A previously failed interview with a group of animal and human rights activists is re-enacted. With their extreme willingness to use violence, the activists herald a new stage in the escalation of the environmental and migration debate. In the film, the retelling of previous actions is constantly interspersed with other shots and time periods. Elements such as protagonists and authenticity suddenly become mutable stylistic devices. The film searches for motives and answers beyond morality and touches on the ethical dilemmas of our society.
Das Letzte Mittel / The Last Resort, as SILK Art Collective (with Nicolas C. Geissler and Paula Kohn) 2019
One screen film for screenings + two-channel video Installation
12:45 min, 4K, stereo audio
Courtesy: neuzeit Filmagentur, Patrick Alan Banfield
Cast:
1st activist: Jakob Blum
2nd activist: Josefine Nachfolger
3rd activist: Magnus Maurath
As himself: Patrick Alan Banfield
As herself: Paula Kohn
Crew:
Cinematography: Nicolas C. Geissler
Film editing: Patrick Alan Banfield
Trailer editing: Nicolas C. Geissler
Assistance: Benedikt Hölzl, Magnus Maurath
Props: Maxim Weirich
Costume: Manuel Sékou
Composition: Sascha Blank, Paula Kohn
Directed by: Patrick Alan Banfield and Paula Kohn
In search of answers to save the world and our souls, SILK (Patrick Alan Banfield, Nicolas C. Geissler and Paula Kohn) attempt to blow up time with their spatial installations, films and images. Whether it is “too late” or “just in time” becomes irrelevant. Instead, the question is whether one should leave the cocoon at all.
The artists Paula Kohn and Patrick Alan Banfield, who specialise in time-based media, deal with highly topical questions of our time, not only reflecting on social issues but also questioning artistic boundaries and their own media. More and more borders are being crossed. And art, too, can only remain relevant if it constantly transcends itself and becomes an expression of its time.
The film “The Last Resort” is multi-layered. There are different stories that are interwoven, fiction and reality are blurred. In the story there is a filmmaking process, there are interviews for the film and interviews with journalists, and in parallel there are radical environmental and human rights activists in action, and there is a layer of found footage.
How far do we have to go, how far can we go?
GALERIE KLINGER Karlsruhe, Germany “Adrien‘s Garden”, 10.08.2019 – 07.09.2019 https://staedelschule.de/en/board/silk-adriens-garden Installation view of “The Last Resort” Photo: Anselm Buder The Last Resort, 2019 Three-channel video installation Courtesy SILK (Patrick Alan