Paul Poet feat. Alec Empire „My Talk With Florence“
An impressive filmic document of a story of emancipation. Live-music by Alec Empire. Followed by artist talk.
18.11.2016, 20:00, Main Hall
Admission/Tickets: EUR 12,-/8,-
Director: Paul Poet, AT 2015, 129 Minutes, OmeU
Two people. One camera. One interview. No cuts. No tricks.
„My Talk With Florence“ is a minimalist piece of cinéma verité that recounts one of the most disturbing biographies of the second half of the 20th century. It is Florence Burnier-Bauer's story of her time in Otto Mühl's commune and her hard-earned journey to saying No. Berlin's Godfather of intelligent electronica, beat-activist and punkfloor-pioneer Alec Empire (Atari Teenage Riot, producer for Björk, Nine Inch Nails) accompanies the filmic interview in the style of his early solo classics with the Mille Plateaux Labels.
„Paul Poet's filmic interview shows a fascinating woman who should be seen and heard. It is these delicately and respectfully produced accounts from victims that help society question its awareness of destructive power structures.“ (Sandra Nigischer, Celluliod, Das Filmmagazin.)
Paul Poet, who grew up a polyglot Styrian and punk at heart, is regarded as Austria's leading political director and champion of genre-cinema, according to the american publication Indiewire. His internationally award-winning movies that provocatively juggle between pop and politics include “Ausländer raus! Schlingensiefs Container” and “Empire Me – Der Staat bin ich!”.
The art of saying no
In 2016, true to the motto „AUSweg. Das wesentliche NEIN“ (engl. „Way OUT. The essential NO“), the Open Mind Festival dedicates itself to the constructive disappearance, the emancipatory “enough is enough”, the liberating refusal, but also the escape from the self and consequently, escapism.
Contrary to the Brexit-hypothesis and other populist polarization, where the goal is to generate (written) dissent, it is not easy to say no. Our brains are conditioned to avoid conflict in interpersonal relations and therefore often opt for a „Yes“. In many cultures, there is no word for „no“; instead languages like Chinese use f.i. paraphrases. Not clarity but compliance with social norms is foregrounded here. Saying „no“ requires confidence and this begins in the mind.
Similarly, this applies to the active, liberating escape from hopeless situations. Having realized that you cannot change the system, it is legitimate to turn your back to it. It is no sign of failure or weakness, but of intelligence when you try to find alternatives and live.
In both cases, the autonomous no and the constructive escape in the best case lead to personal freedom. Even though living it is often not easy, no one has the right to ignore their own dignity.
Cornelia Anhaus
Curator Open Mind Festival
