Screening & Talk: Richard Philpott

Richard Philpott’s “aye” film series is a body of work that has drawn attention within experimental cinema for its interrogation of themes such as identity, subjectivity, and the nature of art. Its most distinctive gesture lies in its deconstruction of the concepts of “identity” and “personality.” Developed through his alter ego Flipot, the “aye” series continually reiterates not only the attempt of a subject to prove its own existence, but also the intuition that this existence may be an illusion. Here, the artist does not focus on the stability of the subject, but on its fluidity and transience. Flipot is not a personality, but a process. Philpott’s cinema, therefore, is not narrative-driven; it unfolds as ritual, as exploration, and at times as a kind of ceremony.

In this screening, the third film of the series, 3rd aye, will meet audiences in Turkey for the first time, with Philpott in attendance. This third installment centers on an unforgettable investigation into memory. Literary figures such as James Joyce and Fernando Pessoa appear through their multiple identities. The film is musically supported by “Mourned by the Wind” by Giya Kancheli.

A conversation with Richard Philpott will follow the screening.

Richard Philpott (b. 1955, Cornwall, United Kingdom) is a filmmaker who has played a significant role in the development of British experimental cinema. Since the mid-1970s, he has directed numerous politically engaged and formally experimental films. He founded platforms supporting independent and avant-garde cinema, including Zooid Pictures Ltd., Archway Road Movie Group, and LFMC Production Unit.

Through curatorial initiatives such as the Art of Film programme and the invitation-only Ludwig II of Bavaria Film Festival, he has continued to support experimental cinema on a global scale. Philpott has also collaborated with institutions such as Oxford University Press and Harvard University, and has published extensively on cinema, media, and cultural policy.