Art and Human Rights: artists as activists of none of their business
Do you ever meet people who tell you: you’re a fine artist, but please don’t touch on social or political issues – they are none of your business?
That was my first question, as the moderator of this panel. Yes, of course, the three panelists replied. And of course, they keep making art that uncovers taboos and controversies in society anyway.
Laurent Versini, producer at Les Contes Modernes in France (that presented The Tower at Anibar) told us about his first film: Love Kills. His story involved Marseille, the eighties, drugs, AIDS, prison, condoms, reggae music and saving 800 lives. It’s impossible to reproduce here – but if you want to hear more stories like these, come to the next panels!
Holger Lang, artist and director of Under the Radar festival in Vienna, told us his engagement with social issues is never explicit in his work, but everything he does is about spreading the attitude of not conforming to the rules and models that our societies force upon us.
All three panelists stressed that the impact of their work on society is not their conscious aim at the beginning. Addressing complex social issues starts, for all of them, by questioning themselves personally: why do I want to make this film, what does it mean to me, what do I know about this topic – and especially, what do I not know yet? Because not knowing is the best motivation to take the next step.
Blerta Zeqiri, finally, lifted us all up. The Kosovar director of ‘Martesa / The Marriage’, a strong and intimate film about forbidden love, is going through a phase when she does nothing but think. About the world, about the mess we are in, about what we can do. We need a vision, she said, a vision she hasn’t completely thought through yet, but one thing is certain: to give the next generation a chance to clean up the world before it explodes, we have to start by dismantling all patriarchal systems and embracing our feminine side.
It was a perfect Anibar story. To keep the balloon on this year’s festival poster from exploding, we need to go 50/50 – the full gender equality that Anibar called for last year.
