An attempt to film an adaptation of the eponymous philosophical manifesto of the left-wing accelerationists Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams, undertaken by Canadian experimental cinema's rising star Isiah Medina. Rethinking Godard's editing practices in the digital age, Medina does not limit himself to the original text, developing his own ideas on possible radical changes in society on its basis. The film gave its name—Inventing the Future—to the special program of the inaugural New Holland Island International Debut Film Festival and will be screened within its program at Garage Screen summer cinema. The screening will be followed by a discussion.
What might the world look like after capitalism? Following in the footsteps of left accelerationist academics Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams, the authors of the utopian manifesto Inventing the Future, the second feature film from the Canadian experimental director Isiah Medina attempts to outline the contours of the coming society: the cultural and ethical status of labor has been destroyed, every human being receives a universal basic income, and even the possibility of working is limited by the state. Deploying the avant-garde montage techniques used by Jean-Luc Godard and the Soviet directors of the 1920s, Medina develops the revolutionary potential of digital cinema and calls for an active role on the part of the viewer, without which it is impossible to analyze the situation, empower the imagination, and take political action.
After the screening, film critic Alexey Artamonov, art historian Boris Klyushnikov, and philosopher Nikita Sazonov will discuss the problems of transferring philosophical texts to the screen, the ideas of left-wing accelerationism, and the aesthetics of Isiah Medina.
The screening is in English with Russian subtitles.
Inventing the Future
Dir. Isiah Medina
Canada, France, UK, USA, 2020. 98 min. 16+