Event

Aperto: Screening followed by a discussion with Ieva Kotryna Ski & Akvile Kabašinskaite

Wednesday 6 November 2024 at 7 pm

Screening followed by a discussion,
moderated by Benjamin Thorel

Unreality of Reality of Jurgis Baltrušaitis (2019, 13 min)
Ieva Kotryna Ski & Akvilė Kabašinskaitė
“Anomalies, deviations, and distortions, often seen as mistakes, actually reveal deeper truths,” wrote Jurgis Baltrušaitis. This documentary explores his belief that the strange and distorted in art offer unique insights into culture and human imagination, through his research on anamorphosis, visual oddities, and cultural curiosities. Baltrušaitis reshaped how we understand art history by transforming what others saw as errors into a new way of seeing the world.

All Alone (2021, 23 min)
Ieva Kotryna Ski, Akvilė Kabašinskaitė & Akvilė Grigoravičiūtė

What drives a person to risk everything for strangers? This short film examines the life of Ona Šimaitė, who risked her life during World War II to save countless people from the Vilnius Ghetto. A devoted librarian, she preserved stories in her letters that serve as valuable historical testimonies. Yet, her significant contributions have been largely overlooked— reflecting a broader pattern where many women’s impactful stories remain untold. Through the voices of Lithuanian women living in Paris who share her humanistic beliefs, the film explores the importance of compassion and the transformative power of culture in society. It encourages reflection on why the women who have shaped our world often remain unrecognized.


Akvilė Kabašinskaitė focuses her work on history and documentary cinema. She cocurated the 2022 exhibition, Lessons of Democracy, commemorating a century of Lithuanian-French relations, and has taught Lithuanian culture at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO). She co-directed several documentaries and contributed to various film and television projects. She is currently undertaking doctoral studies in history, European studies, and political science, focusing on Lithuania’s image in France during the Cold War.

Ieva Kotryna Ski is a Lithuanian artist based in Paris, working with moving images, photography and installation. She graduated from the École Universitaire de Recherche ArTeC, and has presented her work at CCA Derry~Londonderry, Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Cité des Arts, Paris, and CAC Vilnius. In 2021, her work Sinkhole won the Audience Choice Award at the exhibition JCDecaux Award: Spaces in Vilnius.

Benjamin Thorel is a publisher and an art critic, one of the founders of After 8 Books in Paris. He is currently a teacher at Parsons Paris; in 2022 he
curated the French edition of Dial-A-Poem with Giorno Poetry Systems. Recent books he was the editor or coeditor include, The Gold Rush (Lafayette
Anticipations, 2024), Dispersed Events. Selected Writings by Nick Mauss (After 8 Books, 2024), and David Douard: 0´THEE LIL’ 0 (After 8 Books, 2023).

© Visvaldas Morkevičius
© Visvaldas Morkevičius
Date
Time
19h00
Location
Fondation Pernod Ricard
1 cours Paul Ricard
75008 Paris
Free entrance
Free admission, without reservation