Week 43/2023

This week’s film selection meanders through the eighties, and specifically the place of women in those years. 

In 1987, as the GDR teetered on the brink of collapse, filmmaker Helke Misselwitz embarked on a train journey from South to North Germany, capturing the lives of women she met along the way. In Winter adé (1988), her lens delicately unveils the inner worlds of these women from different backgrounds, reflecting on decades of a journey towards gender equality. Join us for the Sabzian Milestones screening of this remarkable piece on Tuesday at Cinema RITCS.

Thanks to De Cinema, those in Antwerp this week can delve into Krótki Film o Milosci [A Short Film About Love] (1988), Krzysztof Kieslowski's exploration of obsession and voyeurism. In this dark, twisted romantic comedy-drama, 19-year-old postal worker Tomek becomes entranced by his older neighbour Magda, igniting a complex relationship. Developed from an episode of Kieslowski's legendary ten-part television series, Dekalog, the film navigates the thin (and dangerous) line between love and curiosity with sharp wit and irony. Booty calls and biblical references turn out not to be mutually exclusive. 

On Saturday, we'll journey back to the early eighties with a screening of Claudia von Alemann’s Die Reise nach Lyon, better known as Blind Spot (1981), at Beursschouwburg. Elisabeth, a young historian, travels to Lyon, where she follows in the footsteps of 19th century socialist and feminist Flora Tristan. The screening concludes Cut the Line, Erika Balsom’s programme of films opening up a conversation about feminism, historiography and nonlinear temporalities of remembrance. The film will be followed by a talk with Balsom and Anouk De Clercq.