Open Class: "In between ideas of (dis)embodiment and opacity through technology, within the Palestinian contemporary cinema"

In the scope of the International Studies Programme, on February 28th, the Open Class of Arts, International Law and International Relations will be about "In between ideas of (dis)embodiment and opacity through technology, within the Palestinian contemporary cinema" with Guilherme Blanc, artistic director at the Batalha Centro de Cinema.

Summary:
In this lecture, ideas of 'Disembodiment' and 'Opacity' will be debated, focusing on the practice of filmmakers and artists from Palestine who have been tackling the theme of the country’s occupation and conflict.

It will be discussed ways through which certain technological devices have been used over the past years, not only as a form of reflection on issues of deterritorialization, but also of counter-occupation. In parallel, being observed how certain filmic mechanisms are used in the conception of the ‘body’ in its distant relationship with an occupied territory, while examining possibilities of re-embodiment in a displaced context.

Biography:
Guilherme Blanc is Artistic Director at the Batalha Centro de Cinema. Between 2018 and 2021, he worked as Head of Contemporary Art for the City Council in Porto, where he directed projects such as Galeria Municipal do Porto, Fórum do Futuro and funding programmes to contemporary art and cinema. Over time he has worked as an independent film curator, collaborating with institutions such as the Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Barbican Centre in London. From 2014 to 2018, he was Deputy to Councillor and Mayor of Porto for Culture. Blanc lectures Film at BA and MA courses at Universidade Católica Portuguesa — Escola das Artes.