aemi Newsletter May 2023

This is a still from the film 'Music for Solo Performer'(2022) by Jenny Brady. The image consists of two overlayed pictures, set against a large black background. In the front image, there is a woman undergoing EEG analysis. She is lying sideways on a white pillow, wearing a blue top. The woman has dark hair, light skin, and her eyes are closed. Various attachments secured with tape can be seen across her chin, temples, and forehead, with wires coming out of them. To the right of the frame, there is a cream-coloured wall, while to the left of the frame, there is a black area behind her. In the underlay image, there is another section of the same type of wall, displaying large red EEG analysis waves across its centre. At the bottom right corner of the frame, there is partially visible text in large black print that reads "EEG", with a dark area above it. The overall image has a vintage quality and colouring.

Still from Music for Solo Performer, 2022, by Jenny Brady. Screening as part of 'aemi & Docs Ireland: Voice Recognition' + Q&A on Sunday, June 25th at 2pm.

Hi all,

We wanted to start this newsletter with an update on ‘Súitú’, our current touring programme featuring work by Fábio Andrade (Brazil), Susan Hughes (Northern Ireland), Morgan Quaintance (U.K.), Bárbara Lago (Argentina), Sofia Theodore-Pierce (U.S.A.), Lisa Freeman (Ireland) and Holly Márie Parnell (Ireland).

The first stop on our tour of ‘Súitú’ will be on June 29th in Dublin at the Irish Film Institute, with featured artists Lisa Freeman and Holly Márie Parnell both in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. Tickets for that special event are now available here. We will have more Irish dates later this summer, including a screening at Black Hole Studio, presented by David J. Pierce, with support from Roscommon County Council. These Irish screenings will be followed by several international dates in the Netherlands and Sweden this autumn, with support from Culture Ireland. This tour of artist film by Irish and international practitioners is a central part of our public programme, and we would like to express sincere thanks to our Irish co-presenters, our international touring partners WORM, Filmhuis Cavia, Galleri Format, FILMFORM, and, of course, to all of our featured artists. You can stay up to date on touring programme announcements here.

We are also thrilled to announce our upcoming 2023 partnership with Docs Ireland, which includes, among other things, Jenny Brady’s most recent Arts Council funded film Music for Solo Performer. More info below.

aemi & Docs Ireland present: Voice Recognition
Each year, aemi presents a programme of moving image work by artists and experimental filmmakers at Docs Ireland, aiming to call attention to the diverse ways artists and experimental filmmakers are continuing to deftly expand, enrich, and challenge the conventions of the documentary form. In this programme of remarkable new work from artists Jenny Brady (Ireland), Miryam Charles (Haiti-Canada), Dan Guthrie (U.K.), Jacqueline Holt (U.K.-Northern Ireland) and Sofia Theodore-Pierce (U.S.A.), ideas around voice and lineage are explored through connections to the body or instances of disembodiment. While experiences of disempowerment permeate the works gathered here, they are enacted as loving dedications or expressions of gratitude for those who have made or shaped us. The event will take place at Queen’s Film Theatre on Sunday, June 25th at 2:00 pm. Following the screening, there will be a Q&A with featured artists Jenny Brady and Jacqueline Holt. You can find more information and book tickets here.

There are also lots of other recommended events and opportunities for artists listed below for you to check out.

We hope you are enjoying this bright start to the summer.

With best wishes,

Daniel Fitzpatrick, Alice Butler, and Áine Stapleton

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This is a still from the film '2 Channel Land' (2022) by Frank Sweeney. A person with strawberry blonde hair walks along an empty road that marks the border between two areas in Northern Ireland. The road's surface shifts from one shade of grey to another, clearly indicating the presence of a border line. It is a country lane is flanked by tall green bushes and trees on either side. The camera is positioned behind them, and there is a cloudy, grey-blue sky ahead. They are dressed in a white Stetson hat, sky-blue trousers, and an embellished sky-blue jacket with blue fringe on the sleeves. The jacket features an image of a radio transmitter on the back, surrounded by lightning bolts, a line drawing of the Irish border, clouds, grass, and soil.

Still from 2 Channel Land, 2022, by Frank Sweeney. Commissioned by aemi & SIRIUS Arts Centre. Screening as part of Docs Ireland's 'Competition Shorts Programme 2' on Saturday, June 24th at 3:15pm.

Selected recommendations 

The Flesh of Language by Amanda Rice – screening from May 27th to June 24th at SIRIUS, Cork. The Flesh of Language (2023) by Rice is informed by three research strands: Konstantin Raudive’s investigation of anomalous voice-like sounds found on tape recordings that were interpreted as spirit messages; an experiment by Andrew Kitchener aimed at determining whether the extinct Irish elk used its antlers in battle; and inputs on the practicalities of media conservation. The film establishes a parallel between interspecies and paranormal communication, engaging with the barrier separating science and esotericism in addressing the life spans and resurrection of subjects and technologies.

2 Channel Land by Frank Sweeney – screening as part of Docs Ireland’s ‘Shorts Competition Programme 2’ on Saturday, June 24th, at 3:15pm, followed by a Q&A. 2 Channel Land (2022) is a north-western docu-fiction film by artist Frank Sweeney, commissioned by aemi & SIRIUS. Exploring the history of analogue signals spilling across the borders of Ireland and Britain and guided by a mysterious threshold deity, we take a journey through the Irish borderlands in search of community. The research for this film included several new oral history interviews relating to illegal deflector systems (built to hijack UK television signals), country music pirate radio stations on the Irish border and the use of church bells as early forms of communication. Archival and research materials were presented in a radio installation by Frank Sweeney and Tom O’Dea at the Centre for Contemporary Art Derry in July 2022. The film emerged from this research through collaborations with artists from the Irish border region and included the commissioning of 3 original country music tracks. Book your tickets here.

Fanvid Presents: DIY Films from TURKEY AND SYRIA – Unit 44 (Kirkos), Prussia St, Dublin 7 – The next Fanvid event will take place on Tuesday, May 30th at 7pm. Artist and academic Temmuz Süreyya Gürbüz has collected ten electrifying DIY/low-budget screen works made by artists from the Turkey and Syria region including Çağıl Saydam & Hazal Bayar, Sarah Zeryab and various TikTok users via TikTok’s Labor Cinema, a collection of videos curated by Ozan Çağlar ve Deniz Zeybek. One of the films featured, Alter the Caption, by Palestinian artist and filmmaker Sarah Zeryab, plays across different publics: from a crowded metro station to a social media feed. For this event, Fanvid are collecting donations for three earthquake relief organisations working across Turkey, Kurdistan, and Syria: Ahbap, Hey Vasor and Molham Volunteering Team. Donations can be sent via PayPal here or cash donations can be made at the event. For more information follow Fanvid on Instagram here.

In other updates, Tara Carroll, the Recruitment Officer of ‘Praxis: The Artists’ Union of Ireland‘, will host an online event titled ‘PRAXIS: Why Do Artists Need A Union?’. This event, aimed at artists curious about the union, will take place via Zoom on Tuesday, June 6th, from 7pm to 8pm. Live captioning and Audio Description will also be provided for the duration of the event. You can learn more about the event and register via Eventbrite here.

Selected upcoming opportunities for film artists 

Upcoming open calls and artist opportunities include The Arts Council Reel Art Award, The Arts Council Authored Works Award, Arts and Disability Connect awards scheme 2023, Online Course LOVE ME THROUGH THE SCREEN: Contemporary Moving Image Practices by Sophie Lee, and The Michael O’Pray Prize for new writing on innovation and experimentation in the moving image, open to UK-based Irish artists and artists from Northern Ireland.

Upcoming film festival submission deadlines include IMAGE+NATION FESTIVAL COURTS QUEER SHORT FILM FEST in Canada and BIDEODROMO Internacional Experimental Film and Video Festival in the Basque Country.

Check out more national & international open calls, film festivals and opportunities here.

This still is from the film 'Two Stones' (2019) by Wendelien Van Oldenborgh. The image shows a woman seated in a white room on a wooden chair positioned to the left side of the frame. She is facing forward but has turned her head sideways towards the centre of the image. The woman has pale skin, long dark curly hair, and is wearing a burgundy-coloured jumper. To her right, there is a window through which trees are visible. The image gives the impression of being viewed through a large window, with a white door frame reflecting in the centre. In the door frame stands another woman with dark skin, shoulder-length brown curly hair, glasses, and wearing a pink t-shirt and jeans. Her hands are in her pockets. Behind her, there is another window with trees. The right side of the frame consists of a plain white wall.

Still from Two Stones, 2019, by Wendelien van Oldenborgh. Screening at The Cube, Project Arts Centre, Dublin, on Wednesday, May 31st at 6pm.

InFocus: Two Stones by Wendelien Van Oldenborgh

This month’s InFocus showcases Two Stones, a film by Dutch visual artist and filmmaker Wendelien van Oldenborgh. The film is set in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and looks at housing practices – from the constructivist and utopian to the racialised and discriminatory – through the stories of two women. The screening event is part of the public programme for the current exhibition at Project Arts Centre, GOT DAMP / PÚSCADH ANUAS, by Avril Corroon, which runs until June 10th. Two Stones will be screened at The Cube at Project Arts Centre on Wednesday, May 31st at 6pm. The running time is 61 minutes, and the screening is captioned. Tickets are €3. For more information and to book tickets, please visit here.

Supporting and Exhibiting Artists' and Experimental Moving Image in association with LUX, the Irish Film Institute and Temple Bar Gallery + Studios. Supported by the Arts Council.