Anja Dornieden, Juan David González Monroy

For further information please download the respective Forum Expanded sheet (PDF).

Heliopolis Heliopolis was the name of a metropolitan simulacrum devised as a training tool for urban planning at the NoUn School of Architecture in Egypt in the 3rd century BC. Heliopolis Heliopolis was created by an insurgent priest (whose name has been lost) as a tool to train students in the design of a revolutionary city meant to surpass the ancient city of Heliopolis. This in spite of the fact that the priest and his students appear never to have visited Heliopolis and based their model exclusively on texts and secondhand knowledge. Eventually this became a source of pride within the school and descriptions of Heliopolis gained a fantastical nature, becoming both meticulously elaborate and wildly implausible.
Heliopolis Heliopolis is a cinematic interpretation of the simulacrum and the hypnotic, trance-inducing ritual connected to its use.

Anja Dornieden, born in 1984 in East Germany, is a visual artist based in Berlin. Since 2010 she has been working together with the Colombian artist Juan David González Monroy under the moniker OJOBOCA. Their body of work consists of short films, performances, installations, and workshops. OJOBOCA has presented its works internationally at a wide variety of venues. She is a member of the artist-run film lab LaborBerlin.
Juan David González Monroy, born in 1983 in Colombia, is a visual artist based in Berlin. Since 2010 he has been working together with the German artist Anja Dornieden under the moniker OJOBOCA. Their body of work consists of short films, performances, installations, and workshops. OJOBOCA has presented its works internationally at a wide variety of venues. He is a member of the artist-run film lab LaborBerlin.

Production: OJOBOCA GbR, Berlin
Screenplay: Anja Dornieden, Juan David González Monroy
Camera: Anja Dornieden, Juan David González Monroy
Cast: Jonathan Failla

Format: 16 mm, color
Running time: 26 min
Language: English