BLIND CINEMA Will Play to a Blindfolded Audience at PS122's 2017 COIL Festival

As part of the twelfth edition of PS122's Coil festival, Performance Space 122 and SVA Theatre present the New York premiere of Blind Cinema by Britt Hatzius. In the darkness of a movie theater, an audience sits blindfolded. A child seated behind them describes a film that only they will see. Through this experience, the act of watching a film becomes a shared investment: a collaborative and imaginative act of trust, a sensitive and gentle connection between adult and child.

Blind Cinema examines ideas around language and interpretation, exploring the struggle to describe and share experiences that seems to be closest to the developing minds of children. In the midst of discovering language's potential and limits, the personality of each individual child is expressed through their unique interpretations, the risk of discrepancies, and the poetry that occurs when language breaks down.

The film, a fragmented imagery narrative, provokes a variety of responses - fear, laughter, wonder - and will be seen by each group of children (students, ages 9-11, from the East Village Community School) for the first time. Hatzius will workshop with the students prior to the screening, helping them to express themselves linguistically and articulate the moving images. Collaborating with elementary schools at various locations, the work has toured internationally, encouraging connections between cultural institutions and educational organizations from Edinburgh to Hong Kong.

Heightening senses beyond sight, Blind Cinema was inspired by the increasingly mandatory trend of audio description in cinema, and is accessible to the visually impaired. Audiences will hear the film's soundtrack, as well as the children's whispered description of the film. Everyone's experience will be entirely different, while focusing less on the film and more about the children, how they make choices and process visual material.

The Creative Team for Blind Cinema includes Ant Hampton (Dramaturgy), Simon Arazi, Boris Belay, Maxim (Film), Maria Koerkel, Gert Aertsen (Design & Production), Katja Timmerberg (Creative Producer) Thomas Tajo, Georgia Venetakis, Geertje De Ceuleneer, Axel Cleeremans, Campbell Works Gallery, Susanne Dietz, Neil Benun, Miila, Nico, Alice, Josh, Marina, Rebecca, Anne Haaning, Dunkan Speakman, LABO BxL, Houle, Cunio and Bown (Music)

A co-production between Vooruit (Ghent), Beursschouwburg (Brussels) and Bronks Theatre (Brussels).

Performances of Blind Cinema will take place January 9-12 (see schedule above) at SVA Theatre, which is locatedat 333 West 23rd Street in Manhattan. Ticketsare $20 and available online at ps122.org and by phone at 212.352.3101.

Watch a trailer for the show below!

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Britt Hatzius (UK/BE) works in film, video, sound and performance. Her work refers to or often takes the format of the moving image, both in its technical and conceptual form, exploring ideas around language, interpretation and the potential for discrepancies, ruptures, deviations and (mis-) communication. After completing a degree in Fine Art Media at Chelsea College of Art London in 2002, she has collaborated with numerous visual artists, performers, theatre directors and sound artists and is engaged in visual-sound collaborations with the collective 'Not Applicable Artists'. Since her MA in Photography and Urban Cultures at Goldsmiths University London in 2005 she has also worked within academic research at Studio INCITE (Critical Enquiry into Ethnography and Technology) and CUCR (Centre for Urban and Community Research). Her work has been shown internationally at performance and media arts festivals, institutions and galleries. Recent collaborations include cinematic installation Micro Events(2012) with Tom Kok, interactive performance This Is Not My Voice Speaking (2013) and site-specific installation As Never Before, As Never Again (2014) with Ant Hampton. For more, go to www.britthatzius.co.uk.

SVA Theatre is the cultural center of New York's artistically-vibrant Chelsea neighborhood. The Theatre serves the School of Visual Arts, the arts and entertainment industries, and the community at large as a stage for the presentation of noteworthy artistic work. From film screenings to artist lectures to design conferences and more, SVA Theatre hosts a variety of events year-round, many of which are free and open to the public. Visit www.svatheatre.com.

Performance Space 122 (PS122) provides incomparable experiences for audiences by presenting and commissioning artists whose work challenges boundaries of live performance. PS122 is dedicated to supporting the creative risks taken by artists from diverse genres, cultures and perspectives. We are an innovative local, national and international leader in contemporary performance.

Beginning in 2011, PS122 embarked on one of the most unusual and potentially radical shifts in its history, including a re-structuring of artist support, a business model overhaul, and the renovation of our building. As PS122's East Village home undergoes a much-needed interior renovation supported primarily by the City of New York, DCA and DDC, PS122's core activity continues to be providing audiences with contemporary live performance.

For over 3 decades, Performance Space 122 has been a hub for contemporary performance and an active member of the cultural community. Under the curatorial vision of Vallejo Gantner (Artistic Director 2005 - present) PS122 has developed a set of programs designed to re-establish the value of live performance, provide singular experiences for audiences that inspire critical thinking, and sustain the creative process for artists throughout their career. Largely in partnership with peer organizations, PS122 currently presents artists in all disciplines in spaces all over the city during an annual fall & spring season and the Coil festival in January.

In addition to the commissioning and presenting of artists from NYC across the US, and around the globe, PS122 has increased our activity off the stage to provide audiences with a variety of access points and context for the work on stage. These activities include both talkbacks with the artists as well as in depth conversations that bring together luminaries from non-arts disciplines to discuss a variety of topics including everything from religion, to migration, to queer real estate and cultural diplomacy. PS122 encourages the asking of questions and debate of contemporary society's issues in both artistic practice and audience experience. Go to ps122.org.

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