2023
Team Thursday (NL)
D-E-A-L (BE)
REDO is a three-day event in motion that brings together designers from around the world to create a discourse around the current issues within the practice of graphic design. Through a series of talks, music events, books, and tours of the city, REDO provides an opportunity for designers to get together in and around the city of Prishtina.
Selina Bernet (CH)
BlackMass Publishing (USA)
REDO is a three-day event in motion that brings together designers from around the world to create a discourse around the current issues within the practice of graphic design. Through a series of talks, music events, books, and tours of the city, REDO provides an opportunity for designers to get together in and around the city of Prishtina.
Maximage (CH)
Archival Consciousness (NL)
REDO is a three-day event in motion that brings together designers from around the world to create a discourse around the current issues within the practice of graphic design. Through a series of talks, music events, books, and tours of the city, REDO provides an opportunity for designers to get together in and around the city of Prishtina.
Coming Out: A 50-Year History of Public Gay Identity (2017) / Director: Phil Siegel / Length: 60 min. / Language: English / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
American Corner in Pristina and Kino ARMATA, a public space in Prishtina that promotes alternative culture and social dialogue, continue their partnership bringing to Prishtina and Kosovo audiences some of the most important and relevant works of American auteurs.
Coming Out: A 50-Year History of Public Gay Identity
Film description: Transgender teen, Jazz Jennings, narrates this documentary where young people interview a host of LGBTQ elders who came out in different historical eras from the 1950s through today. These inspiring talks give insight into the political and personal changes that shaped the modern LGBTQ movement. The young interviewers get an opportunity to compare and contrast their "coming out" experience with people who came out during McCarthy, Civil Rights, post-Stonewall, and AIDS eras. In the end, they learn that every generation of activists stands on the shoulders of those who came before and that activism needs to continue even in the light of great social strides.
About Love on a Small Island (2019) / Director: Elaheh Habibi / Length: 26 min. / Language: Persian / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
We are thrilled to present the ethnographic film program organized by the Department of Anthropology, University of Prishtina, in collaboration with Kino ARMATA. This program consists of a selection of three films that visually present the multiplicity and complexity of human experiences in different social, political and cultural contexts in different periods. Through the power of storytelling, this program will give us the opportunity to delve deeper into the cultures and practices presented through these unique works.
Join us as we gather to watch these films and engage in meaningful conversations about the diversity and depths of human existence through the lens of ethnographic cinema.
"About Love on a Small Island" explores the dynamics of relationships and intimacy within a rural region of Iran by delving into the everyday experiences of a single family. The film questions stereotypical representations of Muslim women and gradually uncovers the complexity of marriage and the diverse ideas about romantic love and sexuality. This film has been awarded by the American Anthropological Association as the best ethnographic film for students.
Following the screening of the film, there will be an interactive discussion session with the filmmaker Elaheh Habibi. The session will be chaired by Rozafa Berisha.
Elaheh Habibi is a Berlin-based visual anthropologist, writer and documentary filmmaker. She is currently pursuing her PhD at Sorbonne University in Paris, focusing on photography during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). Her research is supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship.
Unity Through Culture (2011) / Directors: Christian Suhr, Ton Otto / Length: 59 min. / Language: Tok Pisin, Tok Baluan and English / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
We are thrilled to present the ethnographic film program organized by the Department of Anthropology, University of Prishtina, in collaboration with Kino ARMATA. This program consists of a selection of three films that visually present the multiplicity and complexity of human experiences in different social, political and cultural contexts in different periods. Through the power of storytelling, this program will give us the opportunity to delve deeper into the cultures and practices presented through these unique works.
Join us as we gather to watch these films and engage in meaningful conversations about the diversity and depths of human existence through the lens of ethnographic cinema.
"Unity Through Culture" (2011) was awarded with "The Intangible Culture Film Prize" and "Richard Werbner Award for Visual Ethnography"; this film documents the efforts of the indigenous community in Baluan Island (Papua New Guinea) to (re)define their culture, "tradition"; and identity. Through musical rhythms and impressive visuals, the film invites us to reflect on social transformation in post-colonial contexts and the effect of globalization.
Ton Otto is a professor of Anthropology at Aarhus University and at James Cook University, Australia. Based on long-term ethnographic field research in Papua New Guinea, he has published widely on issues of social and cultural change.
Christian Suhr is a filmmaker, associate professor, and coordinator of the Eye & Mind MSc-Track of Visual Anthropology at Aarhus University. His work explores how film can be used to approach unseen dimensions of human life.
Chronicle of a Summer (1961) / Directors: Jean Rouch, Edgar Morin / Length: 85 min. / Language: French / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
We are thrilled to present the ethnographic film program organized by the Department of Anthropology, University of Prishtina, in collaboration with Kino ARMATA. This program consists of a selection of three films that visually present the multiplicity and complexity of human experiences in different social, political and cultural contexts in different periods. Through the power of storytelling, this program will give us the opportunity to delve deeper into the cultures and practices presented through these unique works.
Join us as we gather to watch these films and engage in meaningful conversations about the diversity and depths of human existence through the lens of ethnographic cinema.
"Chronicle of a Summer" (1965) is a film with a significant influence in visual anthropology and film scene in general, which presents a socio-political and cultural chronicle of everyday life in 1960s Paris. Through a series of interviews, the film weaves together various social themes, such as working-class happiness, the Algerian War, hopelessness and hope. Inspired by real people's testimonies and stories, the film depicts social life through cinéma vérité, a style developed by Jean Rouch.
Jean Rouch was a French anthropologist and filmmaker. He has created about 120 films and his activity has played a key role in the development of visual anthropology, cinéma-vérité style and the new wave of film in general.
Edgar Morin was a French sociologist and philosopher. His contributions span different scientific fields such as media studies, politics, sociology, visual anthropology, and ecology.
To mark International Romani Day and raise awareness about the difficulties Roma community members face in their day-to-day lives, on Thursday, April 13, at 18:00h, join us (DE and EU) for the screening of the movie PONGO CALLING at Kino ARMATA.
This is the last of a movie series the German Embassy conducts together with EU in Kosovo.
Pongo became an activist in 2018, when he reacted to racist statements by the former Czech President Miloš Zeman, according to whom the vast majority of Roma people do not work. He called on Roma to post photos of themselves working on social media.
This documentary captures Pongo’s enthusiasm and his clashes with his wife, who has her own ideas about the compatibility of her husband’s activism with family life.
The film will be screened free of charge in original languages with English subtitles. Gazmend Salijević, Deputy Minister of Communities and Return, and Isak Skenderi, Executive Director at Voice of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians will be giving introductory remarks.
Bet On Revenge (2017) / Director: Gábor Herendi / Length: 121 min. / Language: Hungarian / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
Hungarian Embassy in Prishtina and Kino ARMATA, a public space in Prishtina that promotes alternative culture and social dialogue, announce a new partnership bringing to Prishtina and Kosovo audiences some of the most important and relevant works of Hungarian auteurs.
We begin with the screening of "Bet on Revenge", a 2017 film directed by Gábor Herendi. Ernõ Blaskovich lost everything after the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Kincsem, a magnificent horse gives a purpose of his meaningless, self-destructing life. He gets a chance to gain everything back: revenge, love and fame.
The film will be screened in Hungarian, with English subtitles.
Earthlings (2005) / Director: Shaun Monson / Length: 95 min. / Language: English / Subtitles: English, Albanian / Entrance: FREE
"Earthlings" is by far the most comprehensive documentary ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests.
Since we all inhabit the Earth, all of us are considered earthlings. There is no sexism, no racism, or speciesism in the term earthling. It encompasses each and every one of us, warm or cold-blooded, mammal, vertebrae or invertebrate, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, and human alike. Humans, therefore, being not the only species on this planet, share this world with millions of other living creatures as we all evolved here together.
"Earthlings" is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers."
With an in-depth study into pet stores, puppy mills and animals shelters, as well as factory farms, the leather and fur trades, sports and entertainment industries, and finally the medical and scientific profession, "Earthlings" uses hidden cameras and never before seen footage to chronicle the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
HAXHI YMER LUTFI PAÇARIZI: REVOLUTIONARY POEMS
Pykë/Presje is pleased to invite you to the launch of the book Haxhi Ymer Lutfi Paçarizi: Revolutionary Poems, a book that brings together three revolutionary poems of Lutfi Paçarizi (1870-1928), one of Prizren's most influential poets. Paçarizi was, at the same time, the leader of the Prizren Melami Sufi Order. Three of the poems were written in 1920 in order to support the socialist movements in Kosovo and Macedonia, in the Turkish language with the Ottoman alphabet, and the longest one, “To my Workers’ and Peasants’ Brothers” was published in a Skopje-based socialist newspaper called ‘Socialist Fecri’ (Socialist Dawn). The volume also includes excerpts taken from Tacida Hafiz’ master thesis on Paçarizi, an intro, a bibliography, and comprehensive annotations to the poem by Sezgin Boynik and Tevfik Rada. The Albanian translation of the book, including the new translations of the poems, was realized by Blerta Haziraj.
The event will take place on Saturday, March 11 at 19.00 at Kino Armata where you can find other Pykë/Presje publications including ‘Albanian Summer’ and newly produced prints.
A special thanks to Ott Kagovere for the design of the book!
This publication is supported by Foundation for Arts Initiatives.
Delphine et Carole insoumuses (2021) / Director: Callisto McNulty / Length: 69 min. / Language: French / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
Kino ARMATA is proud to present a feminist film and discussion series titled WHERE ARE THE WOMEN?, to be held between 8—10 March 2023.
This program is supported by the French Embassy in Kosovo, Alliance Française de Pristina, Collections CINEMATEK and Fondation Chantal Akerman.
Where are the women? In our public and private spaces? In our reflections and our ways of arranging and perceiving our daily lives? Where are the women in our modern society that is made by men for men, where women and marginalized groups must adapt and create space for their specific needs and desires which are by deduction, other?
Friday, 10 March 2023, 19:00h
— "Delphine et Carole insoumuses", 2021, directed by Callisto McNulty, 69 min.
— A documentary followed by a conversation on women in arts with feminist activist Fjolla Muçaj. How do they radically create their own spaces in the field?
We close the program with Callisto McNulty's "Delphine et Carole insoumuses", a 2018 documentary film showing how in the mid-1970s, directors Delphine Seyrig and Carole Roussopoulos began making videos devised as political interventions to champion the struggle of women. Delphine and Carole retraces this collaboration by mixing video images filmed by the two directors, interviews, and archival material. This documentary not only introduces and contextualizes the under-known but crucial creative and political contributions made by two immensely talented women in the field of video, but most essentially the film is also inspiration for the power of cinema, and particularly how cheap, mobile and flexible filmmaking—video then, digital now—can be used as an expressive tool for advocacy, documentary and change.
Je ne suis pas un homme facile (2018) / Director: Eléonore Pourriat / Length: 98 min. / Language: French / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
Kino ARMATA is proud to present a feminist film and discussion series titled WHERE ARE THE WOMEN?, to be held between 8—10 March 2023.
This program is supported by the French Embassy in Kosovo, Alliance Française de Pristina, Collections CINEMATEK and Fondation Chantal Akerman.
Where are the women? In our public and private spaces? In our reflections and our ways of arranging and perceiving our daily lives? Where are the women in our modern society that is made by men for men, where women and marginalized groups must adapt and create space for their specific needs and desires which are by deduction, other?
Thursday, 9 March 2023, 19:00h
— "Je ne suis pas un homme facile" ("I am not an easy man"), 2018, directed by Eléonore Pourriat, 98 min.
— An instructive comedy followed by a conversation with feminist activists Trina Binaku dhe Fjolla Muçaj on how public spaces create and reinforce stereotypes, influencing our sexist behaviors.
We continue the program with Eléonore Pourriat's "Je ne suis pas un homme facile" ("I am not an easy man"), starring Vincent Elbaz as a chauvinist (Damien) who ends up in a parallel universe where stereotypical gender roles are reversed. Damien feels confused: now that he experiences sexism he struggles to find his place in this foreign new world. He meets and seduces Alexandra, an influential novelist who is herself a chauvinist. “I Am Not an Easy Man” is an over-reaching satire that gets at the horrors women face in a world where they don’t have equality or the entitled initiative to succeed; it suggests God help us if the shoe is ever on the other foot.
Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) / Director: Chantal Akerman / Length: 201 min. / Language: French / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
Kino ARMATA is proud to present a feminist film and discussion series titled WHERE ARE THE WOMEN?, to be held between 8—10 March 2023.
This program is supported by the French Embassy in Kosovo, Alliance Française de Pristina, Collections CINEMATEK and Fondation Chantal Akerman.
Where are the women? In our public and private spaces? In our reflections and our ways of arranging and perceiving our daily lives? Where are the women in our modern society that is made by men for men, where women and marginalized groups must adapt and create space for their specific needs and desires which are by deduction, other?
Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 19:00h
— "Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles", 1975, directed by Chantal Akerman, 201 min.
— Introduction of the event and presentation of the movie by Chantal Akerman, followed by a short conversation with feminist activists Trina Binaku and Fjolla Muçaj on the question of home as a space assigned to women.
(*conversation before screening)
We begin the program with ‘the greatest film of all time’ — "Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles" by Chantal Ackerman. A singular work in film history, Chantal Akerman’s film meticulously details, with a sense of impending doom, the daily routine of a middle-aged widow, whose chores include making the beds, cooking dinner for her son, and turning the occasional trick. In its enormous spareness, Akerman’s film seems simple, but it encompasses an entire world. Whether seen as an exacting character study or as one of cinema’s most hypnotic and complete depictions of space and time, Jeanne Dielman is an astonishing, compelling movie experiment, one that has been analyzed and argued over for decades.
Backlash: Misogyny in the Digital Age (2022) / Directors: Lea Clermont-Dion, Guylaine Maroist / Length: 80 min. / Language: Italian, French, English / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
Marking the International Women’s Day, we will screen the film “BACKLASH: MISOGYNY IN THE DIGITAL AGE” featuring four women across two different continents who decided to challenge misogynistic hate.
Ambassadors of Germany and the EU, H.E. Jörn Rohde and H.E. Tomas Szunyog, the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Michael Davenport, and H.E. President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani will deliver introductory remarks.
The film sheds lights on hatred towards women and online misogyny. This Canadian documentary feature follows four women across two different continents: Laura Boldrini, former President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies; Kiah Morris, former Democratic representative; French actor and YouTuber Marion Séclin; and Laurence Gratton, a school teacher from Montréal. After being subjected to sexist insults, threats of rape and death, the four women no longer accept the misogynistic hate and decide to challenge the online platforms, the state and the perpetrators themselves.
Homo Sapiens (2016) / Director: Nikolaus Geyrhalter / Length: 94 min. / Language: No dialogue / Entrance: FREE
Places on earth that we have already left, given up or forgotten. Small, intimate spaces such as apartments or houses as well as huge industrial complexes or places of public life, reconquered by nature in different stages. The wind often moves the leaves of plants or parts of disintegrating buildings. Sometimes it rains or snows, which has a completely new effect inside a building. Many of these places are also inhabited by animals, mostly birds. And occasionally it is desert sand that gently blows through what used to be living rooms.
This film by Nikolaus Geyrhalte is an exploration of once-living buildings that have since been forgotten, abandoned and left to be reclaimed by nature.
This film is shown in collaboration between Kino ARMATA and DokuFest.
The Human Scale (2012) / Director: Andreas Dalsgaard / Length: 83 min. / Language: English / Subtitles: English, Albanian / Entrance: FREE
Gigantic systems of tall buildings and elevated roads. People who live their lives in separate concrete boxes. Life in cities is modern and fascinating, but how do we plan these cities in a way that takes human behavior into account?
Revolutionary architect Jan Gehl and his colleagues are on a mission, they want to bring cities to life. They want to design cities in a way that takes into account sustainability and human needs for inclusion and intimacy. They want to free the cities from the invasion of cars and thereby create space for pedestrians and bicycle paths.
The Human Scale is an aesthetic experience: a science fiction documentary from a future that is already present.
This film is shown in collaboration between Kino ARMATA and DokuFest.
As part of anniversaries of Kosovo's independence and KLA Epic, Kino ARMATA will screen Displaced (2021) by Samir Karahoda and Hive (2021) by Blerta Basholli.
About Displaced / In post-war Kosovo, driven by the ambition of keeping their beloved sport alive, two local players wander from one obscure location to another carrying with them the only possession of the club: their tables.
In Hive, Fahrije’s husband has been missing since the war in Kosovo, and along with their grief, her family is struggling financially. In order to provide for them she launches a small agricultural business, but in the traditional patriarchal village where she lives, her ambition and efforts to empower herself and other women are not seen as positive things. She struggles not only to keep her family afloat but also against a hostile community who is rooting for her to fail.
These screenings are made possible by Kosovo Cinematography Center and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
A House Made of Splinters (2022) / Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont / Length: 87 min. / Language: Russian, Ukranian / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
24 February 2023 will mark 1 year since the beginning of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion on Ukraine. To express EU's and Germany's solidarity with Ukraine, we will mark this day with a screening of the Ukrainian film "A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS" (2022), featuring children affected by aggression. The film will be screened in original language, with English subtitles. On Friday, 24 February 2023, at Kino ARMATA in Prishtina, at 19:00 hrs and free of charge, join us in expressing our unwavering support and #StandWithUkraine️!
Ambassadors of Germany and the EU, H.E. Jörn Rohde, H.E. EU Ambassador Thomas Szunyog, H.E. Minister for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, as well as the Ukrainian Journalists taking part in Kosovo's journalists in Residence-Programme, will be delivering introductory remarks.
ABOUT THE MOVIE
Even before the Russian invasion in 2022, life was hard for the children in this halfway house in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. An endless longing for security and normality contest with drunk mothers, violent fathers and desperate poverty. Kolya, Eva and Sascha find refuge for a few short months in a worn-down orphanage near the front line. It's a haven of safety where tears can transform into soap bubbles and hugs end in scuffles. But it's a makeshift, temporary home. Soon after the director finished filming, the children of Luhansk had to flee a Russian attack.
Selfie (2019) / Director: Agostino Ferrente / Length: 78 min. / Language: Italian / Subtitles: English, Albanian / Entrance: FREE
How can you make a film about life in a poor neighbourhood of Naples as a foreigner? And perhaps even more difficult, how do you become part of the lives of young Italians as an adult filmmaker? Director Agostino Ferrente came up with an idea as simple as it is brilliant: he gave teenagers in the Neapolitan neighbourhood of Traiano a phone to film their lives in any way they liked.
The result is a beautifully intimate film in which best friends Alessandro and Pietro constantly keep their cameras in selfie mode and thus take on the role of director in a film about their lives. An important role is played by the ubiquitous presence of the mafia and the death of their neighbourhood friend Davide, who was mistakenly shot by the police. But the two young men are also keen to show us that their lives are not entirely dominated by crime and violence.
This film is shown in collaboration between Kino ARMATA and DokuFest.
69 Minutes of 86 Days (2017) / Director: Egil Håskjold Larsen / Length: 70 min. / Language: Arab / Subtitles: English, Albanian / Entrance: FREE
From an unfamiliar Greek port to the quiet streets of Uppsala, Sweden, a brave three-year-old Syrian refugee makes the long journey through Europe with her family to find comfort and a fresh start in a new home.
The film not only follows her perspective, highlighting the laughter and wonder on her face, but it also observes the faces of the adults. They are tired and unsure of what’s ahead, yet they persevere with the hope of offering their children a better life. Lean may not end up remembering the events of this film: the months of being part of a large group heading towards the promised land; the trips by boat, car and bus; the time spent waiting for food, a place to sleep, transport or clarity. In his first feature-length film, Egil Håskjold Larsen observes without comment or questioning the 86-day voyage that Lean mostly experiences as an adventure.
She seems oblivious to the sadness and pain of the adults around her. But is she really?
“The incredible cinematography, immaculate editing, creative sound design
and music all melt into a haunting experience.”
— CPH:DOX Jury
This film is shown in collaboration between Kino ARMATA and DokuFest.
"Women of Freddom" (2018), a documentary film directed by Lum Çitaku, is a testimony and a chronology of war, resistence and great sacrifice of Kosovo women as a crucial part of Albanians' movement for freedom and independence.
The movie is based on numerous stories by participants in women's political movement, especially the activities and organization of protests in protection of freedom and independence.
It covers fragments from critical moments of women's activities that culminated in massive protests during the years of armed struggle in Kosovo between 1997 - 1998, focused on the massive women protest - March for Drenica with the tagline "Bread for women and children of Drenica".
Trapped by Law (2018) / Director: Sami Mustafa / Length: 90 min. / Language: English, Romani / Subtitles: English, Albanian / Entrance: FREE
Join us on Wednesday, 15 February 2023, for a screening of the highly anticipated movie "Trapped by Law" (in English, with Albanian subtitles) by Sami Mustafa and an insightful panel discussion on the inclusion of non-majority communities in society in Kosovo. Hosted by Manifesta 14 Prishtina, the event will take place at Kino ARMATA starting at 6 PM. Don't miss the opportunity to hear from Almira Bajrami from the Ministry of Communities and Return, Avni Mustafa from Roma Versitas Kosovo, and Sakibe Jashari from the Council of Europe Office in Prishtina as they engage in a thought-provoking discussion. This event is made possible with the support of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
The movie "Trapped by Law" is a moving portrayal of the struggles faced by two young brothers, Kefaet and Selami, as they navigate the complexities of the law of "forced reintegration" signed between Kosovo and Germany, along with other EU states. This powerful film, shot over a period of five years, tells the story of the two brothers' journey through their forced separation from their family, friends, and the hip-hop culture they grew up in.
This coming-of-age and family separation story, told through the lens of the hip-hop culture, is a poignant portrayal of the experiences of marginalized communities and the fight for justice. Through the film, the audience will gain a deeper understanding of the difficulties that marginalized communities face and the systemic barriers that prevent them from accessing their rights and freedoms.
We are living in dynamic fast-changing times - and it seems as though we are not making enough time for ourselves to slow down and ask deep questions and share meaningful conversations that enrich life.
We are starting a public event series, called Deep Conversations with Changemakers, where we will dive deep into life topics such as purpose, mindset, education, spirituality, life in Kosovo, and many others. These events will have a guest of honor who we will ask questions and learn from their perspective and life journey.
Our next guest is a monk named Swami Ananda Tirtha, who is a Bhakti Yogi and meditation teacher. He will be joining us to explore the following questions:
How is the life of a monk in a materialistic world?
Where do we find joy and happiness in this dynamic world?
What is love, and how can we love ourselves?
How can we have a healthy relationship with technology?
What is meditation, and how can we benefit from it?
Other questions that the audience may have.
PS: 14 of February is Saint Valentine and this event is a wonderful opportunity to bring your loved ones and dive deep into meaningful conversations.
The event will be moderated by Mentor Dida and it will be held in English this time.
Disclaimer: Our events from time to time will have spiritual leaders from all religions as guests - but we are not a religious organization. We aim to create a series of events that bring together different perspectives so that we can learn and grow together. In Kosovo, we have a long standing tradition in respecting and learning from other religions and cultures.
11 February, 19:00h
A Woman Escapes (3D), 81 min.
Kino ARMATA is proud to present a film showcase of Burak Çevik, an experimental filmmaker from Istanbul, Turkey, between 9-11 February 2023. Burak Çevik (1993, Istanbul) founded Fol Cinema Society and curated experimental and arthouse film screenings. He was lecturer on Non-Fiction between 2018-2020 at Istanbul Bilgi University. His films The Pillar of Salt (2018), Belonging (2019) and Forms of Forgetting (2023) premiered at Berlinale Forum. His video works have screened at various festivals, such as Locarno Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival.
A Woman Escapes
2022, 81’, English & Turkish
16mm, 4K, 3D
Canada and Turkey
A co-direction with Sofia Bohdanowicz and Blake Williams
World Premiere: FIDMarseille, International Competition 2022
Audrey Benac lives alone in Paris after having moved there to tend to the home of her recently deceased friend, Juliane. Moving through the days without any clear motivation or sense of purpose, she tries to re-establish her footing in the world by beginning video correspondences with two filmmakers — Burak, who lives in Istanbul, and Blake, who lives in Toronto. This exchange of words and footage initiates a healing process, but the nature of the interaction is not what it seems.
10 February, 19:00h
Belonging, 70 min.
A Topography of Memory, 30 min.
Q&A with Burak Çevik
Kino ARMATA is proud to present a film showcase of Burak Çevik, an experimental filmmaker from Istanbul, Turkey, between 9-11 February 2023. Burak Çevik (1993, Istanbul) founded Fol Cinema Society and curated experimental and arthouse film screenings. He was lecturer on Non-Fiction between 2018-2020 at Istanbul Bilgi University. His films The Pillar of Salt (2018), Belonging (2019) and Forms of Forgetting (2023) premiered at Berlinale Forum. His video works have screened at various festivals, such as Locarno Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival.
Belonging / Aidiyet
2019, 73’, Turkish
Turkey and Canada
Premiered at Berlinale Forum
A murder investigation is flipped inside out in Burak Çevik’s second feature, a spellbinding and surprising work that questions whether we can ever truly understand criminal motives. We begin in the present as an unseen narrator recounts the assassination of his lover’s disapproving mother, accompanied by hauntingly vacant images of urban alienation and garish city lights; we then flash back to witness the first encounter between the lovers-turned-accomplices, their mutual attraction and world-weariness emerging across a sleepless night and morning after. Çevik imbues the proceedings with a stylistic confidence and willingness to bend the conventions of cinematic form to arrive at a complex, gripping double meditation on love and death.
A Topography of Memory
2019, 30’, Turkish
Turkey
Premiered at Locarno Film Festival then screened Toronto Film Festival’s Wavelenghts section and looped 2 days at 57th New York Film Festival’s Projections.
This subtly expansive new work by Burak Çevik (Belonging, ND/NF 2019) combines CCTV footage of urban Istanbul with audio of a family heading to vote in the controversial June 2015 Turkish general election. As talk ranges from domestic matters to political affiliations, shots of the city’s skyline, coastal architecture, and religious landmarks captured the day after the election slowly scroll past. Underlying these eerily serene images is the knowledge that in a follow-up vote five months later, the right-wing government would regain power.
9 February, 19:00h
While Cursed by Specters, 10 min.
The Pillar of Salt, 70 min.
TALK/PRESENTATION / Making an independent first feature film in Turkey
Kino ARMATA is proud to present a film showcase of Burak Çevik, an experimental filmmaker from Istanbul, Turkey, between 9-11 February 2023. Burak Çevik (1993, Istanbul) founded Fol Cinema Society and curated experimental and arthouse film screenings. He was lecturer on Non-Fiction between 2018-2020 at Istanbul Bilgi University. His films The Pillar of Salt (2018), Belonging (2019) and Forms of Forgetting (2023) premiered at Berlinale Forum. His video works have screened at various festivals, such as Locarno Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival.
While Cursed By Specters
2020, 10’, without dialogue
Turkey
Premiered at 58th New York Film Festival
Burak Çevik’s film reworks the stark black-and-white compositions of Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub’s 1984 film Klassenhältnisse (Class Relations) in which German locations stand in for the imagined country of Kafka’s unfinished novel, Amerika. Here, however, depopulated interiors and desolate outdoor spaces carry the phantasmic traces of humanity – voices, shadows, photographs, cars – but never let them appear, suggesting a world in which all connections to the social have come untethered.
The Pillar of Salt / Tuzdan Kaide
2018, 71’, Turkish
Turkey
Premiered at Berlinale Forum
A pregnant young woman who lives in a sort of cave is looking for her vanished sister, yet this plot summary hardly does justice to the charm, richness and radical nature of Burak Çevik’s first feature – all of which a result of the liberties he takes in creating an extravagant cinematic world to tell this story. The protagonist leaves her almost fairytale-like cave to set out across a river, taking up her sister’s trail. This trail leads her to a botanical garden, a bird shop, and a darkroom. The photo lab technician compares the effect of photographs to God turning Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt because she couldn’t resist the temptation of turning around to see Sodom be destroyed. Captured for eternity, transfixed for eternity – should we take it at face value when the protagonist tells the boatwoman that she is a part-time vampire? The dreamlike way in which the film digresses to show us a plant, a strip of negatives, or a table tennis match contributes considerably to the strange fascination it develops. Some things remain mysterious – which only makes us even more curious about what they might be referring to.
—Anna Hoffmann
Samsara (2011) / Director: Ron Fricke / Length: 102 min. / Language: None / Subtitles: None / Entrance: FREE
Kino ARMATA and DYVÓ present a series of monthly collaborations on the topic of climate change and the environment. Each month will feature different films that address our connections with nature, animals, the environment and topics such as plastic pollution and climate change followed by discussions and reflections after the film screening.
We’re starting the first collaboration with "Samsara" directed by Ron Fricke, a poetic film about industrial life that has become an inevitable part of us.
How aware are we of the way we live, but how aware are we of the way we consume as a society? Are we part of nature or do we see it as something separate from us that we can exploit? Are our habits changeable and can we together avoid an event that otherwise has the potential to be catastrophic for the earth? We hope this film inspires us to a new awareness of the environment around us.
Filmed in twenty-five locations over a five-year period and acclaimed for its mesmerizing visuals and music, this film captures both the tedious and the wonderful, as well as the greatest depths of the human spirit.
Return of the Kung Fu Dragon (1976) / Director: Chick Lim Yu / Length: 84 min. / Language: English / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
We close the Trash Trilogy with Return of the Kung Fu Dragon, a 1976 Taiwanese film directed by Chick Lim Yu. On the idyllic Phoenix island in the south china sea a golden city becomes the birthplace to a new form of Kung Fu. Soon an evil tyrant threatens the peace and harmony of once such a proud city. A generation passes and a brave prince, a fearless princess and a foolish dwarf with the powers of invisibility team up to return a kingdom to its people as they wrest it from the hands of the evil tyrant.
First Spaceship on Venus (1960) / Director: Kurt Maetzig / Length: 79 min. / Language: English / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
First Spaceship on Venus is a 1960 East German/Polish color science fiction film based on the 1951 science fiction novel The Astronauts by Stanisław Lem.
After finding an ancient, long-buried flight recorder that originally came from a spaceship, apparently from Venus, a human spaceship is dispatched. The crew discovers a long-dead Venusian civilization that had constructed a device intended to destroy all life on the Earth prior to invasion. Before they could execute their plan, they perished in a global nuclear war.
Attack from Space (1964) / Director: Teruo Ishii / Length: 76 min. / Language: English / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
We start the trash film trilogy with Attack from Space (1964), the film that tells the story of superhero Starman who is sent by the Emerald Planet to protect Earth from belligerent aliens from the Sapphire Galaxy. The Sapphireans (or "Spherions") kidnap Dr. Yamanaka and force him to use his spaceship against the Earth.
Attack from Space was edited together for American television from films #5 and #6 of the 1957 Japanese short film series Super Giant, also directed by Teruo Ishii.
“2+1 documentaries on Kosovo's modern architecture" presents three short documentaries on selected modern architecture buildings. The aim of producing these documentary series is video-documentation of modern architecture through personal stories of inhabitants of modernist buildings and professional viewpoints on values and importance of Kosovo's modern architecture.
1. Short documentary "Colors" on the Bankos building in Peja
2. Short documentary "Lines" on the Youth and Sports Palace building in Prishtina
3. Short documentary "Domes" on the National Library building ion Prishtina
After the screenings a debate will be held on the importance of documenting modernist heritage.
CONCERT / Brass Orchestra Prizren
Musa Piperku, Leonard Deda, Jusuf Gërvalla, Simon Gjoni, Johann Sebastian Bach, Astor Piazzolla, Mark Ronson, Jon Bon Jovi, Pharell Williams
Conductor: Edon RAMADANI
27.01.2023
Friday, 19:00h
Kino ARMATA
Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of the Republic of Kosovo
Teenagers from Outer Space (1959) / Director: Tom Graeff / Length: 86 min. / Language: English / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
The week of sci-fi B-films ends with Teenagers from Outer Space, a 1959 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film released by Warner Bros. The film was produced, written, and directed by Tom Graeff and stars David Love, Dawn Bender, Bryan Grant, Harvey B. Dunn, Tom Graeff, and King Moody.
In the film, alien teenager Derek abandons his crew to search for a new life on Earth, while one of his crewmates is sent to kill him while they attempt to eradicate human life in order to farm Earth with giant lobster-like livestock they call Gargons.
TRIVIA: The movie's budget was so low the production couldn't afford lighting and all of the "night" scenes had to be shot in broad daylight.
Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968) / Director: Peter Bogdanovich / Length: 78 min. / Language: English / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
The week of classic science fiction B-films continues with Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women, a 1968 science fiction film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, an adapted version of Curtis Harrington's Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, which in turn is adapted from the Russian 1962 feature Planeta Bur by Pavel Klushantsev.
Astronauts landing on Venus encounter dangerous creatures and almost meet sexy Venusian women. The astronauts kill a creature that is worshiped by the Venusian women who then attempt to use their powers of nature to kill the astronauts but fail. At last, the astronauts leave the planet and their robot that was burnt by the volcano fire is placed as a god by the Venusian women who have already destroyed the statue of their previous god (a bird).
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957) / Director: Edward D. Wood Jr. / Length: 79 min. / Language: English / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
The week of sci-fi B-films begins with Plan 9 from Outer Space (originally titled Grave Robbers from Outer Space), a 1959 American independent black and white science fiction film, written, produced, directed, and edited by Ed Wood, that stars Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson and Vampira (Maila Nurmi). The film also posthumously bills Bela Lugosi as a star (silent footage of the actor had actually been shot by Wood for another, unfinished film just prior to Lugosi's death in August 1956).
The storyline concerns extraterrestrials who are seeking to stop humanity from creating a doomsday weapon that could destroy the universe. The aliens implement "Plan 9," a scheme to resurrect the Earth's dead, referred to as "ghouls." By causing chaos, the aliens hope the crisis will force humanity to listen to them. If not, the aliens will then destroy mankind with armies of the undead.
Plan 9 from Outer Space played on television in relative obscurity until 1980, when authors Harry Medved and Michael Medved dubbed it the "worst film ever made" in their book The Golden Turkey Awards. Wood and his film were posthumously given two Golden Turkey Awards for Worst Director Ever and Worst Film. It has since been retroactively described as "the epitome of so-bad-it's-good cinema" and has gained a cult following.
La Chinoise (1967) / Director: Jean-Luc Godard / Length: 96 min. / Language: French / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
Kino ARMATA, a public space in Prishtina that promotes alternative culture and social dialogue, has the pleasure of announcing the next partnership with Alliance Française de Pristina, the French Embassy in Kosovo and IF Cinema in bringing to Prishtina and Kosovo audiences some of the most important and relevant works of French auteurs.
As part of Tribute to Jean-Luc Godard, Kino ARMATA is screening La Chinoise, a 1967 French political film directed by Jean-Luc Godard about a group of young Maoist activists in Paris.
La Chinoise is a loose adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 1872 novel Demons. In the novel, a group of five disaffected citizens, each representing a different ideological persuasion and personality type, conspire to overthrow the Russian imperial regime through a campaign of sustained revolutionary violence. The film, set in contemporary Paris and largely taking place in a small apartment, is structured as a series of personal and ideological dialogues dramatizing the interactions of five French university students—three young men and two young women—belonging to a radical Maoist group called the "Aden Arabie Cell" (named after the novel Aden, Arabie by Paul Nizan). The film won the Grand Jury Prize in 1967 Venice Film Festival.
Jean-Luc Godard (1930-2022) was a Franco-Swiss filmmaker and a leading member of the "French New Wave”. Known for stylistic innovations that challenged the conventions of Hollywood cinema, he is universally recognized as the most audacious, radical, as well as the most influential of the Nouvelle Vague filmmakers. His work reflects a fervent knowledge of film history, a comprehensive understanding of existential and Marxist philosophy, and a profound insight into the fragility of human relationships.
IN-DEPTH BIO: http://www.newwavefilm.com/french.../jean-luc-godard.shtml
Alphaville (1965) / Director: Jean-Luc Godard / Length: 99 min. / Language: French / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
Kino ARMATA, a public space in Prishtina that promotes alternative culture and social dialogue, has the pleasure of announcing the next partnership with Alliance Française de Pristina, the French Embassy in Kosovo and IF Cinema in bringing to Prishtina and Kosovo audiences some of the most important and relevant works of French auteurs.
As part of Tribute to Jean-Luc Godard, Kino ARMATA is screening Alphaville, a 1965 French New Wave science fiction neo-noir film directed by Jean-Luc Godard. It stars Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Howard Vernon and Akim Tamiroff. The film won the Golden Bear award of the 15th Berlin International Film Festival in 1965.
Alphaville combines the genres of dystopian science fiction and film noir. There are no special props or futuristic sets; instead, the film was shot in real locations in Paris, the night-time streets of the capital becoming the streets of Alphaville, while modernist glass and concrete buildings (that in 1965 were new and strange architectural designs) represent the city's interiors. The film is set in the future but the characters also refer to twentieth-century events; for example, the hero describes himself as a Guadalcanal veteran.
Jean-Luc Godard (1930-2022) was a Franco-Swiss filmmaker and a leading member of the "French New Wave”. Known for stylistic innovations that challenged the conventions of Hollywood cinema, he is universally recognized as the most audacious, radical, as well as the most influential of the Nouvelle Vague filmmakers. His work reflects a fervent knowledge of film history, a comprehensive understanding of existential and Marxist philosophy, and a profound insight into the fragility of human relationships.
IN-DEPTH BIO: http://www.newwavefilm.com/french.../jean-luc-godard.shtml
Breathless (1960) / Director: Jean-Luc Godard / Length: 90 min. / Language: French / Subtitles: English / Entrance: FREE
Kino ARMATA, a public space in Prishtina that promotes alternative culture and social dialogue, has the pleasure of announcing the next partnership with Alliance Française de Pristina, the French Embassy in Kosovo and IF Cinema in bringing to Prishtina and Kosovo audiences some of the most important and relevant works of French auteurs.
As part of Tribute to Jean-Luc Godard, Kino ARMATA is screening Breathless, a 1960 French crime drama film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard. It stars Jean-Paul Belmondo as a wandering criminal named Michel, and Jean Seberg as his American girlfriend Patricia. The film was Godard's first feature-length work and represented Belmondo's breakthrough as an actor.
Breathless is an influential example of French New Wave (nouvelle vague) cinema. Along with François Truffaut's The 400 Blows and Alain Resnais's Hiroshima Mon Amour, both released a year earlier, it brought international attention to new styles of French filmmaking. At the time, Breathless attracted much attention for its bold visual style, which included then unconventional use of jump cuts.
Jean-Luc Godard (1930-2022) was a Franco-Swiss filmmaker and a leading member of the "French New Wave”. Known for stylistic innovations that challenged the conventions of Hollywood cinema, he is universally recognized as the most audacious, radical, as well as the most influential of the Nouvelle Vague filmmakers. His work reflects a fervent knowledge of film history, a comprehensive understanding of existential and Marxist philosophy, and a profound insight into the fragility of human relationships.
IN-DEPTH BIO: http://www.newwavefilm.com/french.../jean-luc-godard.shtml
The Jazz Singer (1927) / Director: Alan Crosland / Length: 89 min. / Language: English / Entrance: FREE
We begin 2023 program with films that just entered public domain including The Jazz Singer, a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros Pictures. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolated sequences). Its release heralded the commercial ascendance of sound films and effectively marked the end of the silent film era with the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system and features six songs performed by Al Jolson.
The film depicts the fictional story of Jakie Rabinowitz, a young man who defies the traditions of his devout Jewish family. After singing popular tunes in a beer garden, he is punished by his father, a hazzan (cantor), prompting Jakie to run away from home. Some years later, now calling himself Jack Robin, he has become a talented jazz singer, performing in blackface. He attempts to build a career as an entertainer, but his professional ambitions ultimately come into conflict with the demands of his home and heritage.
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) / Director: Alfred Hitchcock / Length: 90 min. / Language: English / Entrance: FREE
We begin 2023 program with films that just entered public domain including The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, a 1927 British silent thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, June Tripp, Malcolm Keen and Ivor Novello. The film is based on the 1913 novel The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes and the play Who Is He? co-written by Belloc Lowndes. Its plot concerns the hunt for a Jack the Ripper-like serial killer in London.
Hitchcock's first thriller, the film established him as a name director. Upon its release the trade journal Bioscope wrote: "It is possible that this film is the finest British production ever made". It also saw Hitchcock make his first cameo appearances in a film; he was depicted sitting in a newsroom, and in the second, standing in a crowd as the leading man is arrested.
Metropolis (1927) / Director: Fritz Lang / Length: 153 min. / Intertitles: English / Entrance: FREE
We begin 2023 program with films that just entered public domain including Metropolis, a 1927 German expressionist science-fiction film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou in collaboration with Lang from von Harbou's 1925 novel of the same name. The silent film is regarded as a pioneering science-fiction movie, being among the first feature-length movies of that genre.
Made in Germany during the Weimar period, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the city master. The film's message is encompassed in the final inter-title: "The Mediator Between the Head and the Hands Must Be the Heart".