screening “ROHFILM” (in memory of Birgit Hein)

“I’ve been tasked with introducing Rohfilm and its context within experimental film and performance; to do so, I’d like to begin by offering some coordinates for understanding the work of Birgit, or – perhaps better put – for understanding how I have come to see and to write about Birgit’s work over the years. Our conversations first began via email in early 2016 as I was preparing to embark upon an extensive archival research period for my PhD dissertation, which – at that point – was focused on the work of Austrian experimental filmmaker Kurt Kren. In my preliminary review of Kren’s archive and secondary materials on his practice, I had found several connections to Hein, and so I reached out to her to ask if she would be willing to speak with me about her recollections of Kren’s work and their time together. She generously accepted and the next time I was in Berlin, we met at her apartment on Manteufferstraße. We sat around her table smoking cigarettes and talking. It was fun and intense and inspiring. Birgit was inspiring to me.
 
This would be a scene that would repeat many times over the coming years. Indeed, it became a regular thing; from wherever I was in Europe I would travel to Berlin every few months (at some points every month) to sit and smoke and talk with Birgit.”