Nothing Is Complete

2021: Osa Ebrahim

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2021: Osa Ebrahim
2021: Osa Ebrahim

This commissioned video for the Norient Film Festival portrays the Iranian sorna player Ebrahim Salmanpor Qashqai. He looks back on his life, his performances at Qashqai weddings, and the challenges the pandemic has brought.

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Sound: Ebrahim Salmanpor Qashqai

2021: Pixel Doom

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2021: Pixel Doom
2021: Pixel Doom

This commissioned video for the Norient Film Festival is a collaboration between filmmaker Adythia Utama and musician Riar Rizaldi. They put a perspective on how freely we receive any kind of information through the screens of our gadgets during the pandemic.

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A Matter of Style Appropriation

Norient Snap by Nina Drewes
A Matter of Style Appropriation

During my fieldwork on the history of Chicano rap in L.A., many interlocutors voiced the opinion that the Chicano community never received due credit for their contribution to gangster rap culture. This is exemplified in the controversial music video «Go Loko» by YG.

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Design: Nina Drewes
Photo: Nina Drewes
Sound: Carlos Serrano, Dianne Violeta Mausfeld

Iche ’21

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Iche ’21
Iche ’21

This commissioned video for the Norient Film Festival is an introspective account of non-binary artist Janice Iche’s state of mind as they reflect on how the journey through 2020 was and their dreams of what 2021 holds for life.

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Sound: Janice Iche, Emma Mbeke Nzioka

The Racialized Gaze on Landscapes

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The Racialized Gaze on Landscapes
The Racialized Gaze on Landscapes

In most films, the English countryside is hailed as an idyllic place. Yet its colonial history is often overlooked. In her essay inspired by the film «A Protest, A Celebration, A Mixed Message», Chandra Frank reflects on West Indian carnival in Leeds.

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Design: Šejma Fere

Work Soft, Play Soft – The Pleasurable Horror of Lofi Beat-Playlists

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Work Soft, Play Soft – The Pleasurable Horror of Lofi Beat-Playlists
Work Soft, Play Soft – The Pleasurable Horror of Lofi Beat-Playlists

Even prior to the current retreat into the home office, life with screens has flattened one’s experience of time and space – but also of work and leisure. In the fourth episode of the «Sonic Vignettes» series, Malte Pelleter investigates Lofi Beat streams.

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Design: Robert Crahmer

2021: Dejame Vivir un Día

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2021: Dejame Vivir un Día
2021: Dejame Vivir un Día

This commissioned video for the Norient Film Festival by visual artist Jusomor and sound artist Lechuga Zafiro is deeply inspired by the re-encounter with our elders during the current times of uncertainty and confusion.

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Design: Jusomor

2021: Beautiful Life

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2021: Beautiful Life
2021: Beautiful Life

In this commissioned video for the Norient Film Festival, Taiwanese multimedia artist Monofee uses the medium of silent cinema to present a narrative of hope, conflict, and uncertainty over the turn of the new year.

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Design: Monofee
Sound: Monofee

2021: Future Tense

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2021: Future Tense
2021: Future Tense

In this commissioned video for the Norient Film Festival, poet, writer, and designer Poetra Asantewa ponders over the future of the city of Accra, what it ought to look like, where it ought to be, and who it should aim to be.

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How Does AI Hear?

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How does AI hear?
How Does AI Hear?

AI music often sounds very familiar, because it is limited to its creators’ musical horizon. In the third essay of our «Sonic Vignettes» special, Rolf Großmann asks what happens if one liberated AI «ears» from the constraints of human sensations?

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