On June 6 at 19:00 at Veldze Creative Factory Baltic Analog Lab presents Equinox an event featuring audiovisual performances and experimental films in analogue formats. The event marks the culmination of the international BAL Film School and will welcome special guests from France and Mexico.

This year, Baltic Analog Lab celebrates its 10th anniversary with a series of events. As part of the film school’s closing program, Equinox will showcase works by BAL Film School participants, presenting their newly created analogue films projected on 16mm film projectors. The program will also feature a special audiovisual performance by Mexican musician Juan Duarte, who is participating in a joint residency between Baltic Analog Lab and the festival Skaņu Mežs this June.

The performance materials have been developed during a creative workshop led by acclaimed French filmmaker Gaëlle Rouard, who will also perform her 16mm expanded cinema piece Beira Douro, created in Portugal.

Each year, Baltic Analog Lab organizes an intensive international film school, bringing together filmmakers from around the world through online lectures with renowned experimental filmmakers such as Ben Rivers (UK), Peter Tscherkassky (AT), Esther Urlus (NL), Viktoria Schmid (AT), Alexandre Larose (CA), Richard Tuohy (AU), Zachary Epcar (USA), and others.This year’s participants come from Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States, Canada, Finland, France, Taiwan, India, Mexico, Croatia, Greece, Peru, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Austria, Malta, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, China, Korea, Colombia, Hong Kong, Brazil, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

A number of participants will be present at the event to introduce the films they created during the school, as well as film loops produced during the workshop with Gaëlle Rouard and sound artist Juan Duarte.

Gaëlle Rouard (France) is a filmmaker, alchemist, and performance artist whose practice centers on handmade film and photochemical processes. Since the early 1990s, she has developed experimental methods of film processing, presented live multi-projection performances internationally, and led workshops in diverse educational and artistic contexts. She is a longtime member of Le 102, rue d’Alembert, a venue dedicated to experimental music and film.

Juan Duarte is an artist-researcher whose work explores the relationship between atmosphere, listening, and the concept of attunement. Originally from Mexico City and based in Finland for the past decade, his background spans New Media, Design & Production, and Audiovisual Communication. He holds a Master’s degree from Aalto University and is currently completing a doctoral degree at the same institution.

Programme

19:00 Exhibition opening
19:30 Film programme
21:00 Film performance Beira Douro by Gaëlle Rouard (FR)
22:00 BAL Film School performance with Juan Duarte (MX)

The event is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia and the Riga City Council.