H A Z E C I T Y, HD video, 32:57, color.

Presented at HEIDELBERGER KUNSTVEREIN – ART WEEK Berlin 2022 HAUS AM LÜTZOWPLATZ – VIDEO SHOW @CHANGSHA CITY, CHINA

With Facing New Challenges, the International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg and the Heidelberger Kunstverein have created a new format for film: Experimental moving images and film installations from the visual arts are on display in an exhibition at the Heidelberger Kunstverein for several weeks beyond the duration of the festival.

Since the introduction of film, artists have consistently been pushing the medium coming up with their own creations. Formats like ›Facing New Challenges‹ allow to experience films that are rarely screened in cinemas in the context of an exhibition. This year’s show is dedicated to a pressing issue: the city as habitat and space of coexistence. Cities are the seismographs of social life. In times of crisis, they turn into settings for social upheaval. 

The video work H A Z E C I T Y refers to the current discussion of climate change and what might happen in the coming years. The film raises the question: To what extent is it legitimate to use violence to force a necessary shift to prevent irreversible climate change? The philosopher Slovoj Zizek predicts that due to the shortness of time left, a radicalization of environmental activism is going to happen. Other references in the video include theories of Swedish environmental scientist Andreas Malm and environmental activist Greta Thunberg, both of whom point to the urgency of changing society by 2030. H A Z E C I T Y deals with the act of resistance in general and with the unbroken fighting spirit of political activists all over the world. The film points to historical sources for example to the German 68 movement and the American Weather Underground movement.

The story of the video H A Z E C I T Y is set in the year 2027. A toxic fog often appears due to extreme pollution in cities. Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion are still fighting climate change. Progress has been made by corporations and politics, electric cars are mandatory, but they are basically small diversions to avoid having to make fundamental changes. Activists are increasingly frustrated that everything will stay the same.

Written, Edited & Directed NINA E. SCHÖNEFELD
Director of Photography VALENTIN GIEBEL
Sound & Music CARLOS PABLO VILLAMIZAR / Special thanks to DJ HELL