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J-N-N

Ginan Seidl
Germany / Iraq
19'

J-N-N is based on family conversations between the artist during a trip to Iraq and intensive research on the Jinn, the ephemeral entities that are deeply interwoven into the country’s culture. Through a visual and fragmentary journey through the desert of Iraq, from Ur via Babylon to the secluded living rooms in Baghdad, the film questions a culture and society that has been torn apart by ongoing wars, civil wars, repression and terrorism.

A place is not only its topography. A spectre is not only the small psychosis it evokes inside the brain. History is not only made up of dates, but also by the movements of tanks. With its supple and precise use of image, sound and text, Ginan Seidl’s J-N-N creates a soft, kaleidoscopic web of rumours, memories and facts surrounding Iraq and its land. The mythical creatures summoned by the film tie in Saddam Hussein’s parapsychological endeavours to archaeological works from the 19th century, as well as to the 2003 US-Army invasion of the country. Part a fleeting poem, part still life, J-N-N is every bit as transient as the creatures summoned in it. (Emil Vasilache)

Wednesday, 24 September, 19:00

Cinemateca Eforie
Tickets

Ginan Seidl

Ginan Seidl is a German-Iraqi artist and filmmaker working at the intersection of documentary, fiction, and video installation. Her practice blends fabulative elements with documentary material, exploring diverse perspectives and cosmogonies to open poetic, situated forms of knowledge and exchange through cinematic means. She is a doctoral candidate at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, a member of the FILZ collective, and co-curator of the expanded media festival paradoks in Leipzig. Her work has screened internationally at the Berlinale, CPH:DOX, FID Marseille, and Visions du Réel, among others, and has been recognized with awards such as the 2024 Special Prize for Visual Art at Filmkunsttage Sachsen-Anhalt. She has participated in Berlinale Talents, held residencies in Beirut and Mexico, and received multiple artistic grants.

  • Technical sheet
  • SOUND DESIGN: Binha Haase
  • ANIMATION: Aldo Cañedo
  • EDIT CONSULTANT: Daniela Kinateder
  • ADDITIONAL MUSIC: Steffen Martin
  • SOUNDMIX: Jochen Jezussek
  • COLOR CORRECTION: David Schöley
  • CO-PRODUCTION: PARA Film GbR & Ginan Seidl

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J-N-N is based on family conversations between the artist during a trip to Iraq and intensive research on the Jinn, the ephemeral entities that are deeply interwoven into the country's culture. Through a visual and fragmentary journey through the desert of Iraq, from Ur via Babylon to the secluded living rooms in Baghdad, the film questions a culture and society that has been torn apart by ongoing wars, civil wars, repression and terrorism.

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