Kevin Everson to headline the Vienna Shorts festival

Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Multiple Locations in Vienna

“20 YEARS AND ONE MOMENT: VIENNA SHORTS CELEBRATES ITS ANNIVERSARY WITH GUEST OF HONOR KEVIN JEROME EVERSON

Two months before its 20th edition, the International Short Film Festival presents its motif—Portraits on Kevin J. Everson & Claudrena N. Harold as well as Christiana Perschon—June 1 to 6 in Vienna

This year, VIENNA SHORTS pays tribute to the renowned filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson with an extensive portrait. The artist, who was born in Ohio in 1965 and lives in Virginia, works with photography, printmaking, sculpture, and film, but is especially incredibly productive in the latter field: In his well over 150 films—ranging in length from one minute to eight hours, mostly shot on 16 mm and with handheld camera—he vividly captures theeveryday life and working realities of African-American communities in the Midwest and Southern US. VIENNA SHORTS will present two film programs and an installation together with Blickle Kino at Belvedere 21. Another focus will be Everson’s short films with Claudrena N. Harold, Professor of African American and African Studies and History. The two colleagues from the University of Virginia have joined forces to investigate and make visible the cultural life of black students and workers at the prestigious educational institution in the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st century under the label Black Fire. In cooperation with the Austrian Film Museum, the artists will screen eight of their films as well as present their working methods in a master class, addressing research, production, aesthetics and the politics of collaboration. In addition, Claudrena N. Harold will spend a month in Vienna as part of our Artist-in-Residence program with Q21 in MuseumsQuartier.”