Cities in the Age of Terrorism
London, Oklahoma, New York, Madrid, Oslo: Every terrorist attack leads to a tightening of security measures. New laws are introduced, and people, money, and flows of goods are increasingly monitored by cameras, biometric data, and an ever-more conspicuous security architecture. In New York the attack came from the air, in London it travelled on the Underground, and in Oslo it came by car and by boat. So where and how will the next one strike? The Fear That Has 1,000 Eyes shows how the threat of attacks is changing life in cities. By looking back at 9/11, the film offers a view of the future and of how our cities will change. It gives viewers a palpable sense of the fragile balance between our need for security and our desire for freedom.

52 min, stereo, color, HD 4:2:2/Bluray/DVD
language versions: German, English

A glimpse behind the scenes

Acrobatics and transformation as well as dance, music and song are the strong expressive elements of Peking Opera (or Jingjù), a form of traditional Chinese theater. BAO, the Upright Judge, a twelve minute documentary, opens usually closed doors to rehearsal rooms, revealing the hard work that takes place there. It acoompanies the ensemble of Shanghai’s Peking Opera Theatre to the venerable Yifu Theatre in Shanghai. Jürg Neuenschwander’s striking glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes shows Judge BAO during the final preparations before his great performance.

This particular work of Peking Opera lasts over two and a half hours. It is based on the life of the upright and fearless Chinese judge BAO Zheng, 999-1062, who lived during the Northern Song Dynasty. BAO, immediately identifiable for his black-painted face, is a revered character because – using his sword if necessary – he helps poor peasants prevail against corrupt officials, repeatedly and heroically challenging influential family clans, including the Emperor of China.

Commissioned by the Museum der Kulturen Basel, produced by Container TV AG Bern/ Shanghai as part of the exhibition „On Stage – the Art of Peking Opera“, September 6, 2011, to February 26, 2012, www.mkb.ch.

In collaboration with the Chinese Cultural Center, Tongji University Shanghai, and the MediaLab, Bern University oft he Arts.

Of the total population in Switzerland, some eight-hundred thousand – or about ten percent – cannot read or write properly although they attended obligatory schools. It is a staggering number. Most of them are illiterate – a fact they conceal in their everyday lives because our thoughtless society has dismissed them as dumb and lazy since they were very young.

In Boggsing ten of them reveal their predicament allowing us to catch a glimpse of their lives. We learn what strategies they have developed to avoid humiliation. We hear about taboo subjects and great suffering. And they tell us why they have taken the brave decision to break out of their invisible prisons.

BOGGSING – a documentary that gives the word to those who only used to get red pencil marks.

38 Min, stereo, color, HD4:2:2/ Bluray/DVD
Original languages: Swiss German, French
Language versions: Voice-over German, French, English

 
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Auf dem Berg oben ist es schwer, in den Wald zu rufen; da lohnt es sich, vor allem der Wahrheit zuliebe, der ja oft zu wenig Rechnung getragen wird, einen Weissblechkessel mitzunehmen.
 

Eigentlich sind sie tot; dennoch können sie die Lebenden noch nicht loslassen. Diese verirrten Seelen machen mit seltsamen Zeichen, die kaum jemand zu deuten weiss, auf sich aufmerksam. Eine einfache Frau aus dem Emmental (BE) erzählt von ihren Gästen, welche in der Zwischenwelt zwischen Leben und Tod hängen geblieben sind. Und wie sie ihnen hilft, zur ewigen Ruhe zu kommen.

Zwischenwelt ist ein Film aus der Dokumentar-Serie «Mysteriöse Schweiz», produziert vom Schweizer Fernsehen SRF, directed by Juerg Neuenschwander.

Ein Werk von Jürg Neuenschwander, Kunst am Bau für die Eingangshalle der Direktion für Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit (DEZA) (the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Das Werk ZONES ist eine vierkanalige, interaktive Video Kunst Installation:
Durch Einklicken auf die Touch Screen lösen die Besucherinnen und Besucher vier voneinander unabhängige, laufend neu komponierte Bildfolgen aus, die sich zu einer eigenständigen Bildkompositionen auf vier Bildschirmen verdichten. So werden Bildnetze geknüpft, die immer wieder neue, überraschende Fenster zur Welt öffnen.