“Symposium: Comparing Experimental Cinemas”
Workshop co-organised by CREAM, University of Westminster, and Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology
Dates: 18 – 20 December 2014
Venue: Srishti
KLEX was honoured to be invited to present in the conference on experimental cinema: “Symposium: Comparing Experimental Cinemas” at Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore, India. KLEX’s curator & festival director KOK Siew-Wai gave a short talk on the festival as an alternative perspective in the Malaysian mainstream art scene; and the struggle and the potential of experimental cinema in the country. Aside from the co-organizers and moderators Shai Heredia (India) and May Ingawanij (Thailand/UK), other invited guest speakers in the conference include NGUYEN Trinh Thi (Vietnam), Lalitha Gopalan (USA), Jangwook LEE (Korea), Benjamin Cook (UK), Shanay Jhaveri (India), Mark Williams (New Zealand), Hitomi Hasegawa (Japan) and Yuki Aditya (Indonesia). KLEX’s programme “Sunshower” was shown continuously at the Mediatheque station throughout the symposium.
“Asia-Vacuumed Cityscape”
Date: 15 November 2014
Venue: Sakaiki, Yotsuya sanchome, Tokyo, Japan
Organizer: Videoart Center Tokyo
Upon invitation from the VCT, KLEX contributed five short videos from its archive in this programme featuring video works from South East Asia. The programme showed works about life in the city in these countries. KLEX artists in the programme include LIM Chee-Yong (Malaysia), KOK Siew-Wai (Malaysia), Andrew Stiff (Malaysia/UK), WONG Eng-Leong (Malaysia) and Wuttin Chansataboot (Thailand).
https://www.facebook.com/events/736643823051495/permalink/747552421960635/
“Tropical Seasonings” in Ohio, USA
Date & Time: Wednesday, 1 October 2014“KLEX goes Athens, Ohio! KLEX’s special South East Asian programme “Tropical Seasonings” is having its 3rd screening in USA. It’s happening on 1 October at The Athena Cinema in Athens, Ohio. Featuring works from Andrew stiff, SowYee Au, Azharr Rudin, Debora Bernagozzi, Jason Bernagozzi, Koji Tambata, Siew-wai Kok, Lim Chee Yong, Wong Eng Leong, Wuttin Chansataboot, Maulana M Pasha and Taiki Sakpisit.
“KLEX goes Athens, Ohio! KLEX’s special South East Asian programme “Tropical Seasonings” is having its 3rd screening in USA. It’s happening on 1 October at The Athena Cinema in Athens, Ohio. Featuring works from Andrew stiff, SowYee Au, Azharr Rudin, Debora Bernagozzi, Jason Bernagozzi, Koji Tambata, Siew-wai Kok, Lim Chee Yong, Wong Eng Leong, Wuttin Chansataboot, Maulana M Pasha and Taiki Sakpisit.
https://www.facebook.com/events/755834967824476/758030110938295
“KLEX in Korea”
July 2014
“In July 2014, two KLEX experimental video screening programmes were presented in Seoul, Korea. Programme “Home Portrait” was shown at Moonji Cultural Institute, SAII, hosted by the The Korean Society of Media and Arts (KOSMA). “Sunshower” was shown at the Documentary Archives at Ilmin Museum of Art, with an especially fruitful intimate conversation between KLEX curator KOK Siew-Wai and the audience. Participating KLEX artists in these programmes are: Azharr Rudin, Adrienne Marcus Raja, Au Sow-Yee, Andrew Stiff, Jason Bernagozzi, Lim Chee-Yong, Wong Eng-Leong, Phoebe MAN, Laixiang POW, Jimmy Hendrickx, Wuttin Chansataboot, Winston LIEW, Maulana M Pasha and Kok Siew-Wai.
http://ilmin.org/documentary/screening/#2014_Sunshower
“Architects of Harmonic Rooms & Records-Moving Image Archive”
Date & Time: Friday, 23 May 2014
Venue: 無限發掘 FINDARS
KLEX presents a screening of short documentaries about underground music scenes by UK filmmaker Harry Wheeler. Harry will present the screening in person. The event also features short improvised music sets by GOH Lee Kwang and KOK Siew-Wai.
ABOUT OUR GUEST FILMMAKER:
“HARRY WHEELER gave birth to Architects of Harmonic Rooms & Records-Moving Image as a result of the invention of You Tube back in 2005. Since then his Harmonic Rooms channel has been used as a vehicle to document various underground activities in the western folk/improvised/underground/art scene. Attracted to artists that carve their own path and create, more as a necessity to express themselves than a career choice. His work ranges from experimental films made out of chopped up found footage of 1960s/70s Asian horror movies with Kamran Ali of Harappian Night Recordings, to straight up mini documentaries on artists such as steel sting guitar master Steffen Basho-Junghans and ethereal folk queen Josephine Foster. These usually manifest themselves as an ongoing series of ‘In Conversation with videos…’. He will present some of the highlights of his archive from the past 9 years involving artists that attempt to reach out to something beyond our known reality, and manifest it in their art…”
https://www.facebook.com/events/708806945848699/
“Asian Experimental Video Festival in Hong Kong (HKEX)”
KLEX Programme: SunShower
Date & Time: Thursday, 3 April 2014 @ 4-6pm
Venue: Future Cinema Studio, 6/F Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, City University of Hong Kong
Total Run Time: 68 minutes
Curator: KOK Siew-Wai
Our everyday world is made up of diverse forms that coexist and share a common time and space. With its organic rhythm, structure and way of existence, nature allows seemingly contradictory realities coexist. There is Yin and there is Yang; there are men and there are women; there is strength and weakness; there is agreement and disagreement. Balance, with respect and conscience, is harmony. Turbulence happens when one side tries violently dominating the other side. Often, we tend to be going back and forth restlessly as both sides seem appealing for different reasons. One reality develops and forms into another new reality. It’s all working in progress, and we’re not quite sure what it’ll become at the end. This might be the general atmosphere of a developing community, which has much potential, to become basically, anything. But what do we want to become? Do we share similar life values as a collective? Where are we heading? Shall we stop just for a moment, to go inward and ponder a bit? Or taking a break and having a little fun with the chaos and uncertainties as it starts to rain while the sun is shining very brightly out there?
This programme features works from or made in Malaysia. Participating video artists include Andrew Stiff, Adrienne Marcus Raja, AU Sow Yee, Azharr Rudin, Jason Bernagozzi, KOK Siew Wai, LIM Chee Yong and WONG Eng Leong.
Lulai (2014)
LIM Chee Yong, Malaysia, 6:30 min
MAJIDEE (2005)
Azharr Rudin, Malaysia, 15:00 min
MUD GAME (2014)
KOK Siew Wai, Malaysia, 3:40 min
A Day Without Sun in Mengkerang: Chapter 1 (2014)
AU Sow Yee, Malaysia/Taiwan, 22:00 min
KAMPUNG HAKKA (2014)
Andrew Stiff, Malaysia, 5:30 min
MIST (2012)
WONG Eng Leong, Malaysia, 3:50 min
Memory and Ritual in Frame Difference (2012)
Jason Bernagozzi, USA/Malaysia, 8:40 min
SOLI (2013)
Adrienne Marcus Raja, Malaysia/Canada, 10:00 min
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/hkex2014
https://www.facebook.com/events/298181590334377/
“KLEX Program “Home Portrait” @ Linton College”
KLEX Programme: Home Portrait
Date: Thursday, 20 March 2014
Time: 11am-12:30pm
Venue: School of Media Arts & Design, Linton University College
Curator: KOK Siew-Wai
Performer: YONG Yandsen
Short Notes on the Programme:
Home can mean a physical space and a possession like a house, a bungalow or an apartment. It relates to the people and the memory of them, whom you share the house with. It is also a state of mind. “Being at home” means feeling secure, comfortable, natural, there’s nothing threatening and nothing to hide. You can really just be yourself. But is this always the case? Do we always feel “at home” while we’re physically in our house, being with the people that we’re most familiar with? Have you ever felt “really at home” being in a foreign land, meeting like-minded strangers for the first time, who share common interests and values like you do? How long and how much can we bear to live in an undesirable, imperfect home? And how strong would one fight to protect a desired home, as dignity? Do we surrender to fate belonging to a certain home, or can we make an independent decision to choose, change and create our home the way we want it?
This KLEX programme features 9 short videos from Belgium, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand & UK. Participating artists include Jimmy Hendrickx, Phoebe Man Ching-Ying, Sharon Liu Sum-Yu, Lim Chee-Yong, Winston Liew Kher-Cheng, Pow Lai-Xiang, Maulana M Pasha, Andrew Stiff and Wuttin Chansataboot.
There’ll be a short audio-visual performance by solo saxophonist Yong Yandsen, accompanying a video by Koji Tambata (Japan).
Video Screening:
Total Run Time: 65 minutes
Lulai (2014)
Lim Chee-Yong (Malaysia), 6:30 min
Home Sweet Home (2012)
Phoebe Man Ching-Ying (Hong Kong), 2:40 mins
Lotus & Elephant (2013)
Pow Lai-Xiang (Malaysia), 4:50 min
Semalu (2013)
Jimmy Hendrickx (Belgium/Malaysia), 19:40 min
Within Within (2011)
Sharon Liu Sum-Yu (Hong Kong), 3:30 min
Kampung Hakka (2014)
Andrew Stiff (UK/Malaysia), 5:30 min
The Light of Memory (2014)
Winston Liew Kher-Cheng (Malaysia), 8:50 min
16 x 9 Capsule (2014)
Wuttin Chansataboot (Thailand), 6:40 min
The Endless Steps (2006)
Maulana M Pasha (Indonesia), 7:00 min
SPECIAL PERFORMANCE: SOLO SAXOPHONE WITH VIDEO
Whiteness in Darkness (2011)
8:00 min, Koji Tambata (Japan/Thailand)
With live solo saxophone improvisation with Yong Yandsen
“KLEX Program “Tropical Seasonings” in USA”
Venue: Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, New York, USA.
Date & Time: 4 March & 31 April, 2014 @ 7:30pm
Total Run Time: 80 minutes
Curated by KOK Siew-Wai
Most South East Asians like strong flavored dishes, mixed spices and paste that often carries a unique aroma such as Tom Yam Kung (popular Thai soup). The ingredients of Tom Yam includes refreshing herbs such as lemongrass, Thai Basil, Kaffir lime leaves and coriander, mixing with stronger herbs that can cause a bit of adrenaline rush such as galangal, chili peppers and tamarind. It is the mixture of a little bit of everything that made up the delicious spicy and sour soup. Living among various ethnic groups and languages in a yet-to-defined, developing environment, we are somewhat used to uncertainty, imperfection and improvisation. To laugh when experiencing mistakes and pain, to have hope when facing disappointment, to create our own way (because there’s no other way) to the right path in chaos, to regain faith when the first drop of rain appears after a long dry season…. Sweet, sour, bitter, spicy – all these are tastes of life.
“Tropical Seasonings” is a special KLEX screening program featuring 12 videos from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, UK and USA. The program includes works from artists originally from South East Asia, and foreign artists who have traveled to the region and make work about it. It’s interesting to see both the residents’ experiences and the visitors’ observations in this region. Featuring artists include Andrew Stiff, AU Sow-Yee, Azharr Rudin, Debora Bernagozzi, Jason Bernagozzi, Koji Tambata, KOK Siew-Wai, LIM Chee-Yong, Maulana M Pasha, Taiki Sakpisit, WONG Eng-Leong and Wuttin Chansataboot.
List of Artists & Works:
1. Andrew Stiff (UK/Malaysia), “Gong Xi Fa Cai Part 2”
2. AU Sow-Yee (Malaysia), “Ruins I”
3. Azharr Rudin (Malaysia), “Colorfool”
4. Debora Bernagozzi (USA), “Green Cloud Temple”
5. Jason Bernagozzi (USA), “Memory and Ritual in Frame Difference”
6. Koji Tambata (Japan/Thailand), “The First Rain”
7. KOK Siew-Wai (Malaysia), “Mud Game”
8. LIM Chee-Yong (Malaysia), “Lulai”
9. Maulana M Pasha (Indonesia), “The Endless Steps”
10. Taiki Sakpisit (Thailand), “A Ripe Volcano”
11. WONG Eng-Leong (Malaysia), “Mist”
12. Wuttin Chansataboot (Thailand), “16×9 Capsule”
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/359170744221138/
“KLEX attending the Berlinale 2014”
“KLEX was honored to be selected to participate in the Visitor Programme of Goethe-Institute to attend the Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival) as a film expert from Malaysia in February 2014. This was an invaluable experience of exchange and learning with other film experts from Germany and around the world. We’ve since made more friends and connection to the international film communities. A BIG thanks to Goethe-Institute Malaysia, especially the director Mr. Rolf Stehle!”
