Under the Cloak of Night: Radical Fiction
Film programme with Kevin B. Lee, Emanuel Röhss, Alice Brygo, Stéphanie Lagarde, Diana Vidrascu
Event
11 July (POSTPONED to 17 July) and 18 July, 2025, 21:00 - 23:00 Free admission
Image: Still from Ardent Other – Alice Brygo, 2023
“Under the Cloak of Night” is a phrase that describes something that happens under the cover of darkness, in the shadows or in secret, i.e. during the night. When the moon lights up the sky after sunset, “monsters and creatures” come to life under the bed. Hidden layers begin to peel back, nature crawls out of its hiding places because it cannot be held back. Dreams become visible, memories from the past emerge and the ruins of history begin to speak. On a night like this, a projection can make all this visible – a glimpse of a trapped cycle of the past – and offer a view from the perspective of the future.
On July 11 and 18, two different short film programs will be shown in the Klosterruine under the joint title UNDER THE CLOAK OF NIGHT. TOTAL RECALL on July 11 and RADICAL FICTION on July 18. These compilations, which include video art, essay films, documentaries and feature films, take the monastery ruins, the questions and the diverse references of the installation as their starting point. From there, they expand the site, reimagine it and enter into an associative or direct dialog from different artistic angles and across personal, local and historical perspectives.
The film program is curated by Azin Feizabadi.
UNDER THE CLOAK OF NIGHT: RADICAL FICTION
Fri, 18.07.2025 / 21:00
Once Upon a Screen: Explosive Paradox
9:30min, 2020, USA
By Kevin B. Lee
A childhood experience is projected on a shadowy wall of a former movie theatre. A racist cinematic trauma passed between friends and family is remembered among the rustling of leaves and reflections of trees on an iPad screen. An essay about how past and present interrupt one another like movies being perpetually edited.
Image: Still from Once Upon a Screen: Explosive Paradox – Kevin B. Lee, 2020
Monster Dialectics
12min, 2018-2021, USA
By Emanuel Röhss
Monster Dialectics is an experimental essay film combining archival- and original material. It explores how the personal trauma that architect Frank Lloyd Wright ingrained in his 1920’s Los Angeles buildings resurfaces through the many Hollywood films and shows that utilizes his architecture in their set designs and as dramatic device.
Image: Still from Monster Dialectics – Emanuel Röhss, 2021
Ardent Other
15min, 2023, France
By Alice Brygo
A stunned crowd faces a fire.
The threat has no name, a diffuse anguish spreads.
Fear needs to be conjured, fire must be turned into a sign.
Image: Still from Ardent Other – Alice Brygo, 2023
Rocky Tales of Occupation
15min, 2019, Netherland
By Stéphanie Lagarde
Rocky Tales of Occupation guides the viewer through an underground depot of historic and imaginary relics, from the Alhambra to Romeo & Juliet’s balcony. While the voice-over strings together backstory after backstory, a parallel history emerges from the darkness, shaped by fantasy, boredom, faith and power.
Image: Still from Rocky Tales of Occupation – Stéphanie Lagarde, 2019
Volcano: What Does a Lake Dream?
21min, 2019, Portugal, France, Rumania
By Diana Vidrascu
The Azores archipelago lies at the convergence of three tectonic plates. In this unique location in the Atlantic Ocean, a land of mystical geology has emerged—one where history can be both scientifically examined and imaginatively reinterpreted as fiction. Volcanoes rise from the depths of the boiling earth, erasing stories etched onto the surface and clearing the way for an abstract eruption of language. A 16mm film whose very surface pulses like the volcanic soil of the islands it portrays.
