Mobileskino: super8, artistic activism, manifestos and installations

Mobileskino will bring their full work to the space of the old Provincial Prison of A Coruña within the framework of (S8) Periheral Film Festival. Do not stop reading the explication given by the group and come and enjoy them at the (S8).

Mobileskino is a collective of four Super8 activists: Florian Olloz, Roland Schmidt, Gilbert Engelhard and David Pfluger. They founded Mobileskino in 2000 with the idea to spread the philosophy of Super8 and make cinema something interactive rather than a place where you sit down and consume images. The first projections and installations were shown in Basel and Zürich, the cities they come from. Their products are short movies with or without action, documentations, animations and loops. The films are shown in installations, as a collage of layers, as main movie or as accompaniment with or without sound.

Their manifesto says:
“We want to abolish the walls of the cinema! Cinema is everywhere! We confront the moving pictures with their spectators and vice versa.  We understand mobility as independence of a fixed place, of a fixed time and of a costly infrastructure. Performances of the Mobileskino are not closely defined and thus changeable: as a happening, as installations in space or as a flood of pictures at parties and concerts. What is being created is kitsch, art and experiment, hackneyed or innovative.

Cinema means magic, experience, ritual, joy and tears…“

Using classic film they are often asked why they use Super8 instad of Video which is supposed to be much cheaper and easier to use. It was always clear to them that these facts are not the main arguments in the decision of the media for an art project. Also it never had the retro aspect to them, it is just THEIR medium. Super8 is the beauty of cinema. Still the constant presence of todays digital reality caused an involvement with it and led to a series of works around that subject. The Game Arcade and High Noon is the biggest ensemble of installations they have created. The Game Arcade is a group of four machines which are life size, interactive game arcade machines in the spirit of the digital game machines of the 80ies. But Mobilekino’s games are not digital, they just borrowed the look and the sound. They function completely analogue with projections, switches and slides. Here the digital world, which is often used to simulate our environment is simulated by analogous machines. Mobileskino states: “By using analogous and mechanical machines, we try to turn the digital media into material we can work with.”

High Noon takes the idea a step further and connects to the world of mobile phones. Today everyone has got one of these nerve tearing, noisy gadgets with limitless useless functions. New skills like handling a 10 dial alphabet to write a message are developed. High Noon takes account of that and tests the visitors skills unter the threat of life and death like once in the Wild West and like today in the digital West.
Mobileskino has been on the road with their Game Arcade and High Noon in Switzerland and around Europe. As they are working crossover between installation and cinema they often present their works at film festivals. Done so at Dresdner Schmalfilmtage (D), VideoEx in Zürich (CH) or Filmfest Rotterdam (NL). But they also visit art spaces like the CCCB in Barcelona, Spain. Visitors have always enjoied the interactive nature of the works. It’s art that isn’t just an intellectual challenge but also a challenge to the skills and a lot of fun.
Usually, due to limited space conditions, just a part of the machines of the Game Arcade are exhibited. For the S8 Festival in A Coruña, Mobileskino is looking forward to be able to bring their whole ensemble of works. A rare opportunity to get the full experience in sight and sound!