Residing in the Borderlands

We are delighted to welcome you to our new monthly film series Residing in the Borderlands. For the first take we will be joined by Ali Moraly, who will invite us to become audio-viewers, exploring new relationships between music and image through a selection of films on the topic of fantasy and representation. Screening followed by a discussion with Ali who selected the following films:

__How to Make a Refugee (1999). Phil Collins. 12 min.
With a musical intervention by Ali Moraly.

__Close-Up (1990). Abbas Kiarostami. 1hr 40mins. Farsi with English subtitles.

Upon our invitation to screen a film, Ali Moraly immediately thought of Phil Collins’ How to Make a Refugee, which he had encountered a couple of days prior in a lecture by Thomas Keenan. Ali was struck by how clearly the film documents the narrative practices through which refugeeness is constructed, and although he is generally sick of questions about his experience he saw in this film the opportunity to intervene in a narrative that is often thrust upon him. As such, we will be screening the short film with a new composition by Ali, which he has created for the occasion.

In Abbas Kiarostami’s Close-Up, fiction and reality intertwine as the director alternates between following and re-enacting the story of Hossain Sabzian, who was charged with fraud for impersonating the famous filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Choosing to cast the actual parties involved, including filming the trial, Kiarostami raises questions about cinema’s capacity to shift how one is viewed in society. With this series, one of our goals is to explore how we move through the city and how our own fantasies and projections about our futures can shift our positions within it. As such, we are excited to begin the series with this classic from Kiarostami!

On the occasion of the launch of the series, we are excited to serve a meal by Patrick Schabus, including his inimitable Transylvanian-Saxon pork gulasch.

ALI MORALY is a violinist, composer, music teacher and writer based in Berlin. Born in Damascus, he studied there at the Higher Institute of Music, and also holds a Masters degree from the University of Music in Karlsruhe. He has been commissioned to compose pieces for documenta14 in Kassel, the Oldenburg State Theater, and BACHfest 2018 in Tübingen. He has performed throughout the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.

Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre
Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre
Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre
Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre
Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre
Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre
Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre
Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre
Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre
Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre
Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre
Residing in the Borderlands: Take I with Ali Moraly | Photo: Raisa Galofre