A Wall Is A Screen arrives at Nordisk Panorama
Perennial festival favourite A Wall Is A Screen came to Malmö (the home of Nordisk Panorama) this past Saturday for another edition of the event that mixes short films screenings with a chance to discover the city
The event started off with bang, almost literally, with a screening of Big Bang Big Boom (which can also be seen HERE). Shown in a square next to the Panora, one of Nordisk Panorama’s main screening venues, the film’s imaginative traipse through evolution got an audience of over 100 intrepid short film lovers in the right mood for an evening of films
The general theme of the evening looked at cities and urban regeneration. Some films in the selection were bitingly surreal and satirical. For example Franz Winzentsen’s 2012 film The Conference – a popular choice for A Wall Is A Screen events – poked fun at the notion of ‘built in obsolescence’. Also, screened in the heart of the city, was a promotional video for Vattenfall, the leading Swedish energy company. The video features the entire workforce – from workers to management – singing a cheerful song about how open and trustworthy the company is. Not only was it an example of a ‘funny for all the wrong reasons’ type of earnest corporate videos (the look of the management being forced to mime is a joy to behold) but an interesting glimpse of the lengths companies will go to present a positive side of their operations.
On a rather grim and non-descript street, audiences were treated to Jonathan Carr’s 2010 documentary Get Luder, a film about the architect Owen Luder who designed a car became famous when it appeared in the Michael Caine film Get Carter. As Luder sees his work threatened with demolition, the film explores our reactions to those byildings that could be described as brutalist and the humans behind their design.
With other highlights including Reka Bucsi’s multi-award winning animation Symphony No. 42, A Wall Is A Screen at Nordisk Panorama was once again an excellent way of mixing film watching with sight-seeing.
A Wall Is A Screen will return to Sweden at the Uppsala International Short Film Festival between 24th and 30th October 2016.
(Above photo: Felix Sundbäck / Linda)
19 September 2016, by Laurence Boyce
