The desire of others
Carte blanche to Frédéric Moffet
On October 25, 2017 at 7 pm
As part of the dv_vd screenings, a fruitful collaboration between Vidéographe and Dazibao.
Limited seats! Please RSVP here. (Priority will be given to those who have booked their seats.)
“For over 25 years, I have been creating short-form films and videos. When Vidéographe approached me to present a “carte blanche” screening at Dazibao, I decided to simply present a series of short works one after the other. These videos have never been presented together before. This opportunity allowed me to reflect on the commonalities and differences between the pieces I have created over the years.
I have always been fascinated by the lives of others. I feverishly read biographies, personal essays and works of autofiction. In becoming a voyeur in the intimacy of other people, the onlooker can relate, empathize and start to understand oneself. One can also fantasize. As a philosopher once said: “The true story is the history of desire”.”
PROGRAMME
Jean Genet in Chicago (2006) ― 26 min.
A queer rewriting of the events surrounding the 1968 National Democratic Convention from the point of view of the controversial French writer. This “thief-video” combines disparate textual sources, contemporary reenactments of historical events and archival footage in order to relate the uneasy fusion of the French poet’s criminalized sexuality with late 60s American counter-culture.
POSTFACE (2011) ― 7 min. 30 sec.
In a celebrity-obsessed culture, filmmakers often exploit the downfall of a star to amplify the emotional undertones of the fictional films in which they perform. POSTFACE takes a look back at the filmography of Montgomery Clift whose private life and career spiral downward after a 1956 car crash that left his face scarred and partially paralyzed. Like an actor without a face, the video is an exploration of obsolescence, produced by means of analog tape manipulations.
Adresse permanente (2014) ― 6 min. 40 sec.
A son discreetly records fleeting moments in his parents’ suburban home. An intimate portrait of a stable life lived according to the rules of society.
The Magic Hedge (2016) ― 9 min.
Exploration of a bird sanctuary located on a former Cold War Nike missile site on the north side of Chicago. Left to wander and observe, the viewer becomes aware of the park’s open secret: men looking for fleeting sexual contacts within the trees and shrubberies. The video highlights the many contradictions of a site historically devoted to military surveillance and now designed to preserve and control the “wildlife”.
Fever Freaks (2017) ― 8 min. 18 sec.
A detective is hired to find the lost original copy of an ancient book describing a mysterious virus causing fear, sexual frenzy, shame and possibly death in its victims. An adaptation of a passage from William S. Burroughs’ 1981 novel Cities of the Red Night, illustrated by manipulating individual frames from Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1974 film Arabian Nights.
Frédéric Moffet is a media artist, educator, video editor, cultural worker and cat lover. He lives between Montreal and Chicago. His work explores the slippery territory between history, lived experience and fantasy. Some of his projects include: Hard Fat (2002), Jean Genet in Chicago(2006), POSTFACE (2011), The Faithful (2012), Adresse permanente (2014), The Magic Hedge (2016), and Fever Freaks (2017). Screenings include: Oberhausen Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, National Center for Contemporary Arts (Moscow), Whitechapel Art Gallery (London), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), PPOW Gallery (New York), Biennial of Moving Images (Geneva), Pleasure Dome (Toronto), Other Cinema (San Francisco), Kassel Documentary Film Festival, Microwave (Hong Kong) and Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. fredericmoffet.com
Dazibao receives financial support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications and the Ville de Montréal.