Film Forum

Johan Grimonprez’s critically acclaimed work dances on the borders of theory and practice, between art and cinema, going beyond the dualisms of documentary and fiction, other and self, mind and brain to weave new pathways in how we perceive our realities. Informed by an archeology of present-day media, his work depicts intimate stories that brush up against the bigger picture of globalization. It questions our collective imagination, one framed by a fear industry that has infected political and social dialogue. By suggesting new narratives through which to tell a story, his work emphasizes a multiplicity of realities. Our histories and memories are not only a means to reimagine our contested past, but also tools to negotiate our shared presents. In Wonderland, the Queen rephrases it to Alice: “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.” Grimonprez’s feature films include DIAL H-I-S-T-O-R-Y (1997, in collaboration with novelist Don DeLillo, selected by the Guardian as one of the “30 great works in the history of video art”), DOUBLE TAKE (2009, in collaboration with writer Tom McCarthy — another Film Forum premiere) and SHADOW WORLD (2016, in combination with investigative journalist Andrew Feinstein) premiered at the Tribeca Festival and went on to win the Best Documentary Feature Award at the 2016 Edinburgh International Film Festival. Traveling the festival circuit from the Berlinale, Sundance to Tribeca, Grimonprez’s films have garnered several Best Director awards, the 2005 ZKM International Media Award, an Independent Spirit Award, and the 2009 Black Pearl Award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. They have been acquired by PBS, NBC Universal, ARTE, and BBC/FILM 4. Grimonprez’s curatorial projects have been exhibited at museums worldwide, including the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; and MoMA. His works are in the collections of Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa; and Tate Modern, London. Grimonprez is represented by the Sean Kelly Gallery (New York) and The Kamel Mennour Galerie (Paris) and he’s published by Hatje Cantz, Stuttgart. See johangrimonprez.be for more info.

Rik Chaubet is a Belgian editor, director, and experimental musician. He is interested in working on fiction films and documentaries that try to push the medium forward. He loves contributing his skills to films where there is room to play around in the editing room and working on formally innovative films by using the new possibilities of his editing software to communicate originally about the world around us.

Grammy-nominated and multiple Emmy-winning director and producer Lisa Cortés generates bold, explosive art that shines light on important stories hidden from view. From executive-producing the Academy Award®-winning film, PRECIOUS, to producing and directing 2023’s “enthralling documentary” (Variety Magazine) LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING, Lisa sparks cultural change through works of unrivaled excellence. Cortés founded her own production company, Cortés Filmworks, and is committed to telling complex, powerful stories from new perspectives and elevating the talent often overlooked by the mainstream.

Supported by a Humanities New York Action Grant

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