Balkan Screenings in Edinburgh 2 of the most unusual and significant films to come out of the entire Balkan conflict, Victim of Geography and See You in the Next War, will receive a unique showcase at the STILLS Gallery in Edinburgh from 21st February to March 14th. They will screen as part of a comprehensive season of exhibitions and events exploring themes of New Europe and the Balkans.
Director of both films, Doug Aubrey, will introduce the programme and talk about making the films on Saturday 21st Feb at the Stills Gallery from 4-5pm. Victim of Geography (co-funded by The Scottish Arts Council Lottery film fund, Glasgow Film Office and Channel 4 - who are yet to screen the completed film) took in 2 wars and the final 5 years of 20th century Europe. Victim of Geography (screening 21st - 29th February) has been called "Nothing short of a glimpse into the abyss", (by the List magazine) and "one of the best films about the Balkan war", by Euro Dox magazine. It was also - despite claims elsewhere in the Scottish filmmaking sector - the first all-digital feature produced in Scotland. "The problem for the Scottish Film scene was that it was a documentary and probably a bit too close to the edge for a nation obsessed with the feel-good factor", says Aubrey. The second of the 2 films, See You in the Next War (screening 1st - 14th March), will be receiving its Scottish premier nearly 2 years after its completion and showcasing elsewhere worldwide. In Aubrey,s own words See You in the Next War is: "A chemical generation war story about life, death and survival in between an oppressive regime and the bombs of NATO." Adding intrigue to this real-life story about the friends and DJ's of anti-government and anti-NATO rebel radio station B92 in Belgrade is the fact, that 2 American feature films are currently in the pipeline about the same subject. Both movies will include many of the characters featured in Aubrey's exciting low-budget guerrilla feature. Aubrey says rather wearily "I guess it's a case of fools rushing in where angels have dared to tread." Both Victim of Geography and See You in the Next War are produced, directed and largely made by Glasgow based film-maker Doug Aubrey, who spent a considerable period of time filming in the Balkans in between the siege of Sarajevo and the fall of Milosevic. The screenings to take place in Stills ScreenLab, a specially converted Black Box Cinema space, between Feb 21st and March 14th will be a rare opportunity to see the 2 films in a sympathetic setting outside of the stuffiness of the nations's RFT's or graveyard hours of TV. What's more, both screenings will be free. So why a contemporary art gallery rather than a conventional cinema? "It's great to be able to show the films in such an intimate environment...both were conceived and filmed in cellars and bunkers and the black box, micro-cinema will add a little bit of atmosphere to the screenings", Aubrey says. "After the Scottish premiere of Little Films to Cry To, latest shorts by Breda Beban and Frame by Frame, the first retrospective of Croatian video art, we are delighted to welcome Scotland's own Doug Aubrey as part of our season of Stills Specials - exhibitions, talks and screenings reflecting the turbulent cultural landscape of the Balkans. We are hoping to establish Stills ScreenLab as a micro- space for experimenting with artists, film and video", says Iliyana Nedkova, Stills Associate Curator. The filmmaker Doug Aubrey is a self confessed ex-Media Mercenary, renegade news hound, commando filmmaker and former video artist with the legendary Pictorial Heroes. As a freelancer now working with Autonomi he also occasionally gets to make stuff that makes a difference. Since completing the Balkan films, Doug has gone on to work in other hot-spots including Macedonia and the trans-Caucasus, and contemplates the fact that for people like him it is increasingly difficult to work in a nation that's more interested in life-style than real life. Daily screening times for both films: 11:00 12:45 14:30 16:15 NOTES New Europe and the Balkans season continues till March 14 2004 and takes place at STILLS, 23 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh. Stills Weekend Specials are on Saturday 21 February and March 13 2004. For information about the films & to contact Doug Aubrey: 0141341 0237 [EMAIL PROTECTED] 07932 074 245 (Marie Olesen) For details about the New Europe and the Balkans season contact Iliyana Nedkova: 077 321 89 271 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This email has been sent with an unregistered version of MaxBulk Mailer MaxBulk Mailer is a new easy-to-use mail merge software for Macintosh Get MaxBulk now at : http://www.maxprog.com/shareware/MaxBulkMailer.sit ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- a m b i t : networking media arts in scotland post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] archive: http://www.mediascot.org/ambit info: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and write "info ambit" in the message body -------------------------------------------------
