On the occasion of Lene Berg’s exhibition at Bergen Kunsthall (on display until 21st August 2022), Cinemateket and Bergen Kunsthall is thrilled to show a programme of rare short films which have been influential for Berg’s work, selected by Lene Berg herself.
Livet på Frogner
Anne Haugsgjerd, 1986, 21 min. English subtitles.
A metafilm about making a film. A woman has to write a screenplay about the district she lives in, and does not get it. She is torn and unable to decide what she wants to say. The fantasies take over. The desire to be present where something is happening makes her ask: should you not have had a camera and sought out the life that is outside your window instead of writing it? Or maybe you should have lived that life and not made a movie at all?
Någonting har hänt
Roy Andersson, 1993, 24 min. English subtitles.
An educational film about AIDS commissioned by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, later to be withdrawn due to its controversial content. Today the film is regarded as a significant step in the development of the style seen in the director’s later and more acclaimed films.
Den lilla flickan & den stora kärleken
Marie-Louise Ekman, 1986, 25 min. No subtitles.
«The story of the little girl and the great love» – about a woman of short stature who is pondering the conditions of life when she meets a man who abandons her and their mutual child.
Le Grand Cirque Calder 1927
Jean Painlevé, Frankrike, 1955. No subtitles
While living in Paris (1926-1933), American artist Alexander Calder created and famously performed an important and beloved work for many years: his miniature circus. In Le Grand Cirque Calder 1927, French documentary filmmaker Jean Painleve captured Calder playfully manipulating his dozens of elaborate miniatures in front of a small audience of friends—pulling strings, activating levers, turning cranks, and releasing springs. A horse trots around the ring as a trick rider catapults onto its back. Trapeze artists latch arms, fly through the air and then drop into a net. A lion roars before taking its handler’s head in its mouth. A dancer, nude but for some strategically placed fringe, seductively undulates. In the closing act, two chariots and four fleet stallions set off on a sweaty race.
—— The Festival Exhibition ——
The Festival Exhibition is Bergen Kunsthall’s flagship exhibition, established in 1953. Each Summer, we present a large scale exhibition with new work by a Norwegian artist, in connection with the Bergen International Festival (Festspillene i Bergen). The exhibition is considered the most important solo presentation fora Norwegian artist in their home country and creates a national debate about the state of the art, similarly to the Turner Prize in the UK.
Recent Festival Artists at Bergen Kunsthall include Bjarne Melgaard (2003), AK Dolven (2004), Elmgreen & Dragset (2005), Børre Sæthre (2007), Marianne Heier (2012), Gardar Eide Einarsson (2013), Ane Hjort Guttu (2015), Fredrik Vaerslev (2016), Mari Slaattelid (2019), Joar Nango (2020) and Elisabeth Haarr (2021).
