Shifting Grounds: Reflections on National Identity in the Archive (Darryl Els)

Taking as a starting point the first title of the Arsenal's collection COME BACK, AFRICA (Lionel Rogosin, USA/South Africa 1958, 6. & 9.6.), this program brings together films that deal with the themes of mobility, landscape and memory in a particular way. The program examines the function of the archive as a platform for making a critical analysis of the concepts of "nation" and "national identity", looking at the films themselves as well as at the circulation processes (distribution and presentation) they ended up in when they came into the collection, and how a counter-public sphere and alternative national narratives are produced. (6., 9.–18. & 25.6.)