© Wok The Rock, How low can you go, Lisa, 2004

Video Battle at Directors Lounge Media Art Festival, Berlin

February 12th, 2009 at 6 pm 

Video Battle was initiated by Wok The Rock, Zulhan Sasmitha and Wimo Ambala Bayang in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 2004. Its main aim was to organise independent video compilations of different creators in the visual art scene. In the beginning, they did a local call for proposals and the videos were distributed by hand in every possible place.

After the selection process, the works were screened mainly in Yogyakarta in a number of venues, including the Documentary Film Festival in 2007. The videos were also screened in Bandung at IF Venue in 2005  and Buton Kultur 21 in 2008, in Jakarta at ruangrupa in 2005 and at Screen Box in 2006. Video Battle was also screened in Belgium at the Royal Academy of Arts in Antwerp in 2005, in China at the Yunnan University in Kunming in 2005, and in Malaysia at Lost Generation in Kuala Lumpur in 2007. There have been 13 video compilations so far with works mostly from Indonesia (Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Bandung), but also from China.

By the end of 2008, Video Battle started an online platform for submissions for videos from all over the world. With this, after the selection done by the organisers of each of the "rounds", Video Battle wants to make the videos accesible to anyone and to distribute them in the best possible way.

Now, as an online platform for video creations, it offers a way to access to the works by using an internet connection. Every year, the best works online will be compiled in DVD format, as it was in the original idea of the project. With this, Video Battle invites the public to use the platform for submissions and for enjoying video creations. 

For submissions and for online screenings take a look on the following web site: www.video-battle.net

Video Battle is produced and distributed by Wok The Rock, Agung Nugroho Widhi and Wimo Ambala Bayang

The fifth edition of Directors Lounge Media Art Festival runs paralel to the 59th International Film Festival Berlin, 59th Berlinale, from Feb. 5th- 15th, 2009

Directors Lounge Media Art Festival
Address:
Scala
Friedrichstr. 112 A, 10117 Berlin
Germany 

Programme curated by Katerina Valdivia Bruch:

Cyka (Indonesia) – Stereo pathetic of Final Curse / 01:20 / 2004
Animation video about a skeleton that plants something in a garden and its consequences.

Eko Nugroho (Indonesia) – Dark Disco / 02:02 / 2004
We are living in a crisis, but our government likes party. A critical approach on Indonesian politics.

Eko Nugroho (Indonesia) – Let Me Love Me / 02:16 / 2004
Animation about a strange character reading a book with a chimney on his head.

Luo Fei (China) – In The Room / 03:00 / 2002
Strange act by three young men in a bed room.

Nangski (Indonesia) – Adiksi / 02:34 / 2005
A psychedelic animation music video from Jakarta based band, C'mon Lennon.

Wok The Rock (Indonesia) – How Low Can You Go, Lisa / 05:05 / 2004
The image on this video is a painting by Japanese artist Yasumasa Morimura in which he parodes  Leonardo´s masterpiece. Using the same idea of reapropiation, Wok The Rock puts Morimura´s work in a new context by printing the image with a low quality and old printer. Additionally, the video was shot with a compact digital camera. The infinite options of copy that technology offers  contrasts with the unique and original artwork of the masterpiece parodied. 

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