Art

At M HKA and De Cinema, we approach film as an autonomous art form and aim to break down the divide between narrative and experimental cinema as much as possible. We consider film a living artistic practice within contemporary visual culture and, within the ART section, explore film that moves between cinema and the visual arts.

We present a carefully curated selection of recent, restored, and underexposed works — both national and international — including artists’ films, essay films, experimental cinema, and video works, alongside feature films and documentaries about artistic creation: from painting and architecture to dance, performance, and music.

To strengthen the dialogue between cinema and the visual arts, this programme often connects with current exhibitions and activities at M HKA.

HIGHLIGHTS

During ASPEN EDITIES: OKER + OONA LIBENS & STRANDS OF LUNAR LIGHT, interaction between image, sound and experiment is central. Aspen Editions brings a night where audiovisual performance and live music meet. Artist Oona Libens opens with a live projection performance, researching with a self-made three-eyed projector optic phenomenons and the materiality of the image. Her improvisations react on Strands of Lunar Light, a microtonal work for multiple guitars by Fredrik Rasten and Ruben Machtelinckx, that recakks a silenced, almost alien, soundscape.

Like every year, De Cinema and the Royal Conservatory Antwerp join forces to offer the musicians of the future a stage where they can develop their talents outside the lines of the classical constellations. This edition focuses on SIGHT & SOUND: SHORT FILMS WITH LIVE MUSIC, a selection of short films that centre around seeing and experiencing. Due to the efforts of the musicians the element of ‘listening’ is added to the mix, with the new soundtracks they’ve composed for the film which they bring for us live. The screening will be musically accompanied live by students of the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp.

Just as the career of young artist Daan Gielis (34) is gaining momentum, his health suddenly deteriorates. Daan suffers from an autoimmune disease and must undergo a highly risky heart operation as soon as possible. In HAPPY SAD, Daan and his partner Lotte share how they navigate between hope and fear during the final six months leading up to the surgery. With his characteristic drive—and courage born of desperation—Daan continues working steadily on his oeuvre until he is wheeled into the operating room: “There’s no more escape…”