Andrew Grant, film critic and Benten Films founder, alongside producer, arts journalist, and programmer Pamela Cohn, will launch a new weekly screening series in Berlin, Germany on November 2, 2010. The screening series, named KINO SATELLITE, focuses on “new, innovative and groundbreaking work from some of today’s most talented filmmakers, animators, and multi-media artists.” From the official press release:
On Tuesday the 2nd of November, film critic and distributor Andrew Grant, and producer, arts journalist, and programmer Pamela Cohn, will début their weekly screening series, KINO SATELLITE, at the recently opened Das Direktorenhaus, located in the Mitte district of Berlin. Grant and Cohn will be hosting shows in the newly-built micro-cinema every Tuesday evening, bringing programs of new, innovative and groundbreaking work from some of today’s most talented filmmakers, animators, and multi-media artists. The program will consist of original programming with an emphasis on the illustrative arts.
Das Direktorenhaus is a new art and performance space in Berlin, where a simulation of a temporary Gesamtkunstwerk, the total artwork, is being explored. Traditional methods are coupled with analogue technology and digital media, presenting an experimental directive with social resonances. Exhibitions play cat and mouse with preconceptions and break down the boundaries between art and design.
The owners of the gallery, Pascal Johanssen and Katja Kleiss, were looking to host a weekly screening series in their new space, a newly renovated two floor-gallery in the old State Mint building on Am Krögel, which overlooks the river Spree. Coincidentally, Grant and Cohn, who both recently relocated to Berlin from New York City, were looking for a space in which to showcase underrepresented and seldom-seen nonfiction, experimental and/or genre-breaking film, video and multi-media work. Das Direktorenhaus’ dedication and commitment to support such works made it the ideal venue.
Guest artists already booked for the first half of the autumn/winter season (2 November – 14 December) include:
- Alison Kobayashi, a Japanese/Canadian video and performance artist;
- Christopher Allen, creative director and founder of the Brooklyn, New York-based documentary collaborative, UnionDocs;
- Ken Jacobs, icon of the New York avant-garde scene;
- Zoran Solomun, Berlin-based director of the feature-length documentary, Super Art Market;
- A co-presentation with the Warsaw-based animation production house, Platige Image, with new works by Tomek Bagainski, Michal Socha, Krzysztof Rusinek and more;
- A co-presentation with DOK-Leipzig’s animation curator, Annagret Richter, bringing a show of new German animation and nonfiction animation films;
- A collaboration with Rotterdam-based WORM.kino;
- A night of animated documentaries, co-curated by Portland’s Erin Donovan, of A Million Movies a Minute;
- A show with London-based, Max Hattler, and much more!
The gallery’s doors will open at 19:30 each Tuesday evening, allowing KINO SATELLITE patrons the opportunity to enjoy a cocktail from the bar and tour the two-floor gallery space. Screenings will begin at 20:30 with the artists or other special guests in attendance at most screenings. Some events will include food prepared by some of Berlin’s up-and-coming innovative chefs and caterers. Entry to the shows is 5 Euros, which includes a complimentary glass of wine or beer.
