Helga Fanderl - Constellations

Born in Germany in 1947, Helga Fanderl studied German, French and Italian literature before discovering cinema in the mid-1980s. Since her studies at the Frankfurt Städelschule School of Fine Arts and the Cooper Union School of Art in New York, she has developed her practice of Super 8 filming, programming film sessions that are different each time, making personal site-specific screenings, as well as exhibitions and installations.

"I try, Fanderl says, to film with the freshness of a first, and the intensity of a last, encounter. With this desire in mind, she has for decades committed to a precarious process of filming on Super 8 and editing in-camera (meaning that the order and rhythm of each film emerges in the present moment of filming, never after the fact). Working like this, she courts failure – and also grazes the fullness of experience. Fanderl translates to film the lightning feeling of a sudden skip in heartbeat, for instance, and the humbling feeling of something slipping through helpless hands". – Laura Staab (from the booklet of Constellations)

"Selecting films for a program is a process that gives new meaning to the films, not in terms of their specific content, but in the relationships each one forms with those that precede or follow it. In this sense, it could be said that Helga Fanderl applies the editing principles at work in some of Peter Kubelka’s films, by drawing on notions of resonance and echo between shots, whether they are sequential, serial or alternating. Choosing the films is the editing process: Editing or postproduction do come into play when I compose programs. For every screening I basically assemble a specific selection of films. Making these programs – either in their entirety or in fragments – is an essential part of my work". – yann beauvais (from the booklet of Constellations)

Constellations contains 50 Super 8 films digitized and restored in 2023 under the supervision of Helga Fanderl, with the option of a randomized set list:
Rad und Zweige • Gasometer I • Vögel am Checkpoint Charlie • Tortelloni • The Color Run • Mona Lisa (2013) • Flugzeuge I • Apfelernte • Voliere II (Große Voliere) • Rue Labat in Trauer • Gläser • Nescia und Bruno • Tortellini Tortelloni • Bügeln auf der Straße • Fischerboote • Gespiegelt • Parisbilder für Dr. G. • Blütenbaum • Imkerschule • Pleinair-Fotos • Mimosen im Wind • Abendglitzern • Für D. • Skulpturen im Nebel • Kakibaum III • Nach dem Feuer I • Schlossgarten • Steg im Parc de Bercy • Im Schnee • Feuerturm • Einhornfisch • Schmetterlinge • Unter dem Wasserfall • Teetrinken • Roter Vorhang • Für M. • Karussell • Wasserpflanzen • Schaukeln (2022) • Spielende Hunde • Aufblitzende Bilder • Umlauftank • Leopard • Laub • Blätter auf dem Glasdach • Schattenbild I • Weiße Vorhänge • Ein windiger Frühlingstag • Für P. (Weiße Blumen) • Wildgänse 3

Helga Fanderl - Constellations (Trailer) from Re:Voir Video on Vimeo.