- Film Screening
Questioning inherited histories—A screening of three films by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige.
Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige are Lebanese-born film directors and artists based in Paris. In conjunction with their lecture performance “The Vertiginous Story of Orthosia at Spiral Hall, the duo will present, for the first time in Japan, a selection of three video works that reflect on the current situation in the Middle East.
The film “ISMYRNA” (2016) takes its title from Smyrna, the former name of the Turkish city of Izmir. In conversation, Hadjithomas and a painter and poet raise questions about the complicated inherited histories of Smyrna, while imagining the city that they have never visited, but where both have roots. Together with “Sarcophagus of Drunken Loves,” which was filmed at the National Museum of Beirut during power cuts, and “Waiting for the Barbarians,” in which shifting images of the Beirut landscape are paired with a poem by the Greek poet Cavafy, the screening program will provide a special opportunity to reflect on the Middle East today through the eyes of two Lebanese artists.
Profile
Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige
Filmmakers and artists, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige work with photography, installations, performance, video and film. They question the fabrication of images and representations, the construction of imaginaries and the writing of history. Their award-winning films include “Memory Box” (2021), “ISMYRNA” (2016), “The Lebanese Rocket Society” (2012), “Je Veux Voir” (2008). They received the prestigious Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2017 for their artistic project Unconformities. Joana and Khalil are both very involved in cultural structures in Lebanon such as Correspondaences, Metropolis and Cinémathèque Beirut.
Dates
February 26th [Wed] 19:00 *Talk (after the screening)
March 1st [Sat] 11:30 / 16:30
March 2nd [Sun] 11:30 / 13:30
Performance times
“ISMYRNA” (49 min.)
“Sarcophagus of Drunken Loves” (7min.)
“Waiting for the Barbarians” (4min.)
Venue
Institut français de Tokyo, Espace images
2F, Institut français de Tokyo, 15 Ichigaya-Funagawara-machi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8415
Ticket
1,000 yen
*non-reserved seat
*Ticket holders for the paid programs of Theater Commons Tokyo ’25 (excluding the Commons Forum) are eligible to attend the film screening program “ISMYRNA and more” for free.
When purchasing your ticket, click on “[For ticket holders of other programs] Free Reservation (¥0)” and select a screening time to reserve your seat.
*Please show your screen with the paid program ticket at the venue on the day of the screening.
*You may attend the film screening without a reservation if seats are available, but priority will be given to those with reservations.
Language
French (with English and Japanese subtitles)
Accessibility
*Japanese subtitles available
*Written communication assistance available at reception
Credit
Director | Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige
Co-organized by Institut français de Tokyo
Supported by Embassy of France in Japan / Institut français du Japon, Fondation Franco-Japonaise Sasakawa
Related program
Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige “The Vertiginous Story of Orthosia”