Art Basel in Basel have announced their film program for 2016 and it looks like a winner, with works by artists Fiona Tan, and Jonas Mekas; a documentary by Timothy Marrinan and Richard Dewey on the life and work of Chris Burden; and the long awaited Where is Rocky ll?, Pierre Bismuth’s decade-long hunt for Ed Ruscha’s fake rock in the Mojave desert.

The films have been selected for the second year running by Cairo-based curator Maxa Zoller, who made her choices from the exhibiting galleries at this year’s fair. As well as curating the film program for last year’s fair, Zoller has worked on exhibitions and screenings at Tate Modern and the EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam.

A screenshot of Where is Rocky II?‘s press clip.

The program will open with a short film program on June 13, and the premiere of Bismuth’s Ed Ruscha inspired film.

The second day will see a short film selection inspired by German comedian Karl Valentin’s phrase “Kunst ist schön, macht aber viel Arbeit” (Art is beautiful, but it takes a lot of work). Films on view will include works by Simon Fujiwara presented by Andrea Rosen Gallery, Dvir Gallery,and joségarcía, mx; Cally Spooner presented by gb agency; and Beatrice Gibson represented by Laura Bartlett Gallery. This will be followed by a question and answers session with Gibson, Fujiwara, and Zoller.

Omer Fast
Photo: © Olga Westrate/Flickr.

The third day will feature a selection of films on the theme “Sound Spaces of Trauma” with a focus on Sarajevo and North Korea. The third and forth days will have feature films by Fiona Tan with History’s Future (2016) and Jonas Mekas’ Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1971/1972), respectively. Mekas will be in conversation with Zoller after the screening of his film.

On Friday, June 17 there will be a showing of Omer Fast’s Continuity (2016), as part of Art Basel’s collaboration with the Locarno Film Festival. This work is an extended remake of the short film Fast showed at documenta 13 which has received many awards since.

Art Basel will close their film program on June 17 with Burden (2016), a documentary about Chris Burden who sadly died last year aged 69. The film combines unprecedented archive material of the beloved art world game-changer as well as candid footage of the artist during his final years.

Find the full list of film events at Art Basel here.