Introduction Text for Keimena @ documenta 14

I've contributed an introductory text to CAMP's documentary From Gulf to Gulf to Gulf that was broadcast on Greek TV on December 19th as part of this remarkable documenta 14 project curated by Hila Peleg and Vassily Bourikas:

Keimena: a documenta 14 Film Program on ERT2.

Mondays at midnight from December 19, 2016 to September 18, 2017 Keimena is a weekly broadcast of films presented by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), and organized by documenta 14. By relying for its presentation on ERT, Greece’s public television broadcaster, the project aims to extend documenta 14’s scope into viewers’ homes, imagining and constituting new and different publics. Keimena’s program focuses on the fields of experimental documentary and fiction, presenting films whose approaches and topics engage social, political, and poetic concerns and whose concepts, themes, and positions are in dialogue with the overall curatorial visions of documenta 14.

Television, both public and private, is a key factor in Greece’s recent history and development. Its important role in mediating and reflecting upon the country’s current socio-economic predicament cannot be overstated. Despite suffering severe budget cuts which affected its operability, ERT remains the official “public” medium, especially in Greece’s collective consciousness; ERT’s controversial closure in 2013 as part of austerity measures generated immediate and extensive protests nationwide.