The program is a tribute to the social struggle of the Black Panthers movement on its 50th anniversary. Half a century after the eruption of the protest, it seems that the need for social repair in these parts is not over. Far from it. This year, a year of a major global pandemic, we have experienced a significant wave of civic awakening in Israel and worldwide. This wave is still at its peak in many places around the world, it has yet to smash against the shore, and it is not clear how and when it will. This program is also presented as a tribute to the public of protesters, who in the shadow of the pandemic – and perhaps encouraged by it – have chosen to sacrifice their private lives to replace injustice with justice, inequality with equality; and finally, as a tribute those who hold a camera in their hands, who are a valuable and important pillar in these struggles. The contribution of the latter to building a fair society will be measured not only in the foreseeable future, upon the struggle’s completion (or suppression), but also in the more distant future. In the visual assets they leave behind, they pave the way for human society. In doing so, they give witness to history as it is unfolding and some would say, they help to bring it about, since the visual image, certainly at this time, not only documents reality but also helps set in motion its transformation. As Harun Farocki and Andrei Ujica say in their Videograms of a Revolution featured in this program: “If the film is possible, then history is also possible.”
Protest and visual art are essentially public practices. With this in mind, we have chosen (1) to expand the circle of film program editors and involve a larger public of guest editors; (2) to include in it a collection of films and videos available for viewing without any time, place, copyright and cost limitations. These films, which are available online, are an integral part of the film program. In fact, only two films out of the entire program are not accessible online and can only be viewed in the exhibition; (3) to not distinguish between high and low art in the program. Protests and art belong to everyone and everyone. If not in practice, at least in aspiration.
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Harun Farocki/Andrei Ujica | Videogramme einer Revolution (Videogrmas of a Revolution), 1992, video transferred to 16mm, col., 1:1,37, 106 min.
Nissim Mossek | Have You Heard About the Black Panthers?, 2002, 120 min.
Nir Evron | Echo, 2008, 16mm archival film converted to Digital Video, Original stereo soundtrack, 8 min. (loop)