12/08
Het Bos
Ankerrui 5-7, Antwerp
Els Opsomer - Bio
20:30
Els Opsomer is concerned with her (immediate) environment. She believes that the well-being of the small micro cosmos influences the greater whole (for the better). However, if she observes closely, she must conclude that changes do not go fast enough or even do not seem to exist. The story of entropy. Maybe are at a point where retreating oneself and telling each other stories, has become the only way to survive and to embellish this world? At Visite, she will share her solicitude and present some films as possible survival strategies.
‘Look Me Over Closely, a kitchen note film. ‘ (2019, 3')
Els Opsomer feels at ease in the kitchens of this world. Where food is prepared, is often the place to start a party. The kitchen provides the ideal pretext to connect with casual visitors. It facilitates long philosophical conversations about art, life, love, and society. It is Els Opsomer's ideal place, to tune into the world. Scrolling through intimate thoughts and memories resulted in Look me over Closely, a kitchen note film, where words solve it all.
‘Niets is voor altijd’ (2020, 5’)
A young woman walks musingly through Brussels. A portrait of a meandering adolescent contemplating her convoluted city, Brussels. The song Niets is Voor Altijd by Madou serves as inspiration for this cinematic interlude. The lyrics captures so well the feeling of coming of age as a young adult.
‘What Distracts and Scatters’ (2021, 23')
What Distracts and Scatters, is a cinematic essay of an evening in November 2019. Els Opsomer talks about being a visual artist, teacher and mother in the Brussels Belgian and Flemish cultural context and the influence this has in her oeuvre. It is a physical encounter where being together becomes a way of resistance in the neoliberal political environment as Brussels, Belgium, Europe is today. Nothing lasts forever, though.
+ Film of choice: ‘Bandit Cinéma’ (1992, 26') - Bouna Médoune Seye
A loebas called "bandit cinéma" deals in cinema tickets. In Niaye Thiokers, there were two popular cinemas: the Sandaga cinema - now El Malick - and the Corona cinema. In the 1970s, they were the haunt of petty gangsters. To say to someone "Go to the cinema" ("Dem ka cinema" in Wolof) was an insult this meant "You are a bandit"! A cult film in a dark and nocturnal Dakar! Djibil Diop Mambety considered Seye (artist and photographer) his artistic successor.