The Brighton Film Festival

With Rokia Traore as Guest Director, CINECITY presented a key work of Malian cinema on 35mm and a pair of highly distinctive docs.

YEELEN (Brightness) 35mm presentation
Dir: Souleymane Cissé. Mali 1987.
A stand-out in world cinema, Souleymane Cissé’s hypnotic Cannes Jury Prize winner follows young Bambara native, Niankoro as he leaves his mother’s house on a quest for spiritual enlightenment.
Sun 12 May 1pm / Duke of York’s 

THE END OF FEAR
Dir: Barbara Visser. Netherlands 2018.
In 1986, one of the most famous crimes against art was committed when a man attacked a Barnett Newman painting in Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum; the large abstract canvas was slashed in an act of anti-modernist vandalism. A conservator was hired to restore the painting but when the canvas was returned to the gallery, it had been plastered over with red paint and a roller, finally destroying the work of art. Barbara Visser calls into question the value of art, cultural gatekeeping and notions of authorship with her playful investigation into what makes art, art.
Thu 23rd May 9pm / Duke’s at Komedia 

JOHN MCENROE: IN THE REALM OF PERFECTION
Dir: Julien Faraut. France 2018.
Narrated by Mathieu Amalric, this is sports documentary unlike any other, a beguiling and delightful film essay culled from hours of beautiful 16mm footage documenting tennis legend John McEnroe’s performance at the 1984 French Open. A fascinating treatise on film, spectatorship and the meaning of perfection.
Wed 8th May 6pm / Duke’s at Komedia