The work of director and artist Lynn Hershman Leeson explores the consequences of living in a world of mediated, monitored and manipulated identities “as well as the associated impact of simulation on identity and cultural construction, encryption of privacy in an era of surveillance, and identity in a time of pervasive and covert media manipulation.” A reflection on personal and social audiovisual memory, encoded by the media, is reflected in Jacqueline Caux’s documentary dedicated to the music scene of the industrial capital of Detroit.
MOVIES IN PROGRAM
SEEING IS BELIEVING
60’, 1991
Original English version
PG18
Director: Lynn Hershman Leeson
Country: U.S.A.
Distribution: Lynn Hershman Leeson
Film becomes a metaphor for lost history – that part of our existence deemed to be lost in personal memory – and its potential negative impact on successive generations who look for stability in an electronic world that lacks sufficient mediation. Video retrieves lost memories for the child who, through her super-8mm camera, seeks to find her father.
CYCLES OF THE MENTAL MACHINE
60’, 2006
English version
PG18
Director: Jacqueline Caux
Country: France
Distribution: Jacqueline Caux
The documentary chronicles the musical legacy of the city of Detroit. Here the great tradition of blues, gospel, jazz and Motown R&B has never faded away and from these roots the musical counterculture promoted by young techno artists expands globally.