The mit press is a leading publisher of books and journals at the intersection of science, technology, and the arts. This article analyzes the most insightful documentaries about the 1989 romanian revolution, harun farocki and andrei ujicas videograms of a revolution germany, 1993 and ovidiu bose pastinas. Videograms of a revolution 1992, directed by harun farocki. Filmmakers harun farocki and andrei ujica assembled them along with footage shot by amateurs and newsreel cameramen to reconstruct a chronology of events leading to the fall of the. With ion caramitru, elena ceausescu, nicolae ceausescu, mircea dinescu. Videograms of a revolution is a 1992 documentary film compiled by harun farocki and andrei ujica from over 125 hours of amateur footage, news footage, and. Farocki and ujicas videograms shows the rumanian revolution of december 1989 in. Videograms of a rev olution is a 1992 documentary film compiled by harun farocki and andrei ujica from over 125 hours of amateur footage, news footage, and excerpts from the bucharest tv studio overtaken by demonstrators as part of the december 1989 romanian revolution. Free cinema series showcases a retrospective on master german documentarian over the course of his career, german documentary filmmaker and essayist harun farocki 19442014 created more than 100 bold, playful and cerebral films, videos and installations. Videograms of a revolution 1992 directed by harun farocki.
In the opening scene of videograms of a revolution, a long take reveals two buildings in the middle of a bucarest suburb. A game of chance emil filla gallery, usti nad labem czech republic curators. The compilation video videograms of a revolution, new on video from facets multimedia, concerns the romanian revolution of 1989 including the fall, attempted flight, and christmasday execution of president nicolae ceausescu and his wife elena and was assembled under the direction of harun farocki and andrei ujica from independent and state video and film sources. The televised revolution had beguneven if exactly what had happened was unclear. Synopsis videograms of a revolution is a 1992 documentary film compiled by harun farocki and andrei ujica from over 125 hours of amateur footage, news footage, and excerpts from the bucharest tv studio overtaken by demonstrators as part of the december 1989 romanian revolution.
Harun farockis film retrospective inconvenient films. Harun farocki and andrei ujica add a voiceover narration in order to place the audiences attention on the background. Becoming invisible in the 1990s, farocki made films consisting entirely of preproduced images. She is the author of several books, including the threshold of the visible world, male subjectivity at the margins, and the subject of semiotics. In the summer of 1976, i spent time in berlin researching a book on new german cinema, interviewing as many filmmakers as i could, but also critics. From his work in the fiction mode to documentary to installation, german filmmaker harun farocki videograms of a revolution has consistently explored ideas of language, ideology, perception, and contemporary audiovisual culture. Videograms of a revolution videogramme einer revolution, the 1992 film by harun farocki and andrei ujica, details the five days in december of 1989 during which a popular uprising in romania deposed and executed the stalinist dictator nicolae ceaucescu. The excerpts below are taken from ali hussein aladawys introduction to a recently published arabic translation of selected texts from harun farocki s rote berta geht ohne liebe wandern red berta goes wandering without love, published in conjunction with a retrospective of the filmmakers work in cairo and alexandria in may 2018. Harun farocki cinema, video games and finding the detail. Ujica, who was born in timisoara in 1951, is a rumanian writer who has been living in germany since 1981, where he is a lecturer in literature and media theory. Throughout his work, the late german filmmakerartist harun farocki was fascinated by what he termed operational images. The book is currently available at cimatheque in cairo. This film contains excerpts from the following farocki works.
For videograms of a revolution andrei ujica and harun farocki collected amateur video and material broadcast by romanian state television after it was taken over by demonstrators in december 1989. Harun farocki s films include phoenix, class relations, videograms of a revolution, images of the world and the inscription of war. Ordersubscribe download options establishing belief. Inextinguishable fire 1969, videograms of a revolution 1992, eye machine ii 2001, workers leaving the factory in eleven. Harun farocki german filmmaker, video artist, and writer. This channel was generated automatically by youtube s video discovery system.
The focus will be on visual dialogism rather than on the more widely stud ied counterpoint between images and voiceover. Complied by harun farocki and andrei ujica from over 125 hours worth of amateur footage, news footage, and excerpts from a demonstratorcontrolled bucharest tv. With the current uprising in egypt, and the recent events in tunisia, it is timely to have a look at videograms of a rev olution, which documents romanias popular revolution that led to the overthrow of dictator nicolae ceausescu. Videograms of a revolution 1992 is harun farockis videogramme einer revolution videograms of a revolution, 1992 art or documentary, or both. Harun farocki 9 january 1944 30 july 2014 was a german filmmaker, author, and lecturer in film.
Material from romanian television broadcasts and footage taken by amateur videographers provide multiple perspectives of events. In part farocki refers this failure to the sheer profusion of images evident even then. More pictures of the world than the eyes of the soldier are capable of evaluating. Videogramme einer revolution by harun farocki, andrei ujica.
Through a close analysis of harun farocki s videograms of a rev olution, the text addresses a number of theoretical issues raised by the essay film in an attempt to deepen perceived notions of the form. Harun farocki was a german filmmaker, author, and lecturer in film. At the very moment the social revolution of 1917 ended irrevocably, a new and equally ambivalent technological revolution took place. Videograms of a revolution ceausescus last speech youtube. Harun farocki conceived of and assembled videograms of a revolution together with andrei ujica. German filmmaker harun farocki began making films in the late 1960s amid a highly politicized cultural milieu. The first englishlanguage book on germanys bestknown important filmmaker. Five days later he was executed, together with his wife elena. Videograms of a revolution 1992 documents the december 1989 overthrow of nicolae ceaus. How to live in the federal republic of germany teams up with andrej ujica to condense and shape over 125 hours of amateur and professional video into a document that concisely chronicles the fall of ceaucescu. He simplified the spelling of his surname as a young man. Videogramme einer revolution videograms of a revolution, in collaboration with andrei ujica, 1991.
In this monograph the first critical publication on farocki in english leading scholars from the united states, france and germany assess his work from differing perspectives, bringing to bear a. Harun farocki biography, filmography, exhibitions and. In an image ein bild he chronicles the process of shooting a playboy centerfold photo. Built around amateur videos, demonstration footage and excerpts from a demonstratorcontrolled bucharest tv studio in late december 1989, this rigorous chronology of the romanian uprising that. In works like videograms of a revolution 1992, entirely made from found footageimages taken from romanian television, farocki configures a completely new narrative order. Farockis works assemble early evidence of the instrumentalizing and inverting of surveillance technology.
Videograms of a revolution is a 1992 documentary film compiled by harun. With speaking about godard, leading film theorist kaja silverman and filmmaker harun farocki. Born in 1944 in nazioccupied czechoslovakia, video artist harun farocki has a europeans appreciation for the conundrums of history. Archive workers leaving the factory 237 harun farocki on media and democratic politics. His father, abdul qudus faroqui, had immigrated to germany from india in the 1920s. Harun farocki videogramme einer revolution aka videograms of a revolution 1992 wednesday, april 25, 2007 in europe in the fall of 1989, history took place before our very eyes. A collaboration between andrei ujica and the legendary german experimental documentarian harun farocki, videograms of a revolution compiles and edits. Nov 01, 2004 farocki has coauthored a book on godard with kaja silverman. English benjamin young, media and democratic politics. Through a close analysis of harun farockis videograms of a revolution, the text addresses a number of theoretical issues raised by the essay film in an attempt to deepen perceived notions of the form. Harun farocki, working on the sightlines by forum lenteng issuu. Harun farocki and andrei ujica, videograms of a revolution. The televised revolution had begun even if exactly what had happened was unclear.
Videograms of a revolution is a landmark in the history of film, as well as a captivating. Farocki and ujicas videograms shows the rumanian revolution of december 1989 in bucharest in a new mediabased form of historiography. In this works, thematizes the interactions between historical processes and their representation in the media. Probably the most prominent living filmmaker, and one of the foremost directors of the postwar era, jean lucgodard has received astonishingly little critical attention in the united states. Though different in style and intellectual project, both films engage in a complex dialogue with recordings of the 1989 events taken by amateur cameramen. The audio and video represent the historic first ever revolution in which television played a major role. Images from the anticommunist revolution that unfolded in a matter of days were sparse in the media. Directed by harun farocki and andrei ujica 1992 106 mins. Harun farocki, andrei ujica 1992 the romanian dictator nicolae ceausescu gave his lastever public speech on december 21, 1989, from the balcony of the enormous peoples house in bucharest. Videograms of a revolution is an editors film whose authors dissect the events of the romanian revolution in order to better understand the power behind the moving image and how one may use moving images to hold onto power. Harun farocki light weapons 203 tom keenan the political imperceptible. Speaking about godard by kaja silverman, harun farocki.
This article analyzes the most insightful documentaries about the 1989 romanian revolution, harun farocki and andrei ujicas videograms of a revolution germany, 1993 and ovidiu bose pastinas timisoaradecember 1989 romania, 1991. Director and film essayist harun farocki has made over 70 films, including videograms of a revolution and images of the world and the inscription of war. Reality is created by representationfarocki, flusser, and others were among the first to report this sea change as it happened. Videograms of a revolution is a 1992 documentary film compiled by harun farocki and andrei ujica from over 125 hours of amateur footage, news footage, and excerpts from the bucharest tv studio overtaken by demonstrators as part of the december 1989 romanian revolution. Excerpt from the film videograms of a rev olution, a facets video release.
I knew farocki as a critic, from the articles he wrote for filmkritik, but had not seen any of his films. Citing the influence of such marxist cultural practitioners as theater director bertolt brecht, philosopher theodor adorno, and film director jeanluc godard, farocki consistently addressed two principal subjects. His german mother had been evacuated from berlin due to the allied bombing of germany. In 1989, widespread revulsion at the heavyhanded and madly egotistical rule of romanian dictator nicolae ceaucescu and his equally demented wife resulted in one of the swiftest changes of government in recent history, as the nation rose up as one against him. Ion caramitru, elena ceausescu, nicolae ceausescu, mircea dinescu, thomas schultz, alexa visarion, andrei ujica, harun farocki. Harun farocki videogramme einer revolution aka videograms. How to live in the federal republic of germany teams up with andrej ujica to condense and shape over 125 hours of amateur and professional video into a document that. Block museum explores harun farockis poetic and political. In videograms of a revolution, controversial german director harun farocki as you see. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. In europe in the fall of 1989, history took place before our very eyes. These images are among the last ones shot for romanian state television.
Harun farocki conceived of and assembled videograms of a rev olution together with andrei ujica. From harun farocki and andrei ujicas videograms of a revolution ceausescus last speech 1992 via youtube, hrag vartanianhyperallergic. I told him it would be so much more interesting to make a film about what is not dealt with in the book, namely the videograms of that revolution. In videograms of a rev olution, controversial german director harun farocki as you see. Mar 09, 2011 harun farocki contacted me through the publishing house, expressing his interest in making a film adaptation of the dialogues and asking me if i wanted to help him.
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