Azar Saiyar’s and Jan Ruscica’s videos were selected to Seoul International NewMedia Festival (NEMAF), held from August 17–25 in South Korea.
Saiyar’s short documentary film History Bleeds Under Your Fingernails (2016) is picked in the international competition called “Glocal Propose.” The screenings of Saiyar’s film take place on Saturday, August 19, and Monday, August 21.
History Bleeds Under Your Fingernails is a short film on the history of taming the left hand and on the culture of cultivating the bodies that do not fit. We used to believe that being left-handed could lead to criminality, stupidity, and immoral behaviour. So we tried to educate our children not to use that hand.
Azar Saiyar (b. 1979) is a Helsinki-based filmmaker and media artist working with documentaries, experimental films and video art. In her work she uses different filmic styles and techniques. She is interested in the borders of identity – the traces of other people, our cultures and daily routines in us. In her artistic work she focuses on our ability to share and understand each other.
Jani Ruscica’s video Conversation in Pieces (2016) will have its world festival premiere in the thematic screening “Naming, Dividing, and the Possibility of Being In-Between“, scheduled for Monday, August 21, and Thursday, August 24.
Ruscica: Conversation in Pieces (2016)
Like a sprawling, inconclusive conversation, Conversation in Pieces enlists six objects to reflect upon issues related to representation.
Jani Ruscica (b. 1978) is an artist working with video, photography, sculpture and other media. Ruscica is based in Helsinki and was educated at Chelsea College of Art and Design in London and at the Academy of Fine Art in Helsinki. Ruscica’s self reflexive works explore the intersection between cinema, video art, theatre and performance. Ruscica has worked with scientists, theatre makers and street performers. Recent exhibitions include Casino Luxembourg, 5th Momentum Biennial in Moss, Norway (2009) and Bonniers Konsthall in Stockholm (2009), Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki (2009), as well as screenings in institutions such as Centre Pompidou in Paris, TATE Modern in London and MoMA in New York.
AV-arkki presented an extensive showcase of Finnish Media Art at Seoul International NewMedia Festival in 2016, as a part of the Finland–Asia Exchange Programme organized by AV-arkki, HIAP, Frame and supported by the Ministry of Culture and Education.
Seoul International NewMedia Festival (NEMAF), 17.–25.8.2017, Seoul, South Korea
More information: NEMAF