Monday March 2, 7:30 & Friday March 20, 7.30pm
THERE
by James Fotopoulos
artist in person – admission $6
Still from “There” (James Fotopoulos, 2014) – Image courtesy of the artist
Microscope is very pleased to present There, a new, 103-minute feature film by James Fotopoulos written in 2011 and completed in 2014. While built upon the story of the main character Lamb, a veteran experiencing post-traumatic stress, “There” can be seen as ultimately the place where the unknown resides along with our deepest fears, where we become vulnerable before all that we ignore about ourselves or the other, a powerful dark side often relegated to the dreamlike that all the characters in the work encounter in different ways and must deal with during the course of the film.
Fotopoulos once again gives the spotlight to a world of rejects and tormented loners – played among others by Xander O’Connor, Sarah Brooks, David Zellner, Joe Swanberg and an astounding Brenda Bakke – each shot becoming increasingly unsettling to confront the viewers with that from which they usually wish to turn away.
For “There” Fotopoulos resumed his interest in shooting outside of his studio in real settings – after the more ethereal Alice in Wonderland (2010), Chimera (2011) and Dignity (2014) which included minimal and mostly painted backgrounds – offering a realistic base to the film’s mystery, an approach also continued with “The Given” currently on view as part of Fotopoulos’ exhibition. In terms of narrative style and treatment of the dark and surreal, “There” is reminiscent of Fotopoulos’ early 16mm features such as “Back Against The Wall” and “Migrating Forms”, this time with an ultra HD aesthetic.
With original music by Nate Archer, Dorit Chrysler and Chris Corsano.
THERE
2014, 103 minutes
Screenwriter & Director: James Fotopoulos
Cast: Xander O’Connor, Brenda Bakke, Sarah Brooks, Joe Swanberg, David Zellner, Robert Breuler
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James Fotopoulos is an artist working primarily with the mediums of moving image, sculpture, and drawing. Among his many notable film and video works, which range from several seconds to over seven hours are Zero (1997), his first feature which debuted when Fotopoulos was just 20, Migrating Forms (1999), Christabel (2001), Jerusalem (2003-2004), The Sky Song (2007), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Dignity (2012), and There (2014). His works have screened and exhibited in the US and abroad including at MoMA P.S.1, Walker Art Center, Whitney Biennial, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Arts and Design, Andy Warhol Museum, Sundance Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, London Film Festival, Festival del Film Locarno, Museo de Art Contemportaneo del Zulia, Venezuela, Biennial for Videoart, Mechelen, Belgium, among others. His work has been discussed in Artforum, The New York Times, The Village Voice, Hyperallergic, The New York Post, and others. He is a recipient of a Creative Capital Foundation Grant. James Fotopoulos was born in Chicago, IL in 1976 and currently lives and works in New York.
Still from “There” (James Fotopoulos, 2014) – Image courtesy of the artist
