KEMPINSKI
Sunday 26 October 2008, 12-7pm
London BFI Southbank Studio

KEMPINSKI
Neil Beloufa, Mali-France, 2007, video, colour, sound, 14 min
Kempinski is a mystical and animist place. People emerge from the dark, holding fluorescent lamps; they speak about a magical world. ‘Today we have a space station. We will launch space ships and a few satellites soon that will allow us to have much more information about the other stations and other stars.’ Their testimonies spark confusion and contradiction: a second reading is necessary to fully understand what is going on in this unique blend of fiction (sci-fi) and ‘real’ documentary. The scenario of Kempinski, filmed in various towns in Mali, is defined by specific rules: interviewed people imagine the future and speak about it in the present tense. Their hopeful, poetic and spiritual stories and fantasies are recorded and edited in a melodic way; Kempinski thus cleverly challenges our exotic expectations and stereotypes about Africa. (Montevideo)

Algerian and French, Neil Beloufa was born 1985 in Paris. He studied at the École des Beaux Arts de Paris (ensba), at the Art Décoratifs de Paris (ensad), at Cooper Union in New York and at CalArts in Valencia. Beloufa’s work has been exhibited and screened at ITCA 2008, the Prague International Triennial of Contemporary Art; 12th Biennial of Moving image, Geneva; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; White Box, New York; The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, and the NCCA (National Center of Contemporary Arts), Moscow. Kempinski was awarded the Arte Prize for European Short Film at the 54th Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen.

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