ICA is closed from the 30 May – 3 June inclusive.
4 - 6 April 2025
As a prelude to a forthcoming book published by Rab-Rab press later this year, dedicated to the filmmaker’s work with original contributions from Jacques Rancière, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, John Gianvito, Leslie Kaplan, Radu Jude, Ben Rivers and more, we’re pleased to present a selection of work by French documentarian Sylvain George, the first of its kind in the UK.
After studying philosophy, law, political cinema and cinema Sylvain George completed his first short films in the mid 2000s. Standing in the tradition of the cinétract or newsreel, these early works, first shot on Super 8 and then in digital, which would go on to become his medium of choice, always in black and white, pose a simple, but radical question: what is a political film? The answer that already formulates itself, and that George will build on is double: at once, the filmmaker is interested in documenting political movements of the present he traverses, like 15-M in Spain (Vers Madrid - The Burning Bright), or Nuit Debout in France (Paris est une fête - Un film en 18 vagues), and secondly, his filmmaking is conceived as a political gesture, not content in being a simple bystander, but rather becoming an active part in the conception of the film. Sylvain George, as Georges Didi-Huberman wrote of Harun Farocki, is a filmmaker “that takes a stance”.
As a prelude to a forthcoming book published by Rab-Rab press later this year, dedicated to the filmmaker’s work with original contributions from Jacques Rancière, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, John Gianvito, Leslie Kaplan, Radu Jude, Ben Rivers and more, we’re pleased to present a selection of work by French documentarian Sylvain George, the first of its kind in the UK.
After studying philosophy, law, political cinema and cinema Sylvain George completed his first short films in the mid 2000s. Standing in the tradition of the cinétract or newsreel, these early works, first shot on Super 8 and then in digital, which would go on to become his medium of choice, always in black and white, pose a simple, but radical question: what is a political film? The answer that already formulates itself, and that George will build on is double: at once, the filmmaker is interested in documenting political movements of the present he traverses, like 15-M in Spain (Vers Madrid - The Burning Bright), or Nuit Debout in France (Paris est une fête - Un film en 18 vagues), and secondly, his filmmaking is conceived as a political gesture, not content in being a simple bystander, but rather becoming an active part in the conception of the film. Sylvain George, as Georges Didi-Huberman wrote of Harun Farocki, is a filmmaker “that takes a stance”.
Special thanks to Sylvain George for his support and participation.
Programme
Friday 4 April, 6pm
UK Premiere
Nuit obscure - Au revoir ici, n'importe où + Q&A
In transit through the city of Melilla, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, Malik and his friends, minors of Moroccan origin, try to reach Europe. Day after night, they wander the city in all directions, exploring its most burning pasts and presents. Followed by an in person Q&A with the filmmaker.
Saturday 5 April, 5pm
Shorts Programme
A selection of three short films, No Border, N’entre pas sans violence and Nocturne Blanc-Chasseur, made between 2007 and 2015 on mini-DV and Super 8, focused on the experiences of migrants in Paris.
Sunday 6 April, 6.45pm
Vers Madrid - The Burning Bright
Puerta del Sol, Madrid. A document of the 15M movement, one of the largest movements of class struggle of this century, functioning as an experimental newsreel.
Friday 4 April, 6pm
UK Premiere
Nuit obscure - Au revoir ici, n'importe où + Q&A
In transit through the city of Melilla, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, Malik and his friends, minors of Moroccan origin, try to reach Europe. Day after night, they wander the city in all directions, exploring its most burning pasts and presents. Followed by an in person Q&A with the filmmaker.
Saturday 5 April, 5pm
Shorts Programme
A selection of three short films, No Border, N’entre pas sans violence and Nocturne Blanc-Chasseur, made between 2007 and 2015 on mini-DV and Super 8, focused on the experiences of migrants in Paris.
Sunday 6 April, 6.45pm
Vers Madrid - The Burning Bright
Puerta del Sol, Madrid. A document of the 15M movement, one of the largest movements of class struggle of this century, functioning as an experimental newsreel.
no. 236848.