N E W – U P D A T E S
Analysis – Middle East glimpse sets (new series)
The new series of images offers a compelling exploration of the current Middle East war reinterpreting moments and themes from the region’s history of conflict, with the palm tree emerging as a key image signifier. Traditionally a symbol of life, resilience, and continuity in the Middle East, the palm tree is juxtaposed against scenes of devastation and turmoil, becoming a visual metaphor for survival amidst destruction.
Through innovative visuals, historical and contemporary events are transformed into surreal, abstract, or hyper-realistic representations, with the palm tree often appearing as a recurring motif. It may stand tall amidst ruins or appear fractured, highlighting the fragile balance between nature and conflict. This symbol evokes the persistence of life in the face of war, while also serving as a deeper cultural and environmental signifier for the region.
The Middle East, marked by decades of complex geopolitical struggles, has been the subject of countless documentaries, photographs, and artworks. However, this series delves deeper into the emotional and symbolic aspects of the conflict. The compositions blend historical data, cultural imagery, and the chaos of war, with the palm tree standing as a witness to both the human cost and the broader socio-political dynamics at play. Though rooted in real events, the resulting images take on a dreamlike, otherworldly quality, challenging conventional war imagery.
In addition to capturing the intensity of conflict, the series explores themes of displacement, identity, and survival, portraying the civilian experience through an interpretive lens. The palm tree, symbolizing resilience, becomes a central figure in this portrayal, representing not only the land but also the people’s enduring connection to it.
The series also raises ethical questions about the role of visual manipulation in documenting war. As technology evolves, the ability to manipulate and reconstruct reality blurs the line between fact and fiction, prompting reflection on the future of war journalism and the responsibilities of artists in representing human suffering and political conflicts.
Ultimately, the series offers not just a new aesthetic, but a provocative dialogue on the intersection of symbolism, war, and the human experience. It provides a fresh lens on the Middle East conflict, with the palm tree as a powerful signifier of both loss and hope, inviting viewers to contemplate the future of conflict imagery.
Paradise Now (vol2) installation Until September at Muza
Paradise Now (vol3) installation at ‘Beyond’, 25 Salame st Tel Aviv
11.7.24 – ‘122,499 files’ inauguration of a permanent new video installation at YAD VASHEM, Jerusalem
10.7.24 Paradise Now (Vol3) at ‘Beyond’. A year long digital installation at an abandoned flour mill, Salame 25 st Tel Aviv
27.6.24 Call for Dreams and Oolong Ambient Works screening at The Tel Aviv Cinematheque
30.3.24 – 15.11.24 Paradise Now (Vol 2) Muza a site-specific video and sound installation at the glass blowers pavilion in Eretz Israel Museum Tel Aviv. Until December.
Oolông: Ambient Works LP and 69 minute visual timeline released on Force Inc. /
Mille Plateaux across all platforms from 22.3.24.
Radiances. New solo show 10.8.23 20:00 The LAb. Herzel 119, Tel Aviv
Radiances. New album release 3.8.23 on all platforms
‘Moli Dahab’ out on all platforms. Album with multiple covers.
3-6/5 My new book Shapeshifter will have a mini launch and participation at Tel Aviv’s Artport Book Fair.
‘Battlefields’ opening as part of the exhibition
War is over, Peace has not yet begun at Imago Mudi Foundation, Treviso, Italy. Curated by Fondazione Imago Mundi, featuring:
Francesco Arena,
Terry Atkinson,
Massimo Bartolini,
Eteri Chkadua,
Maxim Dondyuk,
Harun Farocki,
Leon Golub,
Alfredo Jaar,
Mario Merz,
Richard Mosse,
Pedro Reyes,
Martha Rosler,
Sim Chi Yin,
Ran Slavin.
A unique project incorporating an instant exhibition “Responding art . Time of crisis“ takes place as of May 20th until May 29th in a building designated for reconstruction at Bloch 34 st Tel Aviv.
Initiated by 2 architecture students, Yuval Ziv and Eilon Brosh and a group of students together with Head Curator Lola Liat Lavie Azran. open daily 10-22.
Video works ‘Ghost’ & ‘torch’
New album.
Read a review
Ghost at The Ramat Gan Museum of Art
New music out now
New video out now to the reissue of Cathedral Connectors
Shapeshifter. Ran Slavin artist book published
‘Shapeshifter’ is the first comprehensive publication documenting Ran Slavin’s work, an innovative film maker, video artist, visual designer and sound composer active since the early 1990s. Ran Slavin’s work is centered on electronic time based media and the use of digital technologies to explore the dynamic inter relations between fiction, history, photography, digital intervention and sound. Slavin’s trans-media productions encompass feature and experimental cinema, immersive installations, photography, CGI multiverses and digital music. The book offers an overview of the artist’s main projects to date through a visual design and index that echoes his cinematic imagery and ethereal distinctive vocabulary.
The limited book edition presents a selection of works in film, video, installation and sound from 1990 to 2022. Designed as a structure of fifteen unique chapter layouts in which each chapter focuses on a different work aspiring to appear both as a visual experience and as a documentary of physical installations including 35 QR codes for digital streaming of album releases, videos, excerpts and films.
English 320 pages Softcover, 20.5 x 27 cm, 2022 Edited by Francesco Spampinato.
With text and theoretical contributions by: Francesco Spampinato, Gabi Scardi, Massimo Causo, Achim Szepanski, Yiannis Toumazis, Tomasz Wendland, Drorit Gur Arie, Aya Lurie, Adiya Porat, Merav Ktorza, Avital Wexler, Svetlana Reingold, Hadassah Cohen, Naomi Aviv Milo, Alona Kimhi, Nili Goren, Avi Pitchon. Designed by Anna Azzali for Mousse Publishing
Order from
Mousse,
Barnes and Noble,
Artbook,
Bridgeport,
Amazon . In Tel Aviv at: bookstore, Migdalor bookstore , Reading bookstore, Sipur Pashut bookstore, Parter Art Space, Magasin 3 books.
New hour mix for FM radio stations: Files from the aether world
An initiative of Meira Asher radioart106_#150
16.11 – ‘6480 Days’ at The All Asian Independent Film Festival (AAIFF), the Power Plant Cinema, Manila, the Philippines
18.11 – ‘6480 Days’ at Soundtrack festival, cinematheque Tel Aviv
26.1.23 Ghost – at The Ramat Gan Museum of Israeli Art, Israel
October 20/21/22 Call for Dreams (82 minute feature film) will screen at Clipa Theatre in Tel Aviv every night from 20:00 including a different short and a conversation with the film maker.
Tickets
SIX THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DAYS (6480 DAYS) at the ALL ASIAN INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL (AAIFF) IN MANILA ON THE 16TH, 17TH, 18TH, 19TH AND 20TH OF NOVEMBER, 2022.
14 August – 4/7 September 2022, Call for Dreams + 4 Dreams + EYE open at
Licht Zeit Labor Mediale Interventionen und Lichtkunst im Stadtraum Hannover
Curation: Harro Schmidt and Tomasz Wendland
24.08. 7pm
Israeli Video Art. The NOASS art centre, Riga Latvia
6/7.22 / 20:00 – 24:00
Save the date. Only 1 a nighter. Paradise Now will screen huge on Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre from 20:00 – 24:00 for 1 night only.
w/live music by Rejoicer
Call for Dreams screening double bill including 6480 Days.
At Hagada Hasmalit cinema club, Ahad Haam 70 st, 25.6.22 / 20:00 + Q&A + Mami Shimazaki
22.6 / 20:00 – 24:00 Paradise Now screens huge on Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre from 20:00 – 24:00 for 1 night only.
w/live music by the fabulous Duo Brothers
@duobrothers3 and DJ Biri
@deepa_and_biri
‘6480 DAYS REMIX’ will screen at CinemAsia 2022
May 12-15 Amsterdam
6480 Days will show as part of the official selection at ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival in Paris
the Minister of Culture Award in Israel
Live experimental Jazz 30.3.22 TLV.IL
CALL FOR DREAMS won best experimental at OTB film awards Miami
New 30 min documentary film about Israeli-Iraqi poet Ronny Someck I directed, co-shot, edited and designed in collaboration with Nurit Kedar, Shula Spiegel Productions and Kan 11 Broadcaster debuted on Israeli channel11 date 13.1.2022 at 22:30. Part of the series “Muzot” casting prominent cultural figures and screens at Epos Film Festival Tel Aviv
Participating with “Smoke and Mirrors” video installation in Micha Figa’s new theatre production “The Unnecessary Man” by Ablomov, written and directed by Yehezkel Lazarov at Heichal Hatarbut Tel Aviv dates: 4/5/6/8 Jan 2022
6480 Days selected by Cineaste International Film Festival of India
6480 Days selected by Kalpanirjhar International Short Fiction Film Festival, India
6480 Days – winner best experimental short film at Ojo Móvil Fest Peru
In The Moment will show at Nakanojo Biennale, Japan
6480 Days official selection at Bastalavista Genre Film Festival 2021, Hamburg
Solo screenings at Cinema Tick Tack Antwerpen, August 29 until Thursday September 16 every night from sunset to 01:00AM + streaming
ARCHE-typus – Utopies of Social Architecture, 28.08. to 03.10. Kulturzentrum-Faust, Hannover
ARCHE’, Architecture of Universe, GAD Space 04, Pavillion 0, Venice
Curated by Tomasz Wendland, Harro Schmidt
Call for Dreams ,honorable mention at Deep Focus Film Festival, Brooklyn, NY
I had the pleasure of art directing and editing the online and trailer of #SCHOOLYARD, a new documentary film by Nurit Kedar premiering august at The Jerusalem Film Festival
6480 Days opening 9/2/21 at Communication Disorder group show at Tel Aviv and Everything Is Urgent at Transmission Sound Windows.
My follow up to Call for Dreams is this New short ‘6480 Days’ which is now live and airing at Utopia Film Fest, check it out here until 10.1.2021 https://futures.utopiafest.org.il/short/6480-days/
Call for Dreams review on Film Threat
CALL FOR DREAMS official selection Lift-Off , January 2021 UK, online.
Cooking for the Apocalypse / Eco Noir: A companion for Precarious Times/ Group show. November 20–December 9, 2020. Symposium and book launch online: December 9 Exhibition Laboratory Merimiehenkatu 36 Helsinki Finland
Assemblage Staircase Gallery, group show, Tel Aviv
‘Call for Dreams’ selected for the 1st Edition of the UK Film Review Festival 2020
‘Call for Dreams’ selected for the 3rd Edition of Urban Audiovisual Festival, Lisbon on November 12-14 2020
‘Call for Dreams’ official selection and in competition at the 10th Cinefantasy International Fantastic Film Festival 8-20/9/2020 São Paulo, Brazil
Call for Dreams special screening at Athens Digital Arts Festival 29/7/2020
___________________________
Call for Dreams is now available at The Tel Aviv Cinematheque VOD
Call for Dreams available world wide.
Streaming now on:
Amazon Prime: amzn.to/3ecxZzZ
ImdbTv: imdb.com/tv/watch/tt7520672?ref_=tt_wbr_fdv
TubiTV: tubitv.com/movies/513029/call_for_dreams
GooglePlay: play.google.com/store/movies/details/Call_for_Dreams?id=N2_Gbinhyvk.P&hl=en_US
Roku: therokuchannel.roku.com/details/a62f6035b44058cea0e8b2dada111688/call-for-dreams
Vimeo: vimeo.com/ondemand/callfordreams
Here is a rare opportunity to watch 90 minutes of my installation films online consecutively. Thanks to
Garret Linn for initiating & producing this event as part of
Spectacle Theater‘s (Brooklyn NYC) online Twitch transmission events, normally in the collectively run screening space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, now online naturally.
Tomorrow 7PM (EST) and free here –
https://www.twitch.tv/spectaclenyc
Call for Dreams original soundtrack on Soundcloud
11 December at 19:30 Call for Dreams is part of the official selection at Nunes International Film Festival in Barcelona next month. Location: EL ATENEO LIBERTARIO DE GRACIA, CARRER DE L’ALZINA, 5 BARCELONA
Call for Dreams is part of the official selection at the 7th CineKasimanwa: Western Visayas Film Festival, philippines
Call for Dreams is part of the official selection at the 7th Asian Film Festival Barcelona
The Floating Life winner at The Esports Digital Arts Prizes by Cyberport &Niio. To be show at The Arcade at Cyberport Hong Kong early 2020
Disorientation group show at The New Gallery Artists Studios, Jerusalem
Opening 15.11.19 at 11:00
The term orientation, finding one’s position, originates in the Latin orientis or oriens, meaning “to shine” or “East,” to which ancient maps pointed. The act of adjusting the map to the correct picture of the world, turning it around to face east, was called orientation. When the compass was invented, magnetic north took its place as the main cardinal direction for Eurocentric mapmakers. Disorientation is a state of lack of spatial awareness in which one loses direction, whether it be geographic, concrete, or, metaphorical.
The exhibition is on view in the New Gallery, Teddy Stadium, a complex that stands aloof in terms of the city’s spread, severed from the fabric of the urban street life, neighborhood, and community. The works by the six participating artists engage in definitions of place and its relationship with its visual markers. They mark out a place while simultaneously subverting the possibility of orientation within it.
event
https://www.facebook.com/events/451971002095338/
Solo show at
Rubin Museum in Tel Aviv, until 22.10.19
Read a new review about at Israel Hayom +
Haaretz
Screenings and artist talk at MACRO ASILO Museum Rome
Call for Dreams screens on Saturday September 14th + artist talk
Battlefields screening on the 21st of september
Smoke and Mirrors on the 28th of september
Ursulimum on the 29th of september
16.6.19
https://www.siff.com/ CALL FOR DREAMS has been selected as one of the 7 films of this year’s SIFF Market Screenings at the Shanghai International Film Festival.
June 7 at 21:30 Call For Dreams atThrough the Looking Glass International Film Festival Milano at Cinema Arcobaleno, Viale Tunisia 11, Milano. Read a recent review on Cineclandestino.
Saturday 8.6 at 17:30 –>Round table “Cinema: from zero budget to the stars” Moderator: Davide Dubinelli. With: Marcel Barion (The Final Land), Ran Slavin (Call for Dreams)
16.6 – 20.6
art residency at the Carmel Forest Hotel Resort, North Israel
Curator Sharon Toval
The Larva Society for Psychical Research with the video installation Ursulimum. Until August at
The Artists House, Jerusalem.
6-11.3.19 Call for Dreams at The International Film Festival of Cartagena DeIndias, Cartagena, Colombia
Recent interviews
Very happy to be showing the video work “Newtopia” during the festive periods of Christmas and the Chinese New Year in Hong Kong’s largest, and one of the worlds largest screens!
“Newtopia” will be screened on the Tsim Sha Tsui Centre and the Empire Centre screens during December and January as one of the winners at the The Sino x Niio Illumination Art Prizes
“Newtopia” The Sino x Niio Illumination Art Prizes, Hong Kong from
Ran Slavin on
Vimeo.
Description: The city sparkles in a mysterious mesmerizing futurist promise, between the present, past and future, science fiction and zen, suspended in this moment in time. The city as body, its molecular veins – light conveying information, forever on the move in a changing and morphing cycle.
Newtopia featured in Wallpaper magazine
Call for Dreams won the Israeli competition last night at Utopia Film Festival with Call For Dreams! Thank you Utopiafest and thank you Jury Members Lior Elefant, Israel, Co-director, Israeli Women in Film and Television Forum Angel Sala Corbi, Spain, Director of the SITGES Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya Pedro Souto, Portugal, Director of the Lisbon International Horror Film Festival, MOTELX
Took us by surprise.
Quote:
The jury of the Utopia Israel competition want to congratulate the organization of the Festival for a great selection, a perfect balance between pure genre movies and others more focused in the progressive genre hybridization and the break of frontiers of different cinema manifestations.
The winner for this jury is Call For Dreams directed by Ran Slavin (produced by Ronen Ben-Tal). A film that develops a rich structure of themes, a complex narrative between science fiction and video art and also a reflection about the nature of reality.
27.11.2018 + 30.11.18 – Call For Dreams International Premier at “rebels with a cause competition” Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
28.9 20:00 2018 – Call For Dreams Israeli premiere screens at The 34th Haifa International Film Festival.
1.6.2018 OSTRALE Biennale opening in Malta with “Variations Amud Anan”
24-27.5.18 “Ursulimum” selected by the PhotoPhore to be included in
“Tech Break” screening during ADAF (Athens Digital Art Festival) 2018, Greece
18.5.2018 New exhibition with a new 3 channel video installation titled “BATTLEFIELDS” at “DRONE VISION, WARFARE, SURVEILLANCE AND PROTEST” opening in NIMAC Nicosia, Cyprus
