Next performance:
(In German with English subtitles, or in English and Polish with English subtitles)
The environment through which filmmaker AVA Irandoost sends her protagonists is inhospitable. In NEDA, the first short film in the series AT THE SECRET SKY, we see the protagonist of the same name wandering through Berlin on a quest. She is searching for her identity in a fractured society. SING WITH ME, the second film in the short series, shows the Polish actress Melania roaming through Los Angeles. She, too, is searching: for a way to stay in the country that rejects her, and for stability in a relationship for which she once left her homeland.
Berlin and Los Angeles are places of longing, whose reputations promise self-determination and the freedom to create one’s own identity. But for whom? The protagonists make their way through an unwelcoming world. With her short film series AT THE SECRET SKY, AVA Irandoost creates compelling portraits of her protagonists and the cities they traverse – portraits of longing and self-assertion.
AVA Irandoost is a musician and filmmaker; her films are marked by a rhythm that is uniquely hers, blending poetry and political clarity. NEDA was invited to numerous film festivals, such as the Sose International Film Festival in 2018, and received the Special Mention Award at the Aegean Film Festival that same year. SING WITH ME was made during AVA’s residency at CalArts in Los Angeles and was shown at the Aegean Film Festival and the 3in1 Film Fest, among others.
Following the film screenings, there will be a discussion with AVA Irandoost, moderated by Viviana M. Medina.