Turn the Dark On
Basil Al-Rawi previews Ireland’s premier digital showcase, the Darklight Festival, which this year will feature in-the-round debates, and a Second Life presence, in addition to a wealth of screenings.

After the success of last year’s programme, Darklight Festival returns this summer with its biannual symposium to be held on the 21–23 June 2007 in Dublin. This year’s event takes the form of three days of debates, workshops, screenings and masterclasses. Against the backdrop of the advances in digital processes over the past 10 years, one of the focuses of the event will be a stock-take of where these technologies have taken us, and the prospects they hold for those involved in digital film and art production. With digital processes permeating numerous strata of film production, a particular concern this year will be how these technologies and processes are impacting on cultural producers across various disciplines.

The festival launches on Thursday, 21st June, in Filmbase with the return of DATA (Dublin Art & Technology Association), who will be presenting a forum focusing on local new technology art projects and academic developments. This will be moderated by Tim Redfern and will also include a presentation of a new commission, The Kingdom from John Buckley and Dave Walker, as well as a presentation of a new design focused research group that Marie Redmond is involved with.

The forums will take the form of roundtable discussions held ‘in the round’ (with the audience surrounding the speakers). This format will create an interesting dynamic between speakers and audience and encourage more intimate and involved proceedings. There will also be a front-row invited audience of people who will have input into these discussions and who may be involved in projects relevant to the topics at hand. Following each forum there will be an opportunity for audience participation as well. A number of the speakers will sit on more than one panel, and festival director Nicky Gogan hopes that this will allow some sort of synchronicity to develop, and hopefully some conclusions to be drawn on the issues at hand. This format encourages ideas and discussions to influence other forums and to avoid repetition of topics already debated on other panels.  

The full article is printed in Film Ireland 116.