DokfestForum: Stephanie Comilang

DokfestForum takes place in cooperation with the Kasseler Dokfest and directs its focus on the intersection of film, documentary, and visual art. Over two consecutive evenings, a selection of videos by the jointly invited artists Stephanie Comilang and Julian Irlinger will be presented. The screenings are followed by a talk, where the artists each discuss the ideas and strategies behind their respective works.

Mobility, labor, nature, homeland, diaspora – in her films, Filipino-Canadian artist and filmmaker Stephanie Comilang engages with the lived realities of migrant workers in a globalized world. Her “science fiction documentaries” shift between documentary and fantastical elements, blending the mythical with harsh realities. Carried by a multiplicity of voices, her narratives intertwine different perspectives, historical facts, and research with the personal stories of her protagonists – employing a wide range of cinematic techniques and narrative strategies. The diptych The Search for Life explores aspects of labor migration, postcolonial continuities, and cultural practices. It brings together stories from the everyday lives of Filipino seafarers with the migratory journey of the monarch butterfly, weaving narratives about the transformation of traditional pearl diving with the lived experiences of second-generation migrants.

Stephanie Comilang, born in Toronto, Canada, in 1980, lives and works in Berlin. Her works have been exhibited at Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin (2021), Tate Modern in London (2022), Museo Thyssen Bornemisza in Madrid (2024), and Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt (2025), among others. In 2019, Comilang received the Sobey Art Award, Canada’s most prestigious art prize.

Introduction: Jasmin Meinold (Curatorial Department), Fridericianum
Screening:
Search For Life I, 2024
(single channel video, 20:40 min, Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog)
Search For Life II, 2025
(single channel video, 18:22 min, Mandarin, English, Sama, Tagalog)
Subsequently: Artist Talk (in English)

Location: Fridericianum

All events of the DokfestForum are free of charge and no registration is required. Admission to the exhibitions by Robert Grosvenor and Portia Zvavahera in the Fridericianum is free with general Dokfest accreditation, otherwise it is 6 Euro, reduced 4 Euro.