The Eighth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

globally. It seeks to offer local audiences a more nuanced representation of contemporary Islam that moves beyond associations with fundamentalism and terrorism. It considers some of the recurring ideas explored by artists and filmmakers throughout the region that continue to underpin the representation of Islam on screen, such as an unease between tradition and secularism and national and religious identities, and the experience of spirituality within the tapestry of everyday life and specific contexts of religious and cultural pluralism. Consumed at the level of entertainment, these works have a deeper resonance, revealing alternative ways in which Islam is practiced and exists side-by-side with other secular lifestyles. Like other visual traditions, artists and filmmakers play a role in re-evaluating and reflecting upon these relationships between the contemporary and the traditional and the secular and sacred. This is no different in the case of ‘Pop Islam’, with its makers operating in diverse local contexts with global connections and influence. This sense of connectivity is most explicit in works depicting musical styles interpreted by youth cultures throughout the Islamic world — from punk and metal scenes in Tehran, Baghdad and Los Angeles to folk traditions in Istanbul and Syria, televised singing contests in Afghanistan and the Islamic- styled hip-hop in the United States and England. Playing with genres, histories and representational codes from a uniquely Muslim perspective, these works and others in ‘Pop Islam’ interrogate the representation of Muslim practices and institutions and re-imagine their possibilities. FILIPINO INDIE The Philippines is one of the largest producers and consumers of cinema in South-East Asia. While independent Filipino cinema was recognised internationally in the 1970s with the pioneering work of Kidlat Tahimik, it is the early 2000s that marks the beginning of a notable transition. The uptake of mobile and consumer-grade digital cameras enabled vast numbers of artists and filmmakers to work free of commercial pressures and explore different approaches to narrative and visual storytelling. KHAVN is an artist- filmmaker who best represents this creative freedom, producing more than 150 digital films since 1994. The establishment of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival and Cinema One Originals in 2005, and Cinema Rehiyon in 2008 have also provided an important local platform for the development and presentation of works while Cinema Is Incomplete (est. 2011) is one of the important collectives providing a space for the development of screen literacy in the Philippines. Situated within this context, ‘Filipino Indie’ considers an approach in independent and experimental filmmaking, which has since 2000 examined what constitutes ‘documentary’ and the creation of hybrid forms of non-fiction and drama that are facilitated by the use of digital technologies. In ‘Filipino Indie’, the term documentary is treated as an expansive field, reconfigured by a wide assortment of material — activist and amateur video alongside more conventional feature films, documentaries and artist videos. This approach is not exclusive to the Philippines, but has enabled Filipino artists and filmmakers to resist the models of narrative and montage that dominate commercial cinema. Instead, these makers offer a fresh perspective to the moving image, exploring a more poetic, contemplative and improvisational approach that often conveys the real-time experience of its subjects. Co-curated with artist Yason Banal, ‘Filipino Indie’ comprises a screening program and a new video work by Banal on the mechanism of documenting reality in contemporary Filipino pop culture. Banal’s visual essay draws together a wide range of material — from interviews with artists and filmmakers to YouTube videos and clips from popular television and cinema—offering an alternative KHAVN (KHAVNDE LA CRUZ) The Philippines b.1973 Production still from Iskwaterpangk (Squatterpunk) 2007 Mini DV, black and white and colour, stereo, 79 minutes, Philippines, Tagalog (English subtitles) / Image courtesy: The artist and Filmless Films, Manila