In line with the exhibit Ulrike Ottinger: Photographer and Filmmaker, Goethe-Institut and Yuchengco Museum are screening Under Snow, the latest film of German director, photographer, and artist Ulrike Ottinger, as well as Ulrike Ottinger: Nomad from the Lake, a documentary on the iconic filmmaker. The films are screened back-to-back at Yuchengco Museum every Monday to Saturday at 2:00 p.m. until May 10. Film screenings are free with museum admission.
Ulrike Ottinger is regarded as one of the most headstrong, internationally recognized German filmmakers. Her body of work spans from the surreal, theatrical, and stylized to the ethnological; from the fictional to the documentary. Born in Konstanz, Germany in 1942, Ottinger went to Paris for six years where she pursued painting, printmaking, and photography. She also attended lectures in art history, religious studies, and ethnology at the Sorbonne. In 1972, Ottinger moved to Berlin, where she has lived since.
Often described as a “film artist,” Ottinger conceives her work from highly imaginative images, and her movies go beyond the conventional notions of motion pictures. She is known her “Berlin trilogy” of films set in dramatically transformed industrial areas of the city, exploring themes such as ostracism and the containment of the marginalized in society. Retrospectives of her films have been shown at the Cinémathèque Française and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, among other institutions.
Under Snow, Ulrike Ottinger’s latest film, captures the beauty of Echigo, Japan, where snow often lies several feet, covering landscapes and villages. To record the distinctive lifestyle of its people, Ottinger journeys to the snow country with two Kabuki performers. Playing the parts of students Takeo and Mako, the performers follow in the footsteps of Bokushi Suzuki, who wrote the book Snow Country Tales in the 19th century. In sharp contrast to the warm tropical landscape of the Philippines, Under Snow combines Kabuki, poetry, and the reality of Snow Country Tales. Under Snow is screened at the museum Monday to Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Ottinger’s cinematic universe has influenced entire generations. Filmmaker Brigitte Kramer begins her documentary on Ottinger’s life and work, Ulrike Ottinger: Nomad from the Lake, in Lake Constance, where she shares the icon’s birthplace. The documentary includes interviews from Ottinger’s friends and colleagues over the decades and scenes from her own films, which are also on exhibit at Yuchengco Museum. Ulrike Ottinger: Nomad from the Lake is screened at the museum Monday to Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
Under Snow and Ulrike Ottinger: Nomad from the Lake are shown at Yuchengco Museum every Monday to Saturday at 2:00 p.m. until May 10. Film screenings are free with museum admission. Groups of at least five persons can book a special screening during their visit. For details, call (632) 889-1234 or email [email protected].
Yuchengco Museum is located at RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenues in Makati. Museum hours are from Monday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
