30 th International Festival of Contemporary Arts City of Women is coming to Celje!
The centralisation of cultural and educational capital in Ljubljana makes it difficult for women from different cities in Slovenia and their international guests to connect and share experiences. In an effort to bridge the distances and borders between the cities, association City of Women has partnered with the city of Celje for the 30th edition of the festival. Hoping to decentralise culture, they are moving part of their programme to Celjski dom, where you will be able to see the performance On the Ground by Alenka Marinič and Maja Dekleva Lapajne, a dance solo Taste for Drama by the French artist Léa Dubois, and attend a screening of the film Smoke Sauna Sisterhood by Anna Hints.
The festival’s development throughout the years wouldn’t have been possible without the sisterly relationships of the many people who have participated in, conceived, organised, and followed the festivals’ editions. Therefore, this year’s festival edition thematises SISTERHOOD, which overcomes differences and enables the coming together of many women, gender-nonconforming people, and our supporters. Being aware of the dangers of adhering to universalist concepts, which sisterhood could be interpreted as, we affirm the understanding of the concept as a fluid and adaptable practice that does not erase the differences in socioeconomic, ethical, “racial”, sexual, and other backgrounds inscribed in the experiences of many women and gender minorities.
PROGRAMME (CELJE)
3rd October (pre-event)
Likovni salon Gallery, 6 pm
Survival Tactics, workshop
Urška Jež
Free entrance
5th October
Kino Mali Union, 7 pm
Smoke sauna sisterhood (Savvusanna sõsarad), film
Anna Hints
2023, 89 min, Estonia / France / Iceland, with English and Slovenian subtitles
The film will be followed by the discussion with Metka Kuhar, moderated by Sara Šabec.
No story too shameful, no burden too heavy to carry when you share it with your sisterhood…
The Vana-Võromaa (region in South Estonia) smoke sauna tradition known as “savvusanna kombõ” and listed in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is one of connecting family and friends to cleanse body and soul inside a place of peace and contemplation. Conflicts are left outside. In filmmaker Anna Hints’ Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, the history of the smoke saunas as a place of giving birth inspired them to focus on women who come together in the protective darkness of the smoke sauna. In the darkness of smoke sauna, women share their innermost secrets and intimate experiences. Through a sense of communion, women wash off the shame trapped in their bodies and regain their strength. With an authentic voice and authority born of their own heritage, filmmaker Anna Hints has created a transformative experience of being human within a female body, showing women “as they are” with great emotional veracity and deep empathy.
Director: Anna Hints; Producer: Marianne Ostrat; Cinematographer: Ants Tammik; Editors: Hendrik Mägar, Tushar Prakash, Sound Recordist: Tanel Kadalipp; Composer: Edvard Egilsson; Etter. Production:Alexandra Film; Coproduction: Kepler 22 productions & Ursus Parvus with the support of Estonian Film Institute, Centre National Du Cinema et de l’image animée, Icelandic film centre with the support of Sundance Institute Documentary Program, The Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Tartu Film Fund. Distribution: Cinemania; Organisation and production: City of Women, Zavod Celeia Celje – Center sodobnih umetnosti; Partner: Kino Mali Union; Supported by Municipality of Celje.
Entrance: 5 €
9th October 2024
Celjski dom – big hall, 8 pm
On the Ground, theatre performance
Alenka Marinič, Maja Dekleva Lapajne
2023, 60 min.
In Slovenian
“On the ground” is a stage creation of two artists, colleagues, and friends of many years, Alenka Marinič and Maja Dekleva Lapajne. It is a down to earth concert theatre piece that deals with the themes of precarious work, feminism, motherhood, and housing, in late capitalism. It is a witty music and theatre event that records the present and states the obvious, makes room for collective questioning rather than imposing solutions, and that looks for playfulness even in the darkest and toughest of times.
Using musical and theatrical materials, the creators explore different topics by playing around with the several meanings of the title (which literally means “on the ground” in the original). Through the metaphor of the ground, they touch upon the themes of exhaustion, despair, and hopelessness. Being on the ground as in being knocked down in the era of a brutal and intensifying capitalism, climate change, impossibly powerful corporations, and cuts in the field of social benefits. However, they also understand the ground as a supportive place where we are grounded, where we can firmly stand, and from where we can leap to rebel. Finally, the ground also symbolises the possibility of new life, the soil from which fresh ideas and places can sprout.
“On the ground” is the second part of a trilogy by Maja Dekleva Lapanje and Alenka Marinič. In 2017, they launched into the performance and music album “Underwater” (Pod vodo) which they soon followed up with the collaborative trilogy comprised of “Underwater,” “On the ground”, and “In the Air” (V zraku). They also dream of creating an epilogue titled “Underground” (Pod zemljo), to be carried out by only one of them or even without the physical presence of either in this world.
Concept and performing: Maja Dekleva Lapajne, Alenka Marinič; costume and set design: Katarina Zalar; artistic counseling for movement: DISCOllective; artistic counseling for voice: Irena Tomažin; technical directing and light design: Špela Škulj; English translation: Jedrt Maležič; executive producer: Urška Jež and Eva Prodan; production: City of Women; co-production: CUK Kino Šiška, DU Narobov; Organisation: City of Women and Zavod Celeia Celje – Center sodobnih umetnosti; Supported by Municipality of Ljubljana, Municipality of Celje.
Entrance: 10 € / 7 €*
10th October 2024
Celjski dom – big hall, 8 pm
The Taste for Drama (Le goût du drame), theatre / dance performance
Léa Dubois
2024, 40 min, no dialogues
The show will be followed by the talk with the artist moderated by Maja Antončič.
With her first solo, choreographer and dancer Léa Dubois takes us on a race to joy, a fiery, ultra-physical performance. A character, half dancer, half gymnast, evolves throughout her physical demonstration. It’s a spark that’s about to ignite: this athlete has taken to the stage with the intention of setting it on fire. A taste of drama runs through her performance: a mixture of surpassing oneself and abandoning oneself to the simple pleasure of dancing. On a stage where everything is transformable, from costumes to set design to music, Léa Dubois invites us to see the exceptional in simple things and to appreciate the power of microevolutions.
Director/performer: Léa Dubois; Stage manager: Noemi Scantamburlo; Musical creation: Juicy; Light creation: Max Adams; Scenographic creation: Jajrag; Costume making: Sabine Mesdag; Illustration: Mélanie Utzmann-North. Delegated production: Les Halles de Schaerbeek; Coproduction: Charleroi Danse, Mars – Mons Arts de la Scène, Centre chorégraphique national de Rillieux-la-Pape, direction Yuval PICK, dans le cadre du dispositif Accueil-Studio, City of Women; Organisation: City of Women, Zavod Celeia Celje – Center sodobnih umetnosti; Supported by EFFEA (European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists), Ministry of Culture RS, Municipality of Celje. Thank you JSKD OO Celje.
Entrance: 10 € / 7 €*
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You are cordially invited to visit the City of Women festival in Ljubljana between October 4 and 13!
