Appreciating Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman once claimed he was the luckiest film director of his generation and that he always did what he wanted. It is hard to believe these words came from the visionary British filmmaker who was born in 1942 and died in 1994 and who fought for his personal freedom and autonomy the way few people could in the 52 years of his short life. But people usually associate his early death (he lost the battle against AIDS) and his social activism (he led the battle for gay rights) with a complicated, if not miserable, life. Yet we are wrong. Renaissance man In whatever he did, Derek Jarman praised life. He was the true Renaissance man: He was a film director, a painter, a designer, a writer and a passionate gardener. He gained worldwide recognition with his unique images. This will be the first time the Greek public will have the opportunity to see one of the most complete tributes ever to his work. The British Council, the Athens School of Fine Arts and the Greek Film Archive are organizing a retrospective of the British artist’s work, which will run May 3 to 10. The tribute will feature screenings of 16mm and 35mm films (including «Sebastiane,» «Jubilee,» «The Tempest,» «Wittgenstein,» «The Angelic Conversation» and «Caravaggio»), as well as video clips of prominent British bands and musicians (Marianne Faithfull, the Smiths, Bob Geldof, the Mighty Lemon Drops, Easterhouse, the Pet Shop Boys, Suede, Patti Smith and others). The tribute will also feature a photography exhibition by Mike Laye, with 13 photographs from the filming of «The Last of England,» along with an audiovisual installation with experimental art films by Jarman and music by Simon Fisher, who composed scores for Jarman’s films. The events will be hosted at the School of Fine Arts (256 Pireos Street, at the Nikos Kessanlis exhibition hall and the screenings hall), as well as the Apollon Filmcenter (19 Stadiou Street). British Ambassador Simon Gass and School of Fine Arts Dean Chronis Botsoglou will open the tribute on Wednesday May 3, at 8 p.m. The Apollon Filmcenter will also organize a related, if more general, tribute to art and experimental cinema. The roster includes filmmakers such as Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jean Renoir, Jean Vigo, Sergei Paradzhanov and five Greeks (Theo Angelopoulos, Nikos Koundouros, Antouaneta Angelidi, Maria Gavala and Alexis Bisticas). Jarman had a special relationship with Greece because of his friendship with Bisticas. The tribute will feature two of Bisticas’s films, «Harama» (Dawn) and «Xefoto» (The Clearing).
