LONG TIME NO TECHNO
The footage used in the video comes from the archive of the Odesa Film Studio, which was the first film studio established in the Russian Empire. During the Soviet era, many films were shot there, which shaped the childhood of millions of people. However, today the film studio, like many other cultural monuments in Ukraine, is threatened with destruction by the Russian army.
The video features dancing moments from children’s films of the 70s and 80s, which provide a glimpse into a carefree time of adventure, fantasy trips, and freedom. These scenes serve as illusions of a time that has since passed.
Momen Shaweesh, a Syrian-Palestinian multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer, incorporates his own war experiences into his music. He combines traditional oriental instruments such as the oud and kanun with techno beats and sounds of the new wave to create his unique style.
The resulting video essay, set to Shaweesh’s music, is a recollection of a bygone era. Bakurin appropriates Soviet film footage to reclaim a memory of a lost childhood of two belligerent countries. The Video invites viewers to look for their own recollections in the same footage, creating an act of collective remembrance in the process.
Director: Eugenia Bakurin
Germany, 2022
3:44 min
Eugenia Bakurin is a media artist, filmmaker, and lecturer in Kiel. Born in 1987 in Tselinograd, USSR (now Astana, Kazakhstan), she belongs to the minority of Germans from Russia and also has Ukrainian and Belarusian roots. At the age of 15, she immigrated to Germany.
After completing her master’s degree in art education and civic education at Kiel University (CAU), Eugenia pursued Fine Arts with a focus on Film/Time-based Media at Muthesius University of Fine Arts. Her artistic work has been recognized with the Prize for the Promotion of Young Artists by the Federal Association of Visual Artists Schleswig-Holstein (2020) and the Short Tiger Award 2023 by the German Federal Film Board. Her experimental film "Long Time No Techno" was showcased in conjunction with the Short Tiger Award at the Marché du Film during the Cannes International Film Festival and has been featured in numerous international film festivals worldwide.
Eugenia Bakurin actively engages in the film scene in Northern Germany. She serves as the executive manager of the Schleswig-Holstein Film Festival and teaches film education at Muthesius University of Fine Arts in Kiel, Germany.
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