“This four-minute film explores our response to stereotypes – aural, visual and ideological. Smith signals these stereotypes to the viewer through a chiefly associational system, which deftly manipulates the path of our expectations. The structure is stunningly simple and deceptively subtle. We are taken on a journey from one concrete stereotype to its diametric opposite, as images transform and juxtapose to, ultimately, invert our interpretation of what we see and hear.” – Gary Davis

John Smith (London, England 1952). Studies at the Royal College of Art. 50+ films and media artworks since 1972; screenings and exhibitions at Museum of Contemporary Art (Leipzig), Turner Contemporary (Kent), IFF Oberhausen, Tampere Short Film Festival, Tate (London), Venice Biennale, etc. In permanent collections of MoMA (New York), Kunstmuseum Kloster unser lieben Frauen (Magdeburg), etc. Fifth appearance at Media City. Lives in London, England.

Goddess is based on a stag film produced by American photographer Garry
Winogrand and the corrupt police department from my home county of Richland, Ohio.

Kevin Jerome Everson (Mansfield OH, 1965). Studies at University of Akron and Ohio University. 100+ films since 1997; screenings at Centre Pompidou (Paris), TIFF, Whitney Museum, MoMA (New York), etc. Guggenheim Fellowship (1996), Rome Prize (2001). Eighth appearance at Media City; 2014 Mobile Frames Filmmaker in Residence. Lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A man learns his daughter has been brutally murdered by her husband. Time stands still as he oscillates between the need for solace and his urge for revenge. A musical based on real-life events of Guinean percussion master Mohamed “Diable Rouge” Bangoura.

Featuring Issiaga Bangoura, Karamoko Daman, Mabinty Kohn, Marie Touré, Mohamed “Diable Rouge” Bangoura, Raymond Camara.

Camilo Restrepo (Medellín, Colombia 1975). Studies at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris. 5+ films since 2011; screenings at Cannes, Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, Courtisane Festival (Ghent), TIFF, Mar del Plata Film Festival, “Projections” at NYFF, etc. Winner Silver Pardino, Locarno Festival (2016). Member of L’Abominable (Paris). Honourable Mention at Media City (2017). Second appearance at Media City. Lives in Paris, France.

“Coyolxauhqui recasts the mythical dismemberment of the Aztec moon goddess Coyolxauhqui by her brother Huitzilopochtli, deity of war, the sun, and human sacrifice. The film is a poetry of perception, one that unveils how contemporary Mexican femicide is linked to a patriarchal history with roots in deeper cultural formations.” – Almudena Escobar López

Colectivo Los Ingrávidos (Tehuacán, Mexico 2012). 300+ films since 2012; screenings and exhibitions at IFF Oberhausen, Flaherty Film Seminar (New York), Crossroads (San Francisco), Filmadrid (Madrid), Ambulante Cine Documental and DocsDF (Mexico City), etc. Marian McMahon Award (2018). First appearance at Media City.

“The Labyrinth speaks to the syncretism of contemporary Colombia, where the disaster of narcocapitalism coexists with enduring precolonial relations to the world, creating an accord between the violence of the drug wars, the violence of European conquest, and possibilities of survival and resistance against both.” – Erika Balsom

A journey into the labyrinthine memories of a narrator who was witness to the spectacular rise and fall of drug lords in the Colombian Amazon. Walking through the forest and the ruins of a mansion (a replica of the villa from the television show Dynasty built by a “narco”), our narrator becomes the protagonist of a meandering and hallucinatory account.

Laura Huertas Millán (Bogotá, Colombia 1983). Studies at École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Le Fresnoy, Sensory Ethnography Lab, Harvard University. 10+ film and video artworks since 2008. Screenings and exhibitions at Guggenheim (New York), ICA (London), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Museo de Arte de Medellín (Colombia), NYFF, etc. Winner Videobrasil Resorts Prize (2013), Prix Pardi di domani, Locarno Festival (2018). First appearance at Media City. Lives in Paris, France.

A password-protected love affair, a little vapour on Venus, and a horse with no name ride out in search of a better world. Against the mounting darkness, a willing abduction offers a stab at tomorrow.

“On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings” – Dewey Bunnell

Michael Robinson (Plattsburgh NY, 1981). Studies at Ithaca College and the University of Illinois at Chicago.  24+ films since 2001; screenings and exhibitions at Austrian Film Museum (Vienna), Whitney Biennial (2012), IFF Rotterdam, NYFF, TIFF, The National Portrait Gallery (London), etc.  Creative Capital Grant (2012), Wexner Center Film/Video Award (2012), EXiS Best of Festival Award (Seoul 2014).  Sixth appearance at Media City.  Lives in Los Angeles, California.