What better way to kick off the semester than with the end of the world? AAU’s Film Watchers Club launched its three-part series Thursday night, premiering with an original from Tony Marais and Jan Tompkins.
The premiere showcased the never-before-seen second installment of TV Eclectica, a visual component of Marais’ radio show, Radio Eclectica. The screening marked the first in the club’s history to advertise the film beforehand, attracting current and former members and the alumni who started the club. Marais compared Film Nights to the latest Professors in the Pub, seeing art and science as sharing the same goal,
“[It’s] an artistic attempt to deal with what is going on in the world, grapple with the situation both with the intention of making the world a better place,” said Marais.
The audio was created two years ago when Russia declared war on Ukraine. After the visuals were added a year later, this combination of imagery and evocative sound design created a unique, immersive experience that engaged both the senses and the mind.
Following an evening of firsts, AAU professor Rob Warren chose this semester’s theme for the first time.
“We do the apocalypse because I thought, let’s own it. If the world’s going to hell, at least at the moment, and there are so many unstable things, let’s see what culture and art can contribute to this conversation,” said Warren.
Apocalyptic Triptych explores stepping into an uncertain future- one that could be disastrous or transformative, depending on where you are and how you view the world’s instability.
The series will continue with two more meetings: one on Oct. 17, led by Pavla Jonssonová, and the other on Nov. 21, led by Rob Warren at 18:30 in the AAU Library.
