Cinerevolt: Here and Elsewhere (1976)

doors open at 20:00 * intro & film start at 20:30.

Here and Elsewhere (1976) + The House is Black (1962) by Forugh Farrokhzad

Directed by Anne-Marie Miéville, Jean-Pierre Gorin, Jean-Luc Godard

Duration: 53 mins.

In French with English Subtitles

A common reaction to global atrocities is often a sense of uncertainty—uncertainty about what is truly happening, how one should respond, and how we, as viewers, are connected to these events. The medium through which such events are presented to us often complicates these uncertainties, making it easy to arrive at problematic answers and resolutions. For instance, one might resort to a racist interpretation of the situation, leading to the conclusion that it has nothing to do with us and therefore requires no action. Rather than moralizing the viewer through further elaboration on the events, this film takes a firm moral stance by critiquing the medium of images itself—a medium saturated with noise.

Originally commissioned by the Arab League to create a pro-Palestine propaganda film, Godard and Gorin traveled to Lebanon, Jordan, and the West Bank to document the daily lives and preparations of Palestinian resistance fighters. However, due to creative deadlock and unforeseen disasters, the project was shelved until 1976. When Godard and Mieville revisited the footage, they had already witnessed how Black September was portrayed in the West, particularly in a disillusioned France that had undergone significant political upheaval in the preceding decade. What began as an effort to provide Palestinian resistance a voice ultimately transformed into a critique of the noise inherent in the medium of images. (1976, 53 min)

Here and Elsewhere is accompanied by a short film; The House Is Black, the acclaimed 1963 Iranian documentary short directed by the visionary poet Forugh Farrokhzad. This powerful film offers an intimate look at life in a leper colony, weaving together Farrokhzad’s poetic narration, quotes from the Old Testament and the Qur’an, and striking visuals from the Bababaghi Hospice - a secluded village in north-east Iran. Celebrated for its profound exploration of the human condition and the beauty of creation, the film has been hailed as a landmark of Iranian cinema and a precursor to the Iranian New Wave. The camera lens manages to touch the material core of religious practices, but also the spirituality of human suffering. (1962, 22 min)