Television in two senses, both as technical instrument of image transmission, and as metaphor for communication over great distances. Election Promises is a classic from the inventor of the scratch technique; its found material moves jerkily back and forth in a montage, as do the election promises of a politician in society. The extreme manipulability of images in the digital age is demonstrated by Track One: what you get is indeed more than what you see. The short feature Tandid examines the state of Tunisian society before the revolution; ordinary life consisting solely of impotent commentaries about what is shown on television. In Satellite, on the other hand, Iranian expatriate communities attempt – with the help of satellite television and picturesque studio backgrounds – not only to preserve their own cultural identity (in this case by selling carpets), but also to have a direct influence on Iranian politics. The Story of Milk and Honey presents a highly poetic tale of a journey – its focus shifting between an individual and a love for society. Finally in Farewell, a moment of physical parting is obliterated through the artistic process, dissolving away into digital noise.

Election Promises, Raphael Montañez Ortiz, us 1988, 8 min

Track One, eteam, tw 2011, 2 min
Satellite, As Long As It Is Aiming At The Sky. Satellite, Babak Afrassiabi & Nasrin Tabatabai, nl 2010, 29 min
Tandid – Condemnation, Walid Mattar, tu / fr 2010, 15 min
The Story of Milk and Honey, Basma Al Sharif, ps 2011, 10 min

Farewell, Stefan Zeyen, de 2009, 3 min

(Image: Satellite, As Long As it Is Aiming at the Sky, © Babak Afrassiabi & Nasrin Tabatabai)