In September, Garage will offer a special screening of the documentary short Plastic Palace to mark International Week of the Deaf.
This film is part of an ongoing research project that explores the history of the Deaf theater Theater of Mime and Gesture (TMG) in Moscow. Established in 1962, the TMG represented an important moment for emerging art and culture among Deaf people in Moscow, forming part of a «golden age» of Deaf cultural identity and resistance.
Plastic Palace features Deaf actor Mudaris Muzafarov exploring the interior of the theater where he worked for over four decades. Traces of the building’s past are animated through a combination of archival footage and the memories of the actor, for whom its history is a lived experience. In the film, Muzafarov recalls his role in the silent performance Enchanted Island, directed by the late Russian writer Evgeny Kharitonov for the TMG in 1972. The performance was innovative for its experimental use of bodily movements without the accompaniment of a speaking translator for hearing audiences, departing from standard pantomime performances at the time. For this film, the artists worked with participants to document and at times imagine some of the original movements from the performance as remembered by Muzafarov himself, as well as what could be recovered from the few available archival materials such as photos and writings. These traces have been interwoven with new movements and commentaries, creating a space in which individual narratives that emphasize corporeal and movement-related experiences of history can be presented.
This film and research have been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
After the screening there will be a Q& A with artists Avni and Rebecca Dauti, researcher and project consultant Victor Palenny, and Theater of Mime and Gesture actor Mudaris Muzafarov.
The film will be screened with Russian and English subtitles.
The film is accessible for deaf and hard of hearing visitors.
Plastic Palace
Directors Avni and Rebecca Dauti
Australia, 2022, 24 min.
12+
