Artists' Film Club: Oliver Ressler

During the course of the Chto delat? exhibition the ICA cinema hosts a weekly screening event addressing filmmaking which exists at the intersection between art, and social and political activism. The ICA is pleased to present the London premiere of Comuna Under Construction, a film by Dario Azzellini and Oliver Ressler, followed by a conversation between Ressler and curator Ben Borthwick.

Austrian artist Oliver Ressler produces films, exhibitions and public interventions that tackle socio-political themes, often specifically addressing forms of resistance and social alternatives. Part of a series of collaborations with Azzellini, Comuna Under Construction is a documentary that investigates the self-organized formation of community councils in areas of Venezuela. The film follows the push and pull between the state and the autonomy of these groups, as they endeavour to take control of the decision-making that affects their lives and environment.

Oliver Ressler (born 1970, Knittelfeld, Austria) has exhibited internationally including solo projects at Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum, Alexandria (2010) and Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley (2006). Recent group exhibitions include Uneven Geographies: Art and Globalisation, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham (2010) and A History of Irritated Material, Raven Row, London (2010).

Ben Borthwick is Director of Artes Mundi, the international art prize. He previously worked at Tate Modern where he curated exhibitions including Gilbert & George, Latifa Echakhch, Rodchenko and Popova and Rosa Barba.