Europium

Director: Lisa Rave

Rating: PG - Parental Guidance.

An element that has never been found in its namesake region, the nature of Europium's extraction from the earth serves as both an emblem for colonialism's cyclical history and an apt metaphor for the intertwined definitions of modernity and progress in this essay film by filmmaker and artist Lisa Rave. Weaving together the material properties of the metal and its applications with the colonial history of Papua New Guinea, also where the element will soon be mined from the depth of the Bismarck Sea, this contemplative examination of the past and its echoes brings into view the repetitive patterns of humanity's development.

21 mins

Mangeurs de Cuivre

Director: Bodil Furu

Rating: TBC – Please wait for the rating to be out before buying tickets for people aged 21 and below. More info here. 

The traditional way to melt copper prior to colonisation, the ritual of the Mangeurs de Cuivre, or Copper-eaters, was banned when Belgian colonial mining activities began in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Drawing from a portrayal of the efforts of trying to keep this vernacular heritage alive, the eponymous film intertwines local legends and beliefs with local struggles for agency over the administration of this important mineral and the reality of its access and control by multinational operators. Here, artist and filmmaker Bodil Furu spotlights a diverse cast of characters each with their own interests in the natural resource to explore the localised conditions of a globalised economy.

82 mins

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