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The Rare Event

Ben Russell
2018 United Kingdom 48 minutes French; English

Shot in a Parisian recording studio at a three-day “forum of ideas” focusing on the manifold possibilities of Resistance (the title of Jean-François Lyotard’s unrealized follow-up exhibition at Le Centre Pompidou to his landmark “Les Immatériaux”), occasional collaborators Ben Rivers and Ben Russell have produced what initially appears to be a structuralist document of a philosophical discussion in-the-round. This “appearance dimension” is deceptive, of course, and with the aid of an immersive 5.1 sound-mix, a Green Man, a dose of kinetic digital magic (courtesy of US-based artist Peter Burr) and an impressive cast including Albert Serra, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Étienne Balibar and Jean-Luc Nancy, a document of Resistance slowly transforms into The Rare Event – a portal that joins all dimensions into one.

Production :
LUMA Foundation, Ben Rivers, Ben Russell
Photography :
Ben Rivers, Ben Russell
Sound :
Philippe Ciompi
Editing :
Ben Rivers, Ben Russell
Print contact :
Lux, Matt Carter • emails matt@lux.org.uk / distribution@lux.org.uk

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