Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie

Montag, 04.05.2015

Kiev and Vegas: Film Screening and Talk with Łukasz Konopa

As visual methodologies become increasingly popular among urban researchers, we have devoted a number of Think&Drink sessions to screenings of films that tackle urban issues ranging from evictions through urban activism to large-scale construction projects. In the upcoming T&D film session, the documentary filmmaker and sociologist Łukasz Konopa will present two of his recent films and talk about the visual styles he applies in his work. We will start with an excerpt from Łukasz’s documentary on urban transformations in postsocialist cities (with focus on Kiev) and next watch his short film on everyday practices in crisis-ridden Las Vegas. We will then discuss how different visual languages can be used to approach complex social phenomena and processes and address the workings of visibility and visuality in urban contexts.

Łukasz Konopa graduated from the National Film and Television School in the UK (MA Documentary Direction) and University of Warsaw (MA Sociology). His films have played at numerous festivals around the world, such as, Hot Docs, Clermont-Ferrand, Camerimage, SXSW. In 2013, his short AFTER was awarded Best Documentary by CILECT, the association of the world’s major film and television schools; in 2014 he was selected as a Berlinale Talent. He’s made short films for the Guardian, TVP1 (Polish Television), and BREAKING THE NEWS at the Berlin Art Biennale. He also worked as an edit director on Russian filmmaker Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s already legendary (and still uncompleted) second feature DAU. 

http://lukaszkonopa.com