Jack Presenterer! PETER PETERSEN (1953-2020) A MOURNING PLAY

At this year’s final Jack presenterer! screening, we show PETER PETERSEN (1953-2020) A MOURNING PLAY by Joen Vedel. After the screening, there will be a conversation between filmmaker Joen Vedel and Mike Sperlinger, curator and professor of theory at KHIO. Finally, Filmbyrået Jack invites you to enjoy a light meal!

“Your body’s story accuses political history,” writes French author Edvard Louis in his book about his father, “Who Killed My Father?”.

In PETER PETERSEN (1953-2020) A MOURNING PLAY, Vedel tells of his father’s death through objects and images: keys, postcards that were never sent, ashtrays and toys. By calling it a mourning play and using an experimental form, the film embodies a critique not only of a world made up of mass-produced objects, but also of commercial, often streamlined filmmaking. “By leaning into the tragedy of the theatrical form of the mourning play, I want to invite the audience to join me in my process of grieving, in order to de-individualise grief. Because grief is not just mine; every form of loss also contains a political dimension.”

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:

Joen Vedel is a visual artist, filmmaker and organiser. Vedel’s practice includes critical media archives, film, installation, text, performance, curating, facilitation, activism and various forms of open collaboration. His work often explores the representation of political events, both large and small, and the possibilities for engaging with them as they unfold. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, the Whitney Independent Study Program in New York, and completed a PhD in artistic research at the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art. His work has been exhibited at, among other places, Documenta 15 in Kassel, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Overgaden in Copenhagen and, most recently, Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo.

Mike Sperlinger, who will talk with Joen after the screening, is professor of writing practice at Kunstakademiet i Oslo. He works as a curator and has written for several film journals. He also helped establish Lux, a London-based organisation working with moving images. He has edited several books, including Afterthought : New Writing on Conceptual Art (2005) and Here is Information. Mobilise. Selected writings by Ian White.

ABOUT THE JACK PRESENTERER! AUTUMN PROGRAMME:

“It is not true,” writes Ernest Hemingway in the essay The Art of the Short Story, “that if a lady appears in the first paragraph of a story she must appear later to justify her presence. You can get rid of her, just as in life.” “It is also untrue that if there is a gun on the wall when you begin the story, it must be fired by page 14.” “Yes, it can be a symbol, but perhaps it is just hanging there?”

The films in this autumn’s programme take Hemingway at his word: we must draw the threads and possible conclusions ourselves. The filmmakers use the film essay, symbolism, archival material and, not least, narrative images as commentary on the world we have created and live in. The films are short, and emerge from personal and local perspectives. They show how specific, place-based experiences connect to broader ideological shifts and political unrest, and how history leaves traces in our own time.

Look out for more Jack Presenterer screenings in spring 2027!

JACK PRESENTERER! is a monthly screening series at Vega Scene, organised by Filmbyrået Jack, with the aim of highlighting work at the intersection of art and film. The programme for autumn 26 and spring 27 is curated by filmmaker Birgitte Sigmundstad.

The series is realised with support from Stiftelsen Fritt Ord and Kulturrådet.

Venue: Vega Scene, Hausmanns gate 28, 0182 Oslo