biographY:
Philip Widmann (born 1980, West Berlin) graduated in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Hamburg and in Visual Communications from the University of Fine Arts Hamburg. His film and video works have been shown in art spaces and film festivals internationally, among them the Wexner Center for the Arts, WRO Media Art Biennale Wroclaw, Berlin Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, New York Film Festival, Mostra São Paulo, FID Marseille, CPH:DOX and Visions du Réel.Project Info:
“Vault A: The Ruins of B.” is a cinematic exploration of the desire for the inaccessible. Point of origin are the Roman ruins of Baalbek, their survey and reconstruction by a German expedition at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as the first Lebanese talkie, produced by a German woman in 1934. The film is said to be lost and the ruins of Baalbek are located in an area for which the German Foreign Ministry sustains an urgent travel warning since years. From this perspective, history appears to be an inaccessible territory marked by losses and interdictions.Statement JURY
Philip Widman seemed to have the perfect project for a German-Lebanese collaboration. A two months stay in Beirut will provide him with the right tools to research his truly fascinating Lebanese based topic and develop his project to the fullest.