ICA is closed from the 30 May – 3 June inclusive.
(Dis)Appear, dir. Piotr Cieplak, United Kingdom 2023, 65 min.
A special presentation of the documentary, focusing on the most recent Argentine dictatorship, as part of The British Academy’s Summer Showcase. The military dictatorship in Argentina (1976 – 83) disappeared and/or killed 30,000 people. Private archive and family album photographs repurposed for public protest and commemoration have played a key role in the memorialisation of the victims, and the ongoing struggle for recognition and justice. Four decades later, these photographs continue to traverse the complex space between private and public mourning, activism and politics.
(Dis)Appear is a documentary about the most recent Argentine dictatorship and the enduring importance of vernacular photographs in memorial practices. It focuses on two protagonists: Gabriel Orge, an Argentine photographer known for his large-scale projections of the photos of the disappeared in public spaces; and Ana Illovich, an author and survivor of La Perla, a clandestine torture and detention centre in Argentina.
While sharing their own photography-related stories and practices, the protagonists introduce the audience to the complex phenomenon of public display of personal photographs in the context of political violence – a practice pioneered in Argentina, but one which has since spread globally.
This UK premiere will include a post-screening Q&A with its director, British Academy-funded researcher Piotr Cieplak, whose research project Intimate moments, public acts: photographs of the disappeared and memory politics in Argentina produced this film. The conversation will be hosted by Professor Sarah Maltby.
The British Academy’s Summer Showcase is a one-day festival of ideas for curious minds taking place throughout 10 – 11 Carlton House Terrace, next door to the ICA, on Saturday 17 June. Meet the thinkers shaping our world through pioneering social sciences and humanities research via a programme of workshops, pop-up talks, film screenings, panel discussions and performances.
Ticket information
- All tickets that do not require ID (full price, disabled, income support) can be printed at home or stored in email
- For aged-based concession tickets (under 25, student and pensioner) please bring relevant ID to collect at the front desk before the event.
Note: Please leave extra time if travelling on Saturday 17 May, due to events on the Mall.
All films are ad-free and 18+ unless otherwise stated, and start with a 10 min. curated selection of trailers.
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no. 236848.