The exhibition [based upon] TRUE STORIES focuses on the documentary film as one of the most fertile cinematographic and artistic forms. The exhibition is part of the special program of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), an event that includes feature films, shorts, installations, photography and digital media by filmmakers as well as visual artists.

For Catherine David, director of Witte de With, and Jean-Pierre Rehm, curator of the International Documentary Film Festival of Marseille (FID Marseille), the pivotal questions when putting together this exhibition were how filmmakers/artists are engaged in their visual testimony and what rhetorical choices they make.

After the debunking of the ‘meta-narratives’ of the modern age it has become impossible to speak for everyone, and all we can do now is offer a personal testimony. This is no different for filmmakers and artists: every documentary is a personal testimony. What is significant, however, is the standpoint taken: what are the maker’s ideas and how are these visualized or portrayed? In this respect the documentary can be regarded as a political statement.

In São Paulo the exhibition is titled a respeito de Situações Reais. The works by Chantal Akerman, Pedro Costa, Peter Friedl, Jean-Luc Moulène, Alejandra Riera, Efrat Shvily and Danielle Vallet-Kleiner travelled directly from The Netherlands to Brazil. In the São Paulo context Catherine David and EXO decided to invite also the Altas Group by Walid Raad for the exhibition.

The whole project is supported by the Brazilian film critic Jean Claude Bernardet as advisor.

[based upon] TRUE STORIES in São Paulo
April 29 – June 1, 2003

In collaboration with Witte de With, Paço das Artes and EXO are pleased to present part of the exhibition [based upon] TRUE STORIES in São Paulo, Brazil.

Paço das Artes is a center for contemporary art, directed by the curator Daniela Bousso.
Paço das Artes, Av. da Universidade 1 – Cidade Universitária 05508-040 São Paulo, Brazil, [email protected]

EXO – Experimental Org. is a non profit cultural agency, leaded by Cécile Zoonens and Ligia Nobre.

The exhibition [based upon] TRUE STORIES is organized in collaboration with International Film Festival Rotterdam and the International Documentary Film Festival of Marseille (FID Marseille).

Special thanks to: the Mondriaan Foundation, Amsterdam; l’Association Française d’Action Artistique (AFAA) – Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, France.

—Supported by

Mondriaan Foundation, Amsterdam
l’Association Française d’Action Artistique (AFAA) – Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, France.