Poto and Cabengo

Film copies were, and are, made primarily to be projected. Today, however, there are many copies that sit on shelves, overlooked and forgotten. Only a small number get the chance to be reborn in digital form. Film is a material that is constantly changing and in archives, the changes are documented in condition reports. Sometimes the encounter between the person checking the condition of the copy and the film itself can seem like a revelation that needs to be shared. In the Condition Report series, filmmaker Juan González wants to share his own moments of discovery in his work examining film copies at Arsenal. The first event of the series is dedicated to Jean-Pierre Gorin’s POTO AND CABENGO, a film about identical twins who invented their own language as children. After the screening, Juan González will host a debate about the film and his relationship to issues of materiality, archival practices, and the beauty of decay. (Juan González)