The short film program "Nature at the Limit" shows films about the fragile relationship between humans and the environment - with water as a central symbol of climate change, suffering, hope and change.

The short film program "Nature at the Limit" was put together by Andrea Domesle (Director Videocity) and Nora Lohner (Director Kunsttage Basel). They looked through the Videocity archive and were inspired by this year's main theme of the Kunsttage Plaza, "Spinning Tales". They selected cinematic works that focus on the relationship between people and the environment. The fragility of this relationship and the suffering that has already been caused on both sides is demonstrated in particular by the element of water. In the films, it appears in a wide variety of aggregate states - from snow to ice to tears. Water is generally understood to be the source of all life - here it becomes a symbol of climate change.

The selected artists approach the conflict zones with their own personal cinematic signature. The videos offer very specific perspectives - and as sad as some of the stories are, they also leave room for alternative interpretations. They not only look into the abysses of catastrophes, but also open up glimmers of hope. Human behavior can still be changed in order to stop the climate crisis together.

The films are shown in a loop and in the following order (total 60:64 min.):

Ursula Biemann (*1955 Zurich, lives in Zurich), Subatlantic, 2015, 11 min, video, with sound, English subtitles. FMAC Collection - Contemporary Art Collection of the City of Geneva

Vital Z'Brun (*1999 Visp, lives in Basel), Publicités ou l'entre-deux qui prend son envol (voiture), 2022, 2:00 min, with sound and subtitles

Sara Sasani (*1985 Tehran, lives in Tehran), The Burden of Nature (field), 2023, 0:47 min, with sound

Sara Sasani, The Burden of Nature (beach), 2023, 2:00 min, with sound

Sara Sasani, Death of the Urmia Lake Forever, 2023, 1:23 min, with sound

Miranda Pennell (*1963 London, lives in London), Magnetic North, 2003, 9 min, video, with sound. FMAC Collection - Contemporary Art Collection of the City of Geneva

Mark Lewis (*1958 Hamilton, Canada), Snow Storm at Robarts Library, 2015, 10:06 min, with sound. FMAC Collection - Contemporary Art Collection of the City of Geneva

Lena Maria Thüring (*1981 Basel, lives in Zurich), Liquid Connections, Part IV: Water, Other, Matter, Matrix, 2021, 16:45 min, with sound

Kathleen Malay (* 1988 Jakarta, lives in Jakarta), After the Flags, 2023, 8:43 min., with sound, commissioned by Potato Head Film


Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.