Forty-second session, Cine_Ilegal

Screening of a film proposed by Sahatsa Jauregi, followed by a debate.

The image of a blonde, dark-skinned, blue eyed woman reminded me of Natalia from Arteleku and inevitably took me back to a Cleopatra costume my parents told me I should make instead of buying. The costume had a brass tiara with a cobra engraved on it, a shimmering white nylon tunic, a belt with a long extension down to my ankles, and a sort of stiff chest collar made of gold-sprayed inner tubes and threaded sequins sewn into the distinctive Versace border design. Something like Elbis Reber when they played with Jorge and called themselves Nefertitis; a lot of gold and white together can be a bit black. The image was by Ulrike Ottinger.

A story of four women and a close harmony band travelling on the Trans-Siberian railway. A film which goes from sets simulating the Trans-Siberian, painted by specialists in stage design, and the pathless landscapes of Mongolia. Ottinger claims the film is about narrative, and also about cultural misunderstandings.

Sahatsa Jauregi (Salvador de Bahia, 1984). Artist/investigator.