Sunset Kino is Canada’s only outdoor, avant-garde film festival. Founded by Séamus Kealy in Austria in 2017, this festival continues at Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens. Introduced by the programmers and commencing at sunset, audiences experience a curated program of films and videos by Canadian and international artists.
Every year the program is guided by an overall theme and programmed also in relation to the summer exhibition. Parallel to Sunset Kino is our Summer Exhibition, Ilya & Emilia Kabakov: Between Heaven and Earth and the commissioned public art installation, The Ship of Tolerance, a collaboration between the artists and the children of Canada.
This year’s Sunset Kino theme is “What Was That.” This phrase is not conveyed as a question necessarily, rather as a statement that underlines something confounding. This could be the idea of a portrait under pressure, which is thus distorted or inaccurate or conflated with a different idea. This could also be a notion of where we are going collectively once a sea change has happened. The idea of “who will I be” now that a challenging event has happened is also hinted at, as indeed is the mind’s processing of what has just happened. As avant-garde cinema, the theme also self-consciously foreshadows an imaginary audience’s potential response to what they just saw (when the lights come up and one is not sure what just happened). As with all of Sunset Kino’s programming, this theme of “What Was That” also connects to larger geopolitical shifts and resulting narratives whether expressed across borders or locally. Ultimately Sunset Kino this year asks us to ponder how we are constantly needing to shift our perception of the world, and perhaps also our role as individuals and collective society
as a new global order becomes more palpable.
Each Sunset Kino evening, artist Faisal Anwar presents tailored projection performances ahead of the curated program.
Altogether this set of programs, exhibitions, and installations is the most ambitious project by Oakville Galleries to date. The Ship of Tolerance is presented in collaboration with the Ilya and Emilia Kabakov Foundation, as well as with The National Gallery of Canada. The National Gallery of Canada’s National Engagement initiative is generously supported by Michael Nesbitt, with additional funding from the National Gallery of Canada Foundation.
PROGRAM:
Thursday, June 26
Film by Niels-Christian Bolbrinker, Dr. Kerstin Stutterheim
Programmed by Emilia Kabakov & Séamus Kealy
Thursday, July 3
Echoes From Distant Shores
Films by Maryam Samadi, Shadi Harouni, Rouzbeh Akhbari, and Malak Masoumi
Programmed by Ala Roushan
Thursday, July 10
Films by Rabih Mroué: Face A Face B, With Soul, with Blood, Shooting Images, Cheers to Our
Wishes, and Footnotes
Programmed by Séamus Kealy
Thursday, July 17
Films by Renèe Helèna Browne: Daddy’s Boy, Sacred Disease and Sanctus!
Programmed by Séamus Kealy
For detailed information about the films, artists and programmers please visit our website: https://www.oakvillegalleries.com/SunsetKino
About Oakville Galleries
Oakville Galleries is a contemporary art museum presenting international and Canadian artists. Housed in a unique lakeside mansion and park as well as a white cube gallery downtown, Oakville Galleries is one of Canada’s leading contemporary art institutions. The Executive Director is Séamus Kealy. Supported by The Town of Oakville, Canada Council, Government of Ontario, Ontario Arts Council, sponsors, patrons and members.
PRESS IMAGE CREDITS BELOW
For additional information or request hi-res images, please contact:
Shannon Ye
Marketing & Communications Manager, Oakville Galleries
shannon@oakvillegalleries.com
905-844-4402 ext.28
