Melancholic Constellations: The Art of William Kentridge

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UK/2010/55mins.
Direction, camera and editing by Ian McDonald
Interviews by Tom Hickey
Music by Philip Miller
Produced by Geetha J. for Interventions
Watch Trailer

Synopsis

Melancholic Constellations explores the art of William Kentridge, the internationally acclaimed artist from South Africa. In this reflective documentary, Kentridge talks about art-making during Apartheid and in “post Anti-Apartheid” South Africa while preparing for his next major work, The Nose. A range of artists and academics from Johannesburg comment on his art and his position as a global artist. The film moves between Johannesburg where Kentridge lives and works and Brighton where a major exhibition of his work was hosted by the University of Brighton. The views from Johannesburg are interspersed with visuals from the exhibition in Brighton. Carried forward by the evocative music of Philip Miller, Melancholic Constellations provides a unique insight into the personal and political forces that shape Kentridge’s art.

Screenings

August 2014: Whitley Bay Film Festival, UK.
July 2011: Johannesburg Workshop in Theory and Criticism, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.
February 2011: The Centre of the Study of Contemporary Art, UCL, UK.
December, 2010: Cine-City, the Brighton Film Festival, UK.