Program of Cinema Laboratory

Nikita Lavretski - "Nikita Lavretski" (2019) 97 min, Catalan subtitles (post-screening discussion with the filmmaker)

The documentary chronology of the life of a child from 0 to 16 years old, under the watchful eye of a camera lens. This quasi-biopic by Nikita Lavretski by Nikita Lavretski uses personal VHS tapes and camera phone recordings as source material, unexpectedly smearing them with hints of horror. The home videos, which are supposed to inspire feelings of comfort and warmth, also contain something equally disturbing, hinting at a secret meaning with each frame. As for home videos, they are almost always created for one reason only: as an instrument of violence. The director uses editing and punk visual effects to reassemble images from his childhood, only making hidden details more evident and establishing contact with his flamboyant video double.

Filmmaker biography.
Nikita Lavretski was born in 1994 in Minsk, Belarus. He has been described by Cahiers lleva Cine as "the most interesting comedian of the Belarusian invisible scene". His debut film Belarusian Psycho won the award for Best Belarusian Film at the 2015 Minsk Listapad International Film Festival.

The first programme of screenings of the Laboratory is formulated as questions: what do filmmakers do in this era of an overabundance of images? How do they represent the crossovers between the real and the virtual? What are the new forms of audiovisual activism?

By the Santa Mònica Creation Laboratory

Acknowledgement to the Casa de Rusia Foundation in Barcelona

Sessions:
22.02.2022 / 18h to 20'10h
29.03.2022 / 18h to 20'10h
24.05.2022 / 18h to 20'10h
21.06.2022 / 18h to 20'10h
28.06.2022 / 18h to 20'10h
26.07.2022 / 18h to 20'10h