional support from Hong Kong IFVA (the Independent Film and Video Festival), the Hong Kong Art Center, and the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong doesn’t really have Halloween (okay, as of late it does have expat bankers getting even more drunk and obnoxious than usual on that particular night, their Armani suits topped off with a cheap pair of devil horns). Hong Kong does, however, have more tales and traditions of ghosts, demons, and the uncanny than you can shake a stick at. For instance, the concept of “ghost eyes”—the actual physiological difference in the eyeballs of those who can see ghosts or supernatural things. Since most of us are not blessed (or cursed) with “ghost eyes”, here is a substitute pair for you to try on. Mostly from Hong Kong (with a few from fellow superstitious nation Taiwan, and other international locales thrown in for colonial good measure), this selection of videos explore themes of horror, fear, and the grotesque in unique and surprising ways. Some are narratives that reveal ghosts or hidden evils, while others are more experimental works that play with darkness and the grotesque (sometimes in combination with comedy). This Halloween, enjoy a little (trick-or) treat from HK, and peer through the lens of “ghost eyes” for a short while.
‘GHOST EYES’ SCREENING:
The Guest (Trailer)
Joseph KWAN Zhi Yue (Hong Kong, 2006), 1:30 min.
English text, no subtitles
Remixing HK’s cinematic obsession with long black hair and jump cuts, university student Joe Kwan gives us a sneak peek into a future project (and explores the nature of horror trailers themselves).
Canned Despair
HUNG Chi Wing (Hong Kong, 2004), 3 min.
No dialogue
Uncanny fish, tiny figures, and a strangeness both sad and disturbing.
A Man Touching Hand/A Man and a Carrot
Erkka NISSINEN, w/Valter KOKOT and Fabian DORCH (Finland/Hong Kong, 2001), 4 min.
No dialogue
Face to face (or hand-to-hand, or mouth-to-finger) with the unknown.
Op
Eric SIU Chi Man (Hong Kong, 2002), 3:30 min.
No dialogue
Bodily horror turned bright and airy. Not for the squeamish.
Murder a Face
MA Chun Fu (Taiwan, 2005), 3 min.
No dialogue
“The process of duplication and self-destruction.”
Polar Bear Split (A Handmade Musical)
Martin SKAUEN (Norway, 2006), 6 min.
No dialogue
A 6-meter long drawing becomes the map for an unsettling video expedition into youth culture, sex, fanaticism, and the heart of New World darkness.
Operation
Wanda CHOI Wai Chi (Hong Kong, 2002), 7 min.
No dialogue
Another unusual operation, and the best use of screeching strings since “Meshes of the Afternoon”
The Black Death
Tyler COBURN (USA, 2006), 3 min.
No dialogue
“An ossifying exposé of the very distant past, which attempts to locate the moment when human horror, receding as it does across history’s sliding plane, intersects with comedy.”
Prevision
CHOW Tsz-Kwan (Hong Kong, 2006), 12 min.
Cantonese w/English and Chinese Subtitles
Late at night, a workaholic librarian encounters a strange book…
Garden of Delights
Joe HSIEH (Taiwan, 2004), 3:30 min.
No dialogue
Colored pencil animations of Chinese mythology and the erotic uncanny
Urn Urn
Jervis SUEN (Hong Kong, 2005), 6 min.
Cantonese w/English Subtitles
A group of raunchy old barbers get a surprise delivery.
READ ME: information
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FAVSC is a fortnightly meeting place for media artists, noise makers, electronics boffins, installation artists, circuit benders, DIYers, video geeks, laptop musicians, curators and those with an interest in low/hi-fi new/old-media art.
TRAVEL: how to get to FCAC
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take Williamstown/Werribee/Sydenham train from city, get off at Footscray station,
turn away from the shopping centre on your right, go left over the rail bridge,
go down Bunbury street until you hit Moreland street, walk left – you can’t miss it – look for the shipping container.
limited on-site parking available
FAVSC is produced by Emile Zile and co-curated by Martyn Coutts, Artists-In-Residence at Footscray Arts
http://www.footscrayarts.com
http://www.myspace.com/favsc
(((o _ please FWD this on to those who are interested _ o)))
!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-
FOOTSCRAY AUDIO-VISUAL SOCIAL CLUB
eyes and ears together
!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-
