Tell It to the Stones. The Work of Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub

About

Their films always grew out of a critical engagement – and often a fundamental disagreement – with the works they took as their inspiration: Not Reconciled, or Only Violence Helps Where Violence Rules (Nicht versöhnt oder Es hilft nur Gewalt, wo Gewalt herrscht) (1965), an adaptation of a novel by Heinrich Böll; Class Relations(Klassenverhältnisse) (1984) based on Kafka’s unfinished novel Amerika; The Death of Empedocles (Der Tod des Empedokles) (1986), Hölderlin’s “communist utopia” (Straub), filmed at the foot of Etna; The Antigone of Sophocles after Hölderlin’s Translation Adapted for the Stage by Brecht 1948 (Die Antigone des Sophokles nach der Hölderlinschen Übertragung für die Bühne bearbeitet von Brecht 1948) (1991), first performed on stage in Berlin and, in the classical theatre in Segesta on Sicily, transformed into a film as recalcitrant as its heroine; and the writings of Cesare Pavese and Elio Vittorini, which they constantly returned to over the years for their work with the Teatro Francesco di Bartolo in Buti, Tuscany. Since Danièle Huillet’s death, Jean-Marie Straub has continued this work with the same intensity, offering a new reading of the central moments of their joint oeuvre in his 2014 film Communists (Kommunisten).

The programme comprises a two-month exhibition dedicated to Straub/Huillet’s method of work, and relating it to current artistic positions. For the opening in mid-September and again in November, Rencontres offer several days of discussions, lectures and film programmes. In the second week of October, the focus is on links to the works of Arnold Schönberg. In a parallel event to the film Introduction to Arnold Schoenberg’s “Accompainment to a Cinematographic Scene”(Einleitung zu Arnold Schönbergs Begleitmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene) (1972), the Neue Musik Berlin chamber ensemble (KNM) presents the world premiere of a Schönberg arrangement. From 15 October on, a complete retrospective of the films is shown in Berlin for the very first time. The films are screened at four locations – the Akademie der Künste and the Brotfabrik, Zeughauskino and fsk cinema.

Today, Straub/Huillet’s oeuvre, often misunderstood in the past as hermetic, proves to be open, playful and radically contemporary.

An Akademie der Künste, Berlin, programme, curated by Annett Busch and Tobias Hering. In cooperation with BELVA Film, Zeughauskino, Kino in der Brotfabrik and the fsk Kino.

Funded by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds

Within the framework of the Berlin Art Week