German Film @ Canada - Goethe-Institut

Leipzig photographer Ricarda Roggan traces her fascination with the mysterious darkness of the cinema and her attraction to moving images back three decades and across two political systems, east and west.

Watch her film "The Moviegoer", commissioned by the Goethe-Institut Toronto as part of the North American premiere of her photo series KINO at the Goethe Media Space. This excerpt from her film script recalls the artist changing sides from spectator to projectionist:

“Around 1997, I recall that I tried changing sides, from spectator to projectionist. I no longer know exactly where I got the idea. One of my favourite cinemas offered training to become a projectionist. At the time it seemed like the right thing. When you consider the technical side, it’s of course a purely mechanical matter: After the training, you could load the material in the right way . . . usually six rolls in total on two machines, which project alternately. You could repair tears in film, change lights, adjust mirrors, repair projectors. You’d have a basic understanding of optics, acoustics and mechanics.

The one thing was that you were not allowed under any circumstance to watch the film through the small window of the projection room and lose track of time. Continue reading "KINO: An appreciation by..." »

As part of the North American premiere of Leipzig photographer Ricarda Roggan's series KINO at the Goethe Media Space Toronto, we asked two former Goethe-Institut projectionists to talk us through the images of 16mm and 35mm machines in the show from their "user" perspective. The exhibition, part of the Images Festival and the Contact Photography Festival, is on view until 19 September 2020 with a forthcoming commissioned video essay by the artist called "Ricarda Roggan: The Moviegoer". Here is TIFF technical manager Andrei Gravelle pondering a projectionist's reflexes and East German industrial design:

I was a professional film projectionist for 13 years and one of the things I miss most about that hands-on period of time were the exciting opportunities that presented themselves when working in a new cinema to try to figure out the operation of unfamiliar equipment. My relationship to the projector “Weimar 3” in Ricarda Roggan’s show “Kino” at the Goethe Media Space is virtual rather than tactile, but the challenge to understand the projector itself is such an ingrained reflex that studying it from images alone feels no different than handling it in person. Continue reading "KINO: An appreciation of the Weimar 3 8mm..." »

As part of the North American premiere of Leipzig photographer Ricarda Roggan's series KINO at the Goethe Media Space Toronto, we asked two former Goethe-Institut projectionists to talk us through the images of 16mm and 35mm machines in the show from their "user" perspective. The exhibition, part of the Images Festival and the Contact Photography Festival, is on view until 19 September 2020 with a forthcoming commissioned video essay by the artist called "Ricarda Roggan: The Moviegoer". Here is TIFF technical manager James King pondering the sound, feel and elegance of the machines that bring us films:

16mm always fulfilled the oxymoronic role of amateur-professional in the realm of cinema technology. Able to pull its weight in a proper cinema, the gauge was also portable, fit for the home. The Siemens 2000 16mm projector, a machine of the 1960’s, recalls this duality from the smooth, curved metallic outer shell to the industrial grill and control knobs facing the operator side.

As a projectionist, what grounded me in the booth was always the sound; Continue reading "KINO: An appreciation of the Siemens 2000 16mm..." »