Villa Aurora Events Archive
May 2014
Human Rights in the Digital Sphere
Literaturhaus Berlin (Fasanenstraße 23, 10719 Berlin)
Information
On the occasion of the anniversary of the burning of books, Villa Aurora Forum and Literaturhaus Berlin invite you to:
Human Rights in the Digital Sphere
Is internet censorship the "book burning of the 21st century", as a staff member of the U.S. State Department claimed in a blog post last March?
Urged on by governments and corporations alike, access and content of the internet are subject to ever increasing control and curtailment. Attempts to control the internet and mechanisms to technically achieve this are becoming more sophisticated by the day.
In Vietnam, home of the 2014 Feuchtwanger Fellow, Pham Doan Trang, a specialized internet police unit eliminates unwanted content from the web and controls the internet cafes. Three bloggers were arrested recently, because they advocated online for more democracy.
The dream of a free internet is over. By now a fierce fight for unfettered access to knowledge and information is raging. What will remain of the internet as a sphere for free speech and democratic participation?
Lutz Hachmeister, Head of the Institut für Medien- und Kommunikationspolitik (Berlin) will discuss the topic with experts from the analog and digital world.
Partner
MicroFest @ Villla Aurora
Villa Aurora (520 Paseo Miramar, Los Angeles, CA 90272)
Information
Villa @ Goethe presents: DAS SYSTEM
Goethe-Institut Los Angeles (5750 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036)
Information
Dir. Marc Bauder, Screeplay: Dörte Franke & Khyana elBitar, Germany, 2011, 85 min. German with English subtitles, digital. Starring Jacob Matschenz, Bernhard Schütz, Jenny Schily, Heinz Hoenig, Franziska Wulf
Twenty-year-old Mike, an attractive and intelligent dropout, becomes involved in a parallel world of international lobbyists and former GDR secret service agents who work together for economic advantage. His initial mistrust turns into curiosity and then admiration when he realizes that his own life is more closely connected with this network than he had previously believed.
The System premiered at the 2011 Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival. It won the Cine Star award 2011 at the film festival in Schwerin, the DEFA advancement award at the film festival in Cottbus and was nominated for the German Filmprize (Best Actor).
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With this screening, the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles continues its collaboration with the Villa Aurora’s artist-in-residence program.
Under the label “Villa @ Goethe,” artists residing at the Villa Aurora have the opportunity to showcase their projects (past, present, and future) with the friends, patrons and guests here at the Goethe-Institut.
Discussion with filmmakers Marc Bauder and Dörte Franke, and reception following the screening.
Marc Bauder and Dörte Franke are both founders and owners of the production company bauderfilm.
Meet our Fellows @ Villa Aurora
Villa Aurora (520 Paseo Miramar, Los Angeles, CA 90272)
Participants
Eldur Á Himni - Fire In The Sky
Villa Aurora (520 Paseo Miramar, Los Angeles, CA 90272)
Information
Only for a few months during the darkness of winter, the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, are visible during cloudless nights. Camping out in the remoteness of Northern Iceland night after night, Boris captured the fascinating spectacle in the sky and documented the magical dance of the Northern Lights in stunning photographs as well as in a mesmerizing video installation. Tim Marshall, one of the curators of The Weight of Mountains, will be present.
To see the Aurora Borealis was always on my bucket list. A little disappointed at first, I realized that most pictures we see of the Aurora Borealis are deceiving and that its true beauty is revealed only in long time exposure. After my first captures, I was drawn to it and the results of my sleepless nights can be seen in my film and photographic work ELDUR Á HIMNI. - Boris Schaarschmidt
Boris Schaarschmidt is an award-winning filmmaker and alumnus of the American Film Institute's prestigious directing program. He also holds a BA in Design & Cinematography from the University of Applied Sciences in Dortmund, Germany. His films screened at countless festivals around the world, among them Raindance (London, UK), Hampton's Intl Filmfestival (NY), Max-Ophüls Preis Festival (Saarbrücken, GER), and Berlinale (Berlin, GER). Although Boris has been an avid photographer for most of his adult life, ELDUR Á HIMNI is his first public exhibit of his photographic work.
For more information about his work visit his website: www.borisschaarschmidt.com
Every 2 years, The Weight of Mountains takes filmmakers and film artists into new territory; working from a different remote or challenging environment in the world each time to present new unique challenges for artists that push their boundaries and enable new adapted skill sets to emerge.
In 2015, they are heading to the edge of the Sahara desert in Morocco from September 18 - November 13. Their residency host will be Café Tissardmine
For more information about TWOM visit: www.twom.is