The Netherlands Film Academy: Shared air(s)

This film-oriented initiative aims to explor alternative gazes and bring together memory and present-day rituals. Through poetic notions and investigations of the possibilities within moving images, Lea Giordano, Sojeong Lee, Bahar Jahan Ara and Kleoniki Stanich present works created during their time in the Master of Film programme: Artistic Research In and Through Cinema.

Shaped by their research questions, these films embody a commitment to reimagining cinema as medium for reflection, discovery, and human connection Existing at the intersection of fiction, ethnography, and experimental filmmaking, these wo challenge classical genre conventions, embracing the fluidity of time, in an attempt to offer non-linear alternatives.

A Conversation Duration, Sojeong Lee, 12’ 49’’

A Conversation is an ongoing project that explores the boundaries of intimacy, connectivity, and relationships. Two people, separated by distance, share what they see in the landscapes surrounding them. Can we connect through shared perspectives? In this process, the act of perceiving together transforms into a new form of conversation.

Looking for her Duration, Bahar Jahan Ara, 07’10”

"Since you are the light of heavens, why then are you concealed? Since the body lives through you, why are you hidden from the flesh?" – Rumi She's there; Partial, obscured, scratched, blurred, but there. In this piece, I go through a recently uncovered archive, leaked on the internet without the permission of the current government. This archive consists of photographs from nearly 200 years ago during the era of Naser al-Din Shah of Iran. Among the kings, their soldiers, commanders, and loyal attendants, the farmers and local men, the slaves and the landscapes; I'm looking for her.

She Wiped the Earth Off Her Face Duration, Kleoniki Stanich, 5’08"

A woman dies in a small town. Soon enough, lament singers gather to mourn her. As the ritual unfolds, the film ponders on grief as a whole, whether for a person, a place, or versions of oneself.

All Women Are Bad Duration, Kleoniki Stanich, 4’24”

A collage of archival material navigating how women can be bad.

Shared air.s, Lea Giordano, 02’58”

In this short film, I gave two performers the task of breathing the same air for the entire roll of film. The 16mm film experienced condensation, creating an effect of breath overlaying the performance. As if the camera was breathing with them and the handheld camera-movements mimic the rhythm of their breath. My initial intention was to offer a political response to global challenges by reflecting on our shared fundamental need which is air. To me the act of people breathing the same air symbolises equality reminding us that we are all connected through this shared necessity.