Chris Kennedy

the acrobat

6 minutes, 16mm, b&w, sound, 2007

Inspired in part by a poem by Toronto poet Ryan Kamstra, the acrobat is a consideration of the relationship of gravity and politics – the beauty and necessity of rising up, but also, perhaps, the significance of allowing oneself to fall. If the force of gravity is in relation to both mass and proximity, how does the force of politics resonate across space and time?

Preview:
Light Cone

Reviews:
Michael Sicinski

Distribution:
Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre
Light Cone

Prizes:
Innovative Narrative Award, Sydney Underground Film Festival 2008

Selected Screenings:
Wavelengths, Toronto International Film Festival, September 6-15, 2007
GROUNDED? 7th Annual Juried Film/Video Screening, Southern Exposure, San Francisco,
December 9, 2007
Optical Allusions, curated by Cheyanne Turions (Cineworks), Pacific Cinematheque, Vancouver,
BC, January 22, 2008
36th Ann Arbor Film Festival, March 25-30. 2008
European Media Arts Festival, April 23-27, 2008
“Riffing The Light Fantastic”, curated by Alex MacKenzie, OK! Quoi? Contemporary Arts Festival,
Struts Gallery, Sackville, NB, July 31, 2008
poesiefestival berlin 2009, July 1, 2009
VII International Kansk Video Festival, Kansk, Russia, September 1-7, 2008
EX-iS 2008, Experimental Film & Video Festival in Seoul, September 4-10, 2008
2008 Sydney Underground Film Festival, September 11-14, 2008, Australia
11th Antimatter Underground Film Festival September 19-27, 2008 Victoria, BC
Views from the Avant-Garde, 46th New York Film Festival, October 4-5, 2008
ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival, October 9-12, 2008 Berlin, Germany
International Documentary Film Festival Jihlava, October 24-29, 2008, Czech Republic
Chicago Underground Film Festival, October 29-November 2, 2008
The 17th $100 Film Festival, Calgary, Alberta, March 6-7, 2009
Experiments in Cinema V4.2, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 16-19, 2009
Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, May 9-May 10, 2009
IFCO Summer Gala, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, August 8, 2009
4th Annual ATA Film & Video Festival, San Francisco, October 21-23, 2009
Festival of (In)Appropriation, Los Angeles Film Forum, December 13, 2009
6th Berlin International Directors Lounge, Galery Meinblau, February 19, 2010
“De Luce”, curated by Rick Bahto, Echo Park Film Center, Los Angeles, CA May 6th, 2010 and Artists’ Television Access, San Francisco, CA, May 13th, 2010
Re:Play, curated by Sarah Wylie Ammerman VanMeter, Lexington Art League, Lexington, Kentucky, September 23-October 16, 2011
“Brûlure des films”, Braquage, Paris, France, May 28, 2013
“De la Danse / Du Politique”, Braquage, Paris, France, March 11, 2016
Havana Film Festival, Cuba, December 8-17, 2016
“Qu’est-ce Qu’un Geste Politique Au Cinéma”, Braquage, Paris, France, November 16, 2019
Carte Blanche à Braquage (Plein Jour), Paris, France, August 1, 2021