Join us for a Master of Film public lecture by Evangelia Kranioti on the 7th of June (19:30) at the Netherlands Film Academy.
“Obscuro Barroco” screening and conversation with Evangelia Kranioti, moderated by Cyan Bae
This public lecture will be our first collaboration with the program ReCNTR,is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to the advancement of multimodal and audiovisual research methods in the social sciences and humanities, at Leiden University. It will be the last public lecture of the academic year and with great excitement we want to focus it at the artist and filmmaker Evangelia Kranioti, who will unfold her work that revolves around identity and body politics, colonialism and queer gender.
‘Obscuro Barroco’ (60’, 2018) is the second feature length film by filmmaker Evangelia Kranioti. Obscuro Barroco premiered at the Berlinale Panorama to critical acclaim and received the TEDDY Jury Award, as well as has two Iris awards from the Hellenic Film Academy (Best Documentary & Best Editing) among other accolades. It was also nominated for the Glashütte Original Documentary Award (Berlinale), the Art Doc Award (Sheffield Doc/Fest), the Heterodox Award (Cinema Eye Honors) and the Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Award of the American Society of Cinematographers.
Obscuro Barroco’ is an audiovisual project on the dizzying heights of gender in a land of extremes, a photographic series and a two-channel video installation (Ecstasy Must Be Forgotten, 31’). The project as a whole explores the many facets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at a time when carnival and political struggles are converging. Since its immemorial origins, the carnival has been a moment of metamorphosis, when evil spells are countered against a background of inversion and social upheaval. Following the path of iconic transgender activist Luana Muniz (1961-2017), Obscuro Barroco addresses body politics, post-colonialism and identity issues, while questioning the desire for transformation of the body, both intimate and social.
Cyan Bae (filmmaker and PhD student at Leiden University) will be introducing the film in the context of Evangelia’s body of work. Together with Diana Toucedo (filmmaker and core team member of the Master of film), they will have a conversation with Evangelia about her process and methods of work, locating Obscuro Barroco in relation to Evangelia’s other films. The conversation will center the themes of identity, gender and queerness that resonate throughout Evangelia’s body of work, including her latest film, “The Rites of Spring”.
