The Film All-Nighter

The Film All-Nighter

»The Animal in Me«

»ACCORDING TO THE FIRST OF THE PUNK BOYS, THE BODY IS STILL IN A PROCESS OF BEING FORGED. ALL OF THE PUNK BOYS HAD FUCKED THEIR MOTHERS AND WERE NO LONGER COLONIZED. THEY DIDN’T CARE.«
– KATHY ACKER, ›PIRATE BOYS‹

›Neozoa‹ are animal species introduced or migrated directly or indirectly into a new region and which may threaten or displace native species. Man likes to compare himself with animals, as they are sentient and mortal beings. They are both similar and dissimilar to us. We enjoy observing them and recognizing aspects of ourselves in them.

This relationship is taken to its fullest form in zoos. Animals are packed into a frame, and must be visible, comparable and, in the ideal scenario, also entertaining. They offer a scope of interpretation that man adapts to suit his situation: from the animal-like nature of the dangerous ›other‹ to the soul mate. These comparison models have been, and still are, equally applied to marginalised cultures. Colonial violence is experienced in the form of cultural appropriation, and it infiltrates our everyday lives.
It remains part of our present and is reflected in the gaining in strength of reactionary agendas such as nationalism, racism and isolationism, in bipolar and stereotypical media idioms. There is an acute risk of infection, and there’s no vaccine for this virus. But the Film All-Nighter programme is resisting, spreading infection and bringing out the animal in all of us. Authority on interpretation is questioned, undermined, reinterpreted. And we melt and dissolve.
_Jessica Manstetten