Wellington to host New Zealand premiere of epic film

Wellington to host New Zealand premiere of epic film

Next month Wellington audiences have an exclusive opportunity to attend a one-off New Zealand screening of the cinematic production River of Fundament, by superstar New York-based artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney and composer Jonathan Bepler, thanks to Victoria University of Wellington’s Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi.

This epic six-hour film is based on Norman Mailer’s 1983 novel Ancient Evenings. It combines narrative cinema, sculpture, operatic music and footage from live performances in the United States.

The film represents seven years’ work by Barney and Bepler, who conceived the project in 2007 as a live, three-part opera. The film includes footage from the live operas and features acclaimed actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Paul Giamatti.

Barney and Bepler have specified that the film be screened as a one-off event in a traditional performance venue, rather than in a conventional movie cinema. Adam Art Gallery Curator Stephen Cleland says Wellington’s historic Embassy Theatre is an ideal setting as it possesses “both the feel of a historic theatre and the state-of-the-art technology of a high-end cinema. It’s the perfect context to screen a film that probes the boundaries of cinema, opera and sculpture.”

River of Fundament reimagines Mailer’s story of Egyptian gods and the seven stages of reincarnation set against a backdrop of the rise and fall of the American car industry. Norman Mailer is the protagonist within his own narrative who repeatedly attends his own wake.

Barney says the film is designed to push the limits of what people can take. “It should be like going on a journey that affects you physically. By the time you’re finished, you should be tired enough that you’re seeing the scenes in the third act in a very different way to the first.”

To complement the film, the Adam Art Gallery is exhibiting Matthew Barney: DRAWING RESTRAINT. This show opens next Friday and includes 12 moving-image works, which

have been selected and displayed in close communication with the artist. Spanning nearly three-decades of his work, the exhibition offers insight into Barney’s development as an artist.

In the videos, Barney is shown climbing and navigating different rooms with the aid of trampolines, grips and pulleys. His drawings on the floors, walls and ceilings of each room demonstrate the limits set by the spaces.

Adam Art Gallery director, Christina Barton says she’s thrilled to present the exhibition. “This is the first survey of these ground breaking works ever to be seen in New Zealand. Barney redefines drawing as a bodily exercise with the built environment as his sketchpad. He’s challenging traditional ideas of art and asking the audience to join him.”

Matthew Barney: DRAWING RESTRAINT is on show at the Adam Art Gallery until 24 April.

River of Fundament has been brought to Wellington by Victoria University’s Adam Art Gallery and will screen as part of the New Zealand International Festival at Wellington’s Embassy Theatre on 19 March. Tickets are available through Ticketek.

River of Fundament 6pm, Saturday 19 March Embassy Theatre, Kent Tce, Wellington

Duration: 5 hours 52 mins Interval: 2x 30 minutes Classification: R18

Matthew Barney: DRAWING RESTRAINT 26 February – 24 April

The Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi Gate 3, Kelburn Parade, Wellington

ENDS

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