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Speech Act

Herman Asselberghs

video, color, 16:9, stereo, Dutch spoken, English subtitles, BE, 2011, 29’

Following up on his meticulous dissection of the Apple laptop (in Dear Steve), Herman Asselberghs now turns his attention to another global popular consumer product: Avatar, the most expensive and highest-grossing film ever. By way of an elaborated interior monologue taking on the form of a film studies class, Speech Act covers a complex of themes well beyond cinema concerns. As the acme of mainstream culture, James Cameron’s sci-fi epic turns out to provide ample fodder for a critique of triumphant transparency, impressively delivered by the established Brussels actor Willy Thomas. Commissioned within the context of the book project In and Out of Brussels: Figuring Postcolonial Africa and Europe, Asselberghs’ work eloquently talks about all things black.

Text Herman Asselberghs
Cast Willy Thomas
Image Sébastien Koeppel
Editing Fairuz
Sound Els Viaene & Boris Debackere
Produced by Auguste Orts
With the support of Fondation Fernand Willame, Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie & LUCA School of Arts

Speech Act has been on display at the following locations:

ARGOS tv Brussels, (BE) Jun 5–Jun 12 2020 C12 Brussels, (BE) Dec 7–Dec 8 2019 coStA - GAST Antwerpen, (BE) Friday, Aug 9 2019 coStA - GAST Antwerp, (BE) Jun 28–Aug 31 2019 Art Cinema OFFoff Gent, (BE) Monday, Feb 22 2016 Tabakalera San Sebastian, (ES) Sep 11 2015–Jan 3 2016 Iselp Brussel, (BE) Wednesday, Feb 11 2015 Argos Brussel, (BE) Feb 8–Apr 5 2015 LUCA Gent, (BE) Friday, Jan 30 2015 Cinematek Brussel, (BE) Wednesday, Nov 26 2014 Cinematek Brussel, (BE) Monday, Nov 24 2014 Cinematek Brussel, (BE) Thursday, Nov 20 2014 CPH:DOX Copenhagen, (DK) Nov 6–Nov 16 2014 Festival International du Film de La Roche sur Yon, (FR) Sunday, Oct 19 2014 Center for the Visual Arts Jerusalem, (IL) Wednesday, Mar 26 2014 MK2 Beaubourg Paris, (FR) Thursday, Dec 19 2013 Universiteitsbibliotheek Leuven, (BE) Dec 4 2013–Jan 31 2014 21er Haus Vienna, (AT) Wednesday, Jun 12 2013 Centre d'Art Contemporain Geneva, (CH) Jun 5–Jul 21 2013 CIC Cairo, (EG) May 15–Jun 12 2013 International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, (DE) Friday, May 3 2013 Film Forum Gorizia, (IT) Mar 19–Mar 20 2013 Macba Barcelona, (ES) Friday, Feb 15 2013 Fokus, Nikolaj Kunsthal Copenhagen, (DK) Saturday, Feb 9 2013 Beursschouwburg Brussel, (BE) Tuesday, Nov 20 2012 Tate Modern London, (GB) Nov 9 2012–Feb 17 2013 Impakt Utrecht, (NL) Oct 24–Oct 28 2012 Festival du Nouveau Cinéma Montreal, (CA) Oct 10–Oct 21 2012 25FPS Zagreb, (HR) Sep 25–Sep 30 2012 University of Technology Sydney, (AU) Aug 16–Sep 6 2012 Museo da Imagem e do Som Sao Paulo, (BR) Jul 6–Jul 12 2012 Worm Rotterdam, (NL) Sunday, May 20 2012 Marfici Buenos Aires, (AR) May 12–May 19 2012 EMAF Osnabruck, (DE) Saturday, Apr 21 2012 Pompidou, Hors Pistes Paris, (FR) Saturday, Jan 28 2012 International Film Festival Rotterdam, (NL) Jan 27–Jan 28 2012 Wiels Brussel, (BE) Saturday, Oct 29 2011