Night is the secret partner in many films. In the artificial darkness of a movie theatre we watch the lit-up screen as in a dream. Our project "Light Nights" explores the relation between night and film.
It will be presented in three chapters during three summer week-ends in three suburbs of Basel; continuity is established for two months by a base camp: the so-called "foyer" that we build on an open field at the outskirts of Basle City.
August 24/25: "Filmsets" in Binningen
September 7/8: "Soundtracks" in Reinach
September 21/22: "Projections" in Bottmingen
August 1 - September 30: "Foyer" in Astershag (Bottmingen).
Filmsets
Two locations on a hill at the edge of Basel (the park of St. Margaret and a nudist camp) will be transformed by spotlights, projectors and performers into sets for a film, playing in the spectators' imagination.
"Sandweg and Velte": Renatus Zürcher (1957, Basel) follows with his camera the park-path where in 1934 the murderers Sandweg and Velte were shot dead by the police.
"11001 virgins": Muda Mathis/Sus Zwick, (1959/50, Basel) enact the legend of Saint Margaret, who left the 11001 virgins to become a hermit on this hill in the 11th century.
"affect - effect" : Alexander Perigot (1959, Paris/Bastia) makes us walk through an eerie corridor with walls perforated by bullet-holes, shining like stars in the night. There are stuntmen teaching you how to die in a film-like manner and make-up artists ornating you with the wounds and scratches of your choice.
Soundtracks
Equipped with walkmen, visitors will go for an hour on an accompanied walk through a nightly wood in Reinach. Six different soundtracks, composed for this purpose, will transform the natural surroundings into an unreal, film-like experience.
Participating composers: Michael Harenberg (1961, Stutense), Valerian Maly (1959, Lucerne/Cologne), Hans-Jürg Meier (1964, Basel), Hans Ulrich (1967, Basel), Niki Reiser (1958, Basel), Nicoletta Wartmann (1971, Zurich). Co-Producer: Knut Jensen.
Projections
At night, in the lit-up windows of the residential homes in Bottmingen household-scenes can be seen like small silent movies. Now in addition films and videos will be projected on the facades, telling stories of sleeplessness and dream, intimacy and obsession.
Participating artists: Emmanuelle Antille (1972, Lausanne), Janine Antoni (1964, New York) Katia Bassanini (1969, Geneva/New York), Monica Bonvicini (1965, Berlin/Los Angeles), Adam Chodzko (1965, London), Yan Duyvendak/Imanol Atorrasagasti (1965/1968, Geneva/Barcelona), Edith Flückiger (1960, Lucerne), Gabriella Gerosa (1964, Binningen), Marianne Halter/Susanne Hofer (both 1970, Lucerne), Köppl/Zacek (1964/1962, Zurich/Pruntrut), Zilla Leutenegger/Max Küng (1968/1969, Zurich/Berlin), Christoph Oertli (1962, Basel), Barbara Visser (1966, Brussel), Sibylla Walpen (1969, Berne) and others.
Foyer
Like everyone around us, we appropriate land and settle at the edge of Bottmingen- though only temporarily. "Foyer", now denominating the lobby of a movie-theatre, originally meant "hearth" - and we invite you to sit around a fire in our "base-camp", where participating artists and curators may stay the night and where the interested public can find contact and information.
Martin Blum/Haimo Ganz (1976/1967, Basel) construct a village of igloos normally used for housing calves. Markus Müller (1970, Basel) and Edit Oderbolz (1966, Basel) contribute installations, Marc Mouci (1964, Zürich), Stuart Bisley (1933, London) and Paola Junquiera (1963, London/Geneva) performances.
In addition to the curators and builders of the "foyer", Florian Olloz, Franziska Wüsten (photographer) and Chris Regn (documentalist) will act as hosts.
City Cinema
Every Saturday-night starting August 25, there will be a nocturne of films with heroes shunning the light of the day.
Fact sheet (in German)
Agenda (in German)