Vázquez/Arrieta at Anthology Film Archives

U.S. premiere of the films of Vicente Vázquez and Usue Arrieta, as well as the works generated under their influence.

The five films presented here display a preoccupation with the kinetics of labor, the function of cinema and the arts, and with description as a sensitive form of analysis, a constant approach in their works.

The evening will host two programs:

1. Three films by Vázquez/Arrieta
2. Two films of their artist / filmmaker cooperative, Tractora Coop.

These two programs feature a selection of films embodying their practice and their ethos. Vázquez and Arrieta will be present for both programs.

Sunday Rest: Three films by Vázquez/Arrieta

These three films deal with the tensions between work and leisure, nature and culture, the industrial fabric and community. Through the images and sounds of these videos, one can see how the supposed opposition between these pairs melt to give way to a subtle interweaving that generates an unusually complex portrait of a social group.

Goitik Behera Behetik Gora (Top Down, Bottom Up)

• On Monday November 21 at 6:30 pm.
• Directed by Vázquez/Arrieta, Spain, 2012, 31 minutes.
• In Spanish with English subtitles.

Goitik behera eta Behetik gora is a film about the communities that build up around hobbies and the imaginariums they produce, studying their rise and fall through two events and hobbies: model aeroplanes and soapbox racings. Produced with the support of Punto de Vista Film Festival.

The exhaust Note

• On Monday November 21 at 7 pm.
• Directed by Vázquez/Arrieta, Spain, 2013, 41 minutes.
• In Spanish with English subtitles.

The exhaust note is the term used in the motor world to describe the characteristic sound that each different engine makes. The film follows the activities of the pit during those years: mining processes, musealization operations, extractive practices as well as strategies of patrimonialization of the physical and human landscape through particular events. Produced by Tractora S. Coop with the aid of Fundació Antoni Tapies, Bilbaoarte, Voralberg city council.

90º Doble Vertiente (90º Double Slope)

• On Monday November 21 at 7:40 pm.
• Directed by Vázquez/Arrieta, Spain, 2013, 60 minutes.
• In Spanish with English subtitles

The film traces two multitudinous events that share the same space/time and transform it: the Tour de France on its way through the Atlantic Pyrenees and the Pirineos Sur Festival, held annually in the swamp of Lanuza (Huesca ).Following the activities that took place during summer 2012, the film depicts the Atlantic Pyrenees as a social mesh articulated by energy creation and consumption processes derived from its geological morphology, geopolitical situation and liminal quality between nature and culture. Produced by Tractora S. Coop with the aid of Fundació Joan Miro, Euskaltel Euskadi Team, Ayuntamiento de Huesca, and Festival Pirineos Sur.

Tractora Coop. Work Samples 2014/2016

Tractora is an artist / filmmakers cooperative founded in 2013. Its name references truck drivers from which it has copied its operational structure.

Pasaia Bitartean

• On Monday November 21 at 6:30 pm.
• Directed by Irati Gorostidi, Spain, 2015, 51 minutes.
• In Spanish with English subtitles.

Pasaia Bitartean is a filmic approach to the urban fabric of Pasaia (Passages), a town built around a natural fjord where the main guipuzcoan fishing and industrial port is located. Its urban fabric grew and was structured in relation to the activity of the sport, which has been in a severe decline since the industrial crisis of de 70s and until now.The film pursues this appreciation of Pasaia’s present condition, as well as considering the city as a continent of memory. Produced with the support of Basque Government and co-produced by Tractora S. Coop.

Lycisca

• On Monday November 21 at 6:30 pm.
• Directed by Gerard Ortín, Spain, 2016, 43 minutes.
• In Spanish with English subtitles

Shot in Karranza, an historic mining area of Bilbao, and also one of the most rural areas of the province. The film departs from the myth of the Carranza Wolf, but portrays the industrial farming system, the museum systems of animal and geology exploitation and there is also room to exploit the magic of cinema. Produced with the support of Ars Santa Mónica and co-produced by Tractora S. Coop.

These screenings are presented on the occasion of the opening of Vázquez/Arrieta’s exhibition, CMDG (Cierta Mecánica Del Gesto / Some Mechanics of Gesture) at ESTE (231 Stanhope Street, Brooklyn) from November 19 thru December 18, 2016. The opening will be on Saturday, November 19, from 6 pm to 9 pm.