Varsity 1 Thursday, April 12, 2018 - 9:00 PM
The Foreigner's Home
The Foreigner’s Home / The World is Round...
Documentary Feature
56 minutes
2017
Director(s): Rian Brown, Geoff Pingree
France, USA
Synopsis
Oregon Premiere
Not meant to be a traditional biography, this metaphorical documentary was inspired by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison’s multidisciplinary program at the Louvre, “The Foreigner’s Home,” in 2006. Morrison invited artists whose work addresses the experience of migration and displacement to join her in conversation about issues she has examined in her own writing and teaching for nearly fifty years. She poses crucial human questions such as “Who is the foreigner?” “Where is home?” “Who decides?” Using extensive archival footage, music and animation, and featuring excerpts of the author in conversation with other artists—both in Paris in 2006 and in 2015 at her home in New York—the film is a provocative and timely meditation on race, identity, foreignness, and the redemptive power of art. Subtitles
Not meant to be a traditional biography, this metaphorical documentary was inspired by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison’s multidisciplinary program at the Louvre, “The Foreigner’s Home,” in 2006. Morrison invited artists whose work addresses the experience of migration and displacement to join her in conversation about issues she has examined in her own writing and teaching for nearly fifty years. She poses crucial human questions such as “Who is the foreigner?” “Where is home?” “Who decides?” Using extensive archival footage, music and animation, and featuring excerpts of the author in conversation with other artists—both in Paris in 2006 and in 2015 at her home in New York—the film is a provocative and timely meditation on race, identity, foreignness, and the redemptive power of art. Subtitles
Directors’ Statement
Rian Brown: As a woman and an artist, my films often look at female identity and explore ways of thinking about “otherness.” I was drawn to this film because it looks at how power structures—often governments— construct the idea of “the foreigner.” Ultimately the core message of the film is about how artists and their exploration of these issues is “vital to what it means to be human.” What an honor it has been.
Geoff Pingree: What attracted me was Toni Morrison’s vision of the “foreigner” today and of art’s power to unify a divided world. The challenge was to render her ideas visually and aurally rather than simply repeat them; to illuminate them through a work of commensurate power—a film with its own vision.
Rian Brown: As a woman and an artist, my films often look at female identity and explore ways of thinking about “otherness.” I was drawn to this film because it looks at how power structures—often governments— construct the idea of “the foreigner.” Ultimately the core message of the film is about how artists and their exploration of these issues is “vital to what it means to be human.” What an honor it has been.
Geoff Pingree: What attracted me was Toni Morrison’s vision of the “foreigner” today and of art’s power to unify a divided world. The challenge was to render her ideas visually and aurally rather than simply repeat them; to illuminate them through a work of commensurate power—a film with its own vision.
The World Is Round so That Nobody Can Hide in the Corners - Part 1: Refuge
The Foreigner’s Home / The World is Round...
Documentary Short
10 minutes
2017
Director(s): Leandro Goddinho
Germany
Synopsis
Oregon Premiere
The journey of a gay African refugee seeking asylum in Germany, who seeks understanding of the new world he’s entered and of the world he left behind. Integrate v. 1. combine (one thing) with another to form a whole; 2. bring into equal participation in a social group or institution. Refuge n. [ˈrɛfjuːdʒ] (a place that gives) protection or shelter from danger, trouble, unhappiness.
The journey of a gay African refugee seeking asylum in Germany, who seeks understanding of the new world he’s entered and of the world he left behind. Integrate v. 1. combine (one thing) with another to form a whole; 2. bring into equal participation in a social group or institution. Refuge n. [ˈrɛfjuːdʒ] (a place that gives) protection or shelter from danger, trouble, unhappiness.
Director’s Statement
Currently, thousands of LGBTQ refugees flee to Europe seeking freedom. Most of
them are from African countries that penalize homosexuality with life imprisonment or even death. The World Is Round so That Nobody Can Hide in the Corners is a project to bring awareness to people about LGBTQ+ civil rights throughout history, our achievements and need, showing the past as a tool to understand our present and to build a better future.
Currently, thousands of LGBTQ refugees flee to Europe seeking freedom. Most of
them are from African countries that penalize homosexuality with life imprisonment or even death. The World Is Round so That Nobody Can Hide in the Corners is a project to bring awareness to people about LGBTQ+ civil rights throughout history, our achievements and need, showing the past as a tool to understand our present and to build a better future.