Against Invisibility

What are the politics of the gaze? Who determines the regimes of visibility of the world around us – whether we refer to subjects or objects, bodies or artefacts, affection or emotion? Last but not least, what role does gender play in all of this? Against Invisibility is a plea for unveiling the images and narratives which are silenced and distorted by patriarchal mores and political power alike. By re-centering the female figure – hidden in the background, unheard, excluded, ostracized and, in moments of visibility, oppressed and objectified – these films give the narrative reins back to women, be they unseen or gazed voyeuristically upon, be they victims, survivors or protesters. (Flavia Dima)

SENSITIVE CONTENT

Narges Kalhor | Duration 8 min.

After the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, massive women’s rights and anti-authoritarian protests erupted across Iran, which were violently suppressed by the regime in Teheran. Using social media sensitivity filters as a central metaphor, Sensitive Content explores how one witnesses and documents both historical events and dissent in the modern age.

NOCTURNE FOR A FOREST

Catarina Vasconcelos | Duration 16 min.

In the 15th century, in Portugal, a group of Catholic monks build a wall around a forest and prevent the entry of women.

MAST-DEL

Maryam Tafakory | Duration 17 min.

Two women lie together in bed. As the wind bashes against the window, one recalls a past date to the cinema. A love song that would never pass through the censors, Mast-del is about forbidden bodies and desires, both inside and outside post-revolution Iranian cinema.

JILL, UNCREDITED

Anthony Ing | Duration 18 min.

As one of the world’s most prolific background actors, Jill Goldston has remained relatively unknown up to now, despite her very impressive filmography. Anthony Ing’s found footage film poignantly reclaims her image and work, celebrating both her artistic contributions, as well as modern cinema and pop culture.

BEAR

Morgane Frund | Duration 19 min.

A seemingly innocuous project – the digitization of the archives of an amateur filmmaker who made a hobby out of filming bears – turns into a wholly different process when the images reveal more than just natural landscapes. A confrontation about the power of a gaze and its voyeuristic violence.

ALL MY SCARS VANISH IN THE WIND

Angélica Restrepo, Carlos Velandia | Duration 14 min.

Among intrusive and sought-after memories, a woman hears a disconcerting call from the depths of her being. A cryptic cry for help that becomes intelligible guides her to the original wound, to her inner child, becoming her own protector.