K2 and the Invisible Footmen

Preceded by the short film Ex Nihilo

Thursday, Jan 31 @ 7:30pm

The Black Box

Past Event

Located on the border between Pakistan and China, K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth.

For many climbers, it is an even greater prize than Everest, with limited routes, a steeper ascent, and a harder push to its summit. Nicknamed the ‘Savage Mountain,’ K2’s peak juts unprotected into the atmosphere, regularly exposing climbers and porters to life-threatening weather conditions.

Despite being paid at rates far below those received by international expedition leaders, such porters—whether they provide critical supplies to expedition base camps or take on higher-altitude tasks in support of ascending climbers—do some of the most difficult and dangerous work and these efforts make them worthy of recognition as the true heroes of mountaineering.

Watch the trailer

Preceded by the short film Ex Nihilo

Ex Nihilo is an experimental short documentary about life, death and our attempts to control them. It tells the stories of an advanced humanoid robot, a cryonics facility, where the brains of deceased people are held and of a international seed vault, where crop seed from around the world are held frozen.

Watch the trailer

Followed by a conversation with K2 cinematographer & editor Jawad Sharif and guests.

K2 and the Invisible Footmen Director’s Bio

Iara Lee, a Brazilian of Korean descent, is an activist, filmmaker, and founder/director of the Cultures of Resistance Network, an organization that promotes global solidarity and connects and supports agitators, educators, farmers, and artists to build a more just and peaceful world through creative resistance and nonviolent action! As a filmmaker, Iara has directed/produced several full-length documentaries and dozens of short films over the past decade.

Ex Nihilo Director’s Bio

Timo Wright is a media artist based in Helsinki, Finland. Wright has graduated with MA degree from the Aalto University School of Art and Design in Helsinki in 2014. He has participated in domestic and international exhibitions since the mid 2000s including Kunsthall Charlottenborg (2017&2018), Samuelis Baumgarte Galerie (2017), Galerie Anhava (2016), Helsinki Art Museum (2013), Helsinki Design Museum (2012), Amos Anderson Art Museum (2012), Kunsthalle Helsinki (2012, 2010, 2009) and Helsinki Art Museum’s Kluuvi Gallery (2012), as well as festivals such as IDFA, Slamdance, Nordisk Panorama, International Film Festival Rotterdam and Japan Media Arts Festival. His films have been shown at over 40 festivals worldwide.

K2 and the Invisible Footmen

[54 minutes | Iara Lee | USA / Pakistan | 2015]

Ex Nihilo

[8 min | Timo Wright | Finland | 2018]

Other films / programs in the festival

Three Identical Strangers
Evolving Eyes and Revised Societies
Conversations with Nature
The Experimental City

See the full program here.