Manifesto
by Julian Rosefeldt
Julian Rosefeldt's film Manifesto (2016) pays homage to the moving tradition and literary beauty of artistic manifestos, ultimately questioning the role of the artist in society today.
Manifesto draws on the writings of Futurists, Dadaists, Fluxus artists, Suprematists, Situationists, Dogma 95 and other artist groups, and the musings of individual artists, architects, dancers and filmmakers. Passing the ideas of Claes Oldenburg, Yvonne Rainer, Kazimir Malevich, André Breton, Sturtevant, Sol LeWitt, Jim Jarmusch, and other creators through his lens, Rosefeldt has edited and reassembled thirteen collages of artists' manifestos.
Performing these ‘new manifestos' as a contemporary call to action, while inhabiting thirteen di erent personas - among them a school teacher, a puppeteer, a newsreader, a factory worker and a homeless man - Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett imbues new dramatic life into both famous and lesser-known words in unexpected contexts.
Rosefeldt's film reveals the performative component and the political significance of these declarations. Often written in youthful rage, they not only express the wish to change the world through art but also reflect the voice of a generation. Exploring the powerful urgency of these historical statements, which were composed with passion and conviction by artists many years ago, Manifesto questions whether the words and sentiments have withstood the passage of time. Can they be applied universally? And how have the dynamics between politics, art and life shifted?
Julian Rosefeldt is a German film and video artist who lives and works in Berlin. Since 2001, he has held a professorship for Time-based Media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Exhibited extensively in museums and festivals worldwide, his work is included in renowned collections such as Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image Melbourne and the Museum of Modern Art New York.
FILMOGRAPHY
2016 MANIFESTO (feature film and film installation)
2015 IN THE LAND OF DROUGHT (short film)
2015 THE SWAP (short film)
2014 DEEP GOLD (short film)
2011 My home is a dark and cloud-hung land (film installation)
2010 The Opening (film installation)
2009 American Night (film installation)
2008 The Shift (film installation)
2007 The Ship of Fools (film installation)
2007 Requiem (film installation)
2006 LONELY PLANET (short film)
2005 The Perfectionist (film installation)
2005 Clown (film installation)
2004 Stunned Man (film installation)
2004 The Soundmaker (film installation)
2002 ASYLUM (short film and film installation)
Cate Blanchett
writer, director & producer Julian Rosefeldt
director of photography Christoph Krauss
production designer Erwin Prib
costume designer Bina Daigeler
make-up artist for cate blanchett Morag Ross
hair design artist for cate blanchett Massimo Gattabrusi
gaffer Christoph Dehmel-Osterloh
sound recordist David Hilgers
puppet master Suse Wächter
editor Bobby Good
music Nils Frahm, Ben Lukas Boysen
postproduction supervisor Jan Schöningh
supervising sound editors Markus Stemler, Fabian Schmidt
re-recording Tschangis Chahrokh-Zadeh
executive producer Wassili Zygouris
executive producers Marcos Kantis and Martin Lehwald (Schiwago Film)
format DCP / 16:9 / color / Dolby 5.1
length 95 min.
language english