Martin Arnold
BLACKOUT
Francia 2024, 7'50"
I chose the term Blackout as the overall title [for "Fluids,“ "In Tinseltown,“ and "Background Check”] because it either means too much or nothing at all: memory lapse, fainting, power failure, stock market crash, etc. Supposedly, it originally comes from the theatre world and refers to an abrupt switching off of the spotlights, which was either used as a dramaturgical effect to emphasize a punchline or simply helped when arranging a scene or changing the scenery. It’s no surprise that it was later adapted for the spaces of the so-called “Lichtspiele” (in German, a synonym for movie theatre). In my blackouts you can still see cats twitching, mice spitting, and Marilyn looking down from the starry sky. In English we speak of events taking up space (“take place”), but what happens when the space is not a place, so to speak, but an empty space? A black hole. (Martin Arnold)
Born 1959 in Austria, Martin Arnold is a filmmaker and artist who gained international acclaim for a series of 16mm films, including pièce touchée (1989), passage à l'acte (1993), and Alone. Life Wastes Andy Hardy (1998), among others. Martin's films have been shown in a wide number of international film festivals and cinematheques (including Centre Georges Pompidou, Cinèmathéque Royale/Brussels, at the Tate Modern and the National Film Theatre/London, and MoMa/New York) as well as in several museums.
ALL SCREENINGS ARE FREE
