• Tokujin Yoshioka: Press Release
• Dinh Q. Lê: Press Release
• Yang Fudong: Press Release
• Contemporary Art for Contemporary Kids: Press Release
• SCAFFOLD: Press Release
• Brook Andrew: Press Release
• Fiona Tan: Press Release
• Charwei Tsai: Press Release
• Words Etcetera: Press Release
• SANAA: Press Release
• The View From Elsewhere: Press Release
• Media contacts

The View From Elsewhere: Press Release

Embargoed until 11 March 2009 

Here, there, and everywhere

The view from elsewhere

Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation gives Sydney a cinémathèque experience 

One hundred films, three months, free screenings!

Exhibition:  Wednesday to Saturday 11 am–5 pm

Special screenings:  Wednesday and Thursday 6–9 pm

Saturday matinee 2–5 pm 

The exciting world of cinémathèque comes to Sydney this month when the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (SCAF) launches its first exhibition for 2009, in partnership with Queensland Art Gallery|Gallery of Modern Art. The view from elsewhere is an exhibition of film, video and installation works reflecting contemporary moving image practice from East Asia to the Middle East.

Featuring works by some of the region’s most acclaimed filmmakers as well as an installation of artists’ video work, The view from elsewhere is a must see for anyone interested in the life-enriching experiences afforded by contemporary film practice.

“Sydney offers very limited opportunities for dedicated movie goers to enjoy the cinémathèque experience.  For three months, SCAF will change this, showing over one hundred movies in the intimate space of our Paddington gallery, and it will be free to all comers. Audiences will be introduced to some of the best films made in the region over recent years that cannot, and will not, be seen in mainstream movie theatres.  Cinema has played an important role in the process of cultural renewal in these regions.  With the changing socio-political landscapes, a number of talented directors have emerged to reflect upon topical issues of culture in their respective countries…” Dr Gene Sherman Executive Director and Founder of SCAF said today.

From March 19 through to June 13, full length feature films, documentaries, short films and unusual ‘art-house’ movies, that are often romantic, confronting, challenging but always stimulating, will explore politics, love, life and at times the sheer beauty of the moving image.

“Film is a natural fit with the SCAF philosophy.  Low cost digital cameras now mean that movie making is no longer the preserve of heavily funded film production studios – it has become a democratic medium; the essential visual language through which people today communicate.  The new wave of Asian filmmakers are using low production values to rigorously explore and interpret the world in a way not seen before.” said Dr Sherman.

Curated by Queensland Art Gallery’s Kathryn Weir (Head of International Art and the Australian Cinémathèque) in collaboration with Mark Nash (Head of Department, Curating Contemporary Art, Royal College of London), the movies are as diverse in length as they are in subject matter; ranging from the unrelenting punk-rock driven soundtrack of Khavn De La Cruz’s Squatterpunk (2007), a film about the poverty in the slums of Manila, through to the tender documentary elegiac love story of Hu Jie’s Though I am Gone (2006), a film recently banned in China because it deals with the first death of the Cultural Revolution.

Jia Zhangke’s feature, the hauntingly lyrical Still Life (2006), Golden Lion winner at the Venice Film Festival in 2006, tells a love story filmed against the backdrop of one of China’s most controversial projects, the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. While A House in Jerusalem (1998) by Israeli Amos Gitaï, traces the history of a house in West Jerusalem over twenty years from 1980 and the families that have lived in it during this turbulent period.Screenings will take place on Wednesday and Thursday evenings (with refreshments served on Thursdays) and Saturday afternoons.

The view from elsewhere is an event not to be missed by anyone interested in the best that ‘art-house’ cinema has to offer and throws up some unexpected gems along the way such as Sutthirat Supaparinya’s quirky and compelling short feature, Taste of Noodles (2006), a delicious exploration of the difference and similarities between Thai and Vietnamese people seen through their food.

Over 100 films will screen during the three months of the exhibition.Complementing the film screenings will be Small Acts, an installation within the gallery comprising of video works by 19 artists, including Yoko Ono and Nam June Paik, performing simple acts before the camera. The situations are sometimes comical and often involve feats of endurance or disruptive acts. A significant number of young artists are returning to performance-based video works using simple technical means, relating to the inception of video art in the 1960s and 1970s. 

To book a seat at the Wednesday and Thursday evening or Saturday matinee feature film screenings, phone Shannan Snowball at SCAF on 02 9331 1112 or email info@sherman-scaf.org.au. 

For interviews with Dr Gene Sherman or Kathryn Weir and publicity stills please contact Michael Young 0432 169 147 or alternatively, SCAF on 02 9331 1112 or info@sherman-scaf.org.au. 

The feature film screening schedule for The view from elsewhere is available online at www.sherman-scaf.org.au. 

The accompanying 100 page full-colour exhibition catalogue, with essays by Mark Nash (Royal College of London) and Kathryn Weir (Queensland Art Gallery), will be available from SCAF in March.