Posthuman Cinema set 2: Dogs and Cats (Do Derrida)
Lily Does Derrida: A Dog's Video Essay
CatCam
Dog Years
Cat listening to music
El Gringo
The Private Life of a Cat
Infinity Kisses
-
Lily Does Derrida: A Dog’s Video Essay
- directed by Kathy High, USA 2010–2012, 30'
- language: English, subtitles: Polish
-
- Lily is a blind bitch who used to be homeless, but has enjoyed reading a lot since she found care. She thinks a lot about the relationships between animals and humans and between animals and nonhumans, especially after she read one of the fundamental animal studies texts, The Animal That Therefore I am by Jacques Derrida.
- Courtesy of the artist © Kathy High
-
CatCam
- directed by Seth Keal, USA 2012, 15'
- language: English, subtitles: Polish
- A funny and light film about a cat, photographs, and at the same time an attempt to show the animal's film perspective in the simplest and most technical way. The couple takes the cat out on the street, and are curious about what it does for days when it's not at home. For this purpose, a specially designed miniature camera attached to its collar records the film.
-
Dog Years
- directed by Sam Hearn and Richard Penfold, United Kingdom 2004, 4'
- language: English, subtitles: Polish
- Filmed and edited with a super 8 mm camera, a tribute to the cinematic avant-garde in a witty but touching form, speaks of the relations between dogs and people.
-
Cat listening to music
- [Chat écoutant la musique], directed by Chris Marker, France 1990, 3'
- A cinematic Haiku. A cat, the main artistic fetish of Chris Marker, a master of film essay and politically engaged cinema, listens to simple music while lying down, playing the keyboard at the same time in a typically feline way. The animal is described in a number of cultural meanings, but it effectively resists them.
-
El Gringo
- directed by Francis Alÿs, Mexico 2003, 5'
-
- In Francis Alÿs' film, the camera is an intruder against which a pack of dogs is defending themselves. It is also an ineffective shield against them. The work by Alÿs is a political metaphor which also ridicules the fake dog's perspective in cinema and film as a tool for understanding between species.
- Courtesy of the artist © Francis Alÿs
-
The Private Life of a Cat
- directed by Alexander Hammid and Maya Deren, USA 1944, 22'
-
The Private Life of a Cat is one of the most important and famous experimental films dedicated to animals. It was created by Alexander Hammid and Maya Deren, the icons and pioneers of the American avant-garde. In this silent black-and-white picture we witness important scenes from the life of the cat's family – from the moment she and he met and fall in love with each other, to the birth and careful care of the kittens. The narrative, then, encompasses human affairs and great emotions. The avant-garde nature of the film consists in the complete lack of humans in the film.
-
-
Infinity Kisses
- directed by Carolee Schneemann, USA 2018, 9'
-
- For years her cat used to wake her up with kisses to her face. The film from 2008 is a mix of self-portraits documenting these morning rituals and, at the same time, an expression of bodily closeness between species.
- Courtesy of Southsilesian Society for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts.