This classic plant horror from the 80s was shown in a pop-up jungle of houseplants. The idea was that watching the plant-based alien lifeforms take over would be more immersive and creepy when surrounded by foliage. Audience members brought their own plants, and a sketch artist was present to draw portraits of these houseplants.

This Japanese indie animation is about friendship and the transcendental experience of making music. The screening was prefaced by the short film Ahead by Ala Nunu (because I love the tradition of a short before the main film). To connect with On Gaku’s theme of music and creative expression, I invited the local Jazz singer Joran ten Kroode to perform. Since Ahead does not have dialogue, Joran performed the soundtrack and sound effects of the film live on stage, just like a small orchestra would have in the silent film era. We watched Ahead once with his experimental sound and once with original sound, so we could grasp the considerable impact sound has on our perception. Afterwards, I facilitated a short interview with Joran and a brief discussion with the audience about their experience.

Brazil is a perfect representation of the film club energy: dystopian and industrial, but still entertaining in its absurdity. When the lockdown lifted, people were not ready to start watching heavy, complicated films. They needed to be met where they stood, and Brazil did that beautifully. In terms of additional programming, I only gave a short introduction about Terry Gilliam and a bit of production trivia about the wings and model shots. This night was about coming together to enjoy a film without requiring it to be anything else.

Daisies was the first film I screened at the scavenged cinema and for the film club. It seemed fitting because of it’s chaotic, joyful, anarchic energy. I gave an introduction about the live of Věra Chytilová, highlighting her struggle with censorship and with being a woman in a male dominated field in the 60s. After the screening, we had a short discussion about the female characters and the power (or lack thereof) they had over the male characters.

For the online edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, I hosted a film marathon in the living room because the scavenged cinema was still too cold in January. I blocked out the daylight with black plastic bags, moved the furniture around and people came and went while we watched four films: Battle Cry, The Last Ride Of The Wolves, Urf and Neptune Frost.