With a run time of 14 hours, Greek director Dimitris Athiridis’ exergue – on documenta 14 is one of the longest films to ever make it to a screen and is playing over two days as a Berlinale Special Screening.
The documentary chronicles the epic journey of artistic director Adam Szymczyk as he prepares for influential art exhibition documenta 14, held for the first time in two cities, Kassel and Athens, in 2017. Documenta’s expansion to two locations and Szymczyk’s attempt to push the institution’s boundaries hit logistical obstacles and eventually led to a financial deficit and media scandal.
The first screening takes place today (Feb 16) and unspools over seven hours with an intermission of 60 minutes. Part two screens on Saturday (Feb 17). “It could turn into some sort of collective binge-watching experience,” says Athiridis, whose previous films include 2012’s One Step Ahead and 2009’s T4 Trouble and the Self Admiration Society.
He says he was not intending to challenge the documentary format with exergua. “We were milking the richness of the material and looking at the stories hidden in our footage. We were amazed we ended with a 14-hour cinematic narration that felt appealing and engaging, holding its centre.”
exergue has been edited into 14 chapters. “It is a film, a cinematic narration told in 14 chapters, or you can call them episodes. You can call it a series - even though it was not produced as one,” says Athiridis. The film is produced by Greece’s Faliro House which is also handling rights.
The director says his initial plan was to make a two-hour feature documentary. He started following Szymczyk and his team in 2015, little realising that he was embarking on a near 10-year filmmaking journey.
After two years of filming, he had 800 hours of footage of passionate characters, curators, artists, artworks and two cities for a film that also addresses documenta history, contemporary art debates as well as politics and the drama around staging the exhibitions. “I was pleased and scared at the same time by the way stories started flowing in from everywhere,” says Athiridis
Early on during the edit process, he went to see the film’s producer, Christos Konstantakopoulos, and told him that there is more than a two-hour film in the rushes. “He believed in the material and trusted his instinct, too. That decision gave us space to explore and develop storytelling ideas. It was appropriate that a film about art could only be created in such a space of artistic freedom. And I am grateful for that.”
The result is very much a character driven documentary, with the viewer invited into Szymczyk’s world. “I follow and observe him closely while he is doing it. Or rather, assume an elliptical orbit around him. Not too close, nor too far,” says Athiridis of his filmmaking process. “The viewer gets to know the character somehow in the same way I experienced this observation. And there is space for poetry and fiction, even facts. And probably some questions. In efficient storytelling I believe that a character should raise questions.”
Athiridis says there are probably other ways to screen it at a festival - over seven, five or three days. Or it could play in a museum as a whole, in universities, or on a platform.
No comments yet