The Weird Space Between Life & Death

Still from “Head On My Dear” by Helene Nymann

On September 13, 2015 at 8pm,  a new series of films I curated will premiere at Spektrum Berlin.

THE WEIRD SPACE BETWEEN LIFE & DEATH

Here we find a fine gray mushy spot, sitting directly between vibrant life and eternal death. As medicine advances, more of us are given the opportunity to catch a glimpse of this strange and magical in-between space.

Even still, this place is infinite and tricky to find, making it difficult to visualize or understand. So join us on an exciting journey to The Weird Space Between Life and Death, through the transportive works of eleven filmmakers who aren’t afraid of dying.

Featuring work by: James Kienitz Wilkins, Vika Kirchenbauer & Martin Sulzer  Kim Shively, Oprah Winfrey, Helene Nymann, Will Rahilly, Saki Sato, Min-Wei Ting, Rainer Kohlberger & Wilm Thoben

“The voice loses its origin, the author enters his own death, writing begins.”
– Roland Barthes, Death of the Author

“When I was very young, I had a near death experience. I fell into a lake and almost drowned. I was too young to really understand it, but it’s obviously stayed with me as a major part of my life. It think what it taught me is that nothing is really permanent and nothing is really stable. And I was shown death at a very young age, luckily I didn’t stay over there in that side, but it really affected me very deeply. I think that’s where a lot of my imagination comes from, and a lot of my feeling that there’s always something below the surface.”
– Bill Viola, InFrame TV Interview

“What man can you show me who places any value on his time, who reckons the worth of each day, who understands that he is dying daily? For we are mistaken when we look forward to death; the major portion of death has already passed, Whatever years be behind us are in death’s hands.”
– Seneca, Letters from a Stoic

“You only have to look at the Medusa straight on to see her. And she’s not deadly. She’s beautiful and she’s laughing.”
– Hélène Cixous, The Laugh of Medusa

“To die, to sleep – To sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there’s the rub, for in this sleep of death what dreams may come…”
– William Shakespeare, Hamlet