Book Launch and Film Program: "Guy Debord – Complete Cinematic Works"
October 21, 2020
In his films Guy Debord (1931–1994) worked according to the following principle: do nothing you should, do everything you should not. Created between 1952 and 1978, all the films reflect this rule and confirm what he referred to as his "detestable ambition."
In 2015, after years of preparation the Austrian Film Museum has been able, as the first museum institution worldwide, to acquire Guy Debord's six films for the collection. In January 2016, his entire “counter-cinema” was shown with Alice Debord (Alice Becker-Ho) – Debord's close accomplice since the late 1960s – in attendance. Gathered in a single volume for the first time in German, our new publication unites the texts of all of Guy Debord's films in a new translation. Texts and images are true to the French original edition and complemented by a list of sources for the quotes, Debord's notes on his films, drafts of unrealized film projects, as well as the text of the TV documentary he coauthored, Guy Debord, son art et son temps (1994). Two in-depth essays on Debord's film works by Alexander Horwath and Werner Rappl complement the volume.
On October 21, Werner Rappl, editor of the book and responsible for the new translation, and Alexander Horwath, co-initiator of the (book) project, will talk about Debord's work and significance. There will also be the opportunity to watch the films Sur le passage de quelques personnes à travers une assez courte unité de temps (1959), Critique de la séparation (1961) and In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni (1978) at the Film Museum.
We would like to thank phileas - A Fund for Contemporary Art for their support in publishing the book and acquiring all of Guy Debord's films for the collection of the Austrian Film Museum. Our gratitude also goes to Alois Wimmer for his contribution to the project "Film Fundraising".
In his films Guy Debord (1931–1994) worked according to the following principle: do nothing you should, do everything you should not. Created between 1952 and 1978, all the films reflect this rule and confirm what he referred to as his "detestable ambition."
In 2015, after years of preparation the Austrian Film Museum has been able, as the first museum institution worldwide, to acquire Guy Debord's six films for the collection. In January 2016, his entire “counter-cinema” was shown with Alice Debord (Alice Becker-Ho) – Debord's close accomplice since the late 1960s – in attendance. Gathered in a single volume for the first time in German, our new publication unites the texts of all of Guy Debord's films in a new translation. Texts and images are true to the French original edition and complemented by a list of sources for the quotes, Debord's notes on his films, drafts of unrealized film projects, as well as the text of the TV documentary he coauthored, Guy Debord, son art et son temps (1994). Two in-depth essays on Debord's film works by Alexander Horwath and Werner Rappl complement the volume.
On October 21, Werner Rappl, editor of the book and responsible for the new translation, and Alexander Horwath, co-initiator of the (book) project, will talk about Debord's work and significance. There will also be the opportunity to watch the films Sur le passage de quelques personnes à travers une assez courte unité de temps (1959), Critique de la séparation (1961) and In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni (1978) at the Film Museum.
We would like to thank phileas - A Fund for Contemporary Art for their support in publishing the book and acquiring all of Guy Debord's films for the collection of the Austrian Film Museum. Our gratitude also goes to Alois Wimmer for his contribution to the project "Film Fundraising".
This event was originally scheduled to take place on April 6, 2020, but was postponed due to Corona.
Related materials
Program Guy Debord - Jan / Feb 2016
