Amp film

HOLOCENE – AN EVOLUTION ORATORIO

A film concert by author Majgull Axelsson, composer Jonas Bohlin and video artist Lars Siltberg. With Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, choir and solo singer. Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.

THE TWO FACES OF ROMAN MARTINEZ

The film and the installation revolves around the experiences of three generations of American combat veterans suffering from PTSD that meets for therapy sessions. The main character is Roman Martinez, a Vietnam veteran I met for the first time in 1999 and interviewed. I was deeply touched by his story and at the same time quite troubled. He was severely affected by PTSD and seemed to have two different personalities. This was the start of a long series of visits and interviews during the following four years. Roman’s story relates how an altar boy and pacifist through psychological pressure and trauma becomes a ruthless combat soldier and killer. It also the story of his journey back.
The installation premiered on Göteborgs Konsthall and then went on tour.

For a PDF with a longer description: The Two Faces of Roman Martinez

SNOW WHITE AND THE AMBASSADOR

This is a film about the Israeli Ambassador to Sweden that in January 2004 attacked and tried to destroy an exhibition at the Historic Museum in Stockholm.

The event made world headlines in 350 newspapers and 100 TV and radio stations all over the world. The exhibition,”Making Differences” was a cultural manifestation in conjunction with the conference “How to prevent genocide” initiated by Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson and the Swedish government. This is the story of what really happened.

Many commentators state that never before has an individual piece of art caused such political turmoil. History was written when Ariel Sharon and the Israeli government openly supported the attack on the art installation made by the Israeli born Jew Dror Feiler and his wife Gunilla Sköld Feiler. A diplomatic crisis ensued when Israel threatened not to come to the genocide conference if the installation was not removed, and the story snowballed into international media attention. The film tells the story from the inside and features the people that where directly involved in the incident and the exhibition, the artist behind the work that was attacked as well as other artists, filmmakers, politicians and political commentators. The film features Ambassador Zwi Mazel, artists Dror Feiler and Gunilla Sköld Feiler, Israeli Prime minister Ariel Sharon, Swedish Prime minister Göran Persson, Swedish foreign minister Laila Freivalds, Koffi Annan, filmmakers Michel Khleifi and Eyal Sivan, artists, Amit Goren and Yoav Shamir and others.

”This is the second holocaust you are starting here!”
— Zvi Mazel, Israeli Ambassador to Sweden 16 of January 2004 at the Historic Museum in Stockholm

”If that is art, then what I did is diplomacy”
— Zvi Mazel

”An ambassador of a government who uproots trees, demolish houses, kills people…of course he can destroy an art piece…of course… He can burn a museum if he wants!”
— Eyal Sivan, Israeli filmmaker

For more info: Snow White and the Ambassador

TO RACHEL

In the end of 2002, I read a small notice in a Swedish newspaper. The news was that Israel was building a wall on the occupied Palestinian territory.

I went to Palestine together with Swedish artist, Cecilia Parsberg, who previously had been there, to find out more about that wall. We saw and experienced the wall and we spoke with people living on both sides of it. We met soldiers guarding it and peace activists opposing it both in Israel and Palestine, water experts, and a lot of other people. In Rafha, we stayed with a Palestinian family and a couple of young ISM activists. One of them, Rachel Corrie was during our visit killed by the Israeli defense force while she participated in a non-violent protest trying to protect a house that was being targeted for demolition.

The now 712 km wall in the West Bank is a combination of an eight-meter-high concrete wall and/or ditches, trenches, fences, razor wire, electronic fences and military roads. The International Court of Justice stated that the Wall built on West Bank land including East Jerusalem, is in violation of international law.

The result of the journey became the film and the extensive web project, ”The Wall”.

For more info about the film and the wall project: To Rachel

TONG TANA — THE LOST PARADISE

Bruno Manser the main character of our film was in November 2000 reported missing in the jungle — most probably he had been murdered. We had parted with Bruno two months earlier after we finished filming.

This is a film about one of the last nomadic tribes on earth, the Penans who have lived in the same way for thousands of years, and a Swiss man, Bruno Manser who lived with them for six years. In the end of that stay he was hunted by 200 Malaysian commandos, with a bounty on his head of 100 000 Malaysian dollars, dead or alive. Bruno was known as the “wild man of Borneo”. For almost ten years after leaving Borneo, Bruno traveled the world, collecting money and staging spectacular actions, to raise the awareness of the plight of the Penans and to protect the rainforest. After ten years in the west with little success to raise the Penan and the rainforest issue Bruno decides to leave and return for good to the Penans. If nothing else he would face the end with his friends. On Borneo, Bruno is still a wanted man. His only chance of getting back in is through Indonesia illegally. This means a long journey by river followed by a three-week trek over the border through unexplored terrain, where his only chance of a meal is the wild game, he might be lucky enough to catch.

The film received first prize at the FICA film festival in Goiana, Brasil.

For more info about the film: Tong Tana — The Lost Paradise

LUCKY PEOPLE CENTER INTERNATIONAL

Filmed in fifteen countries. The world at the turn of the millennium. What do we believe in? Singing apes, Tibetan Lama Sogyal Rinpoche, the Vodou queen of Awa-May, Japanese noise music, Maori hakas, Annie Sprinkle, Zulu nation.

The film was widely distributed on cinema and TV and received The Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film festival 1999.

For more info: Lucky People Center International

INFORMATION IS FREE

The collective Lucky People Center started as an underground illegal nightclub in the city of Gothenburg. It moved its base to Stockholm in the early 1990s, forming a multimedia and musical collective. Lucky People Center were sporadically on tour from 1994 to 1997 and were playing some major events around Europe during this time. The collective also produced the films; Information is Free, Electronic Pollution and Lucky People Center International.

The film was awarded first price as best experimental film at Nordiskt Panorama 1996.
The short film Rodney King that’s included in the collection was nominated for Deutcher videokunstpreis and MTVvideoawards.