12th BIM Explores Expanded Cinema and Migration in Geneva

The 12th Biennale de l'Image en mouvement (BIM) took place at the Centre pour l'image contemporaine Saint-Gervais in Geneva, Switzerland, from October 12 to 20, 2007. Artistic director André Iten described the biennial's ongoing mission, initiated in 1985, as exploring the 'questioning and approximate forms' of moving images. The edition highlighted the blurring boundaries between cinema and contemporary visual arts, a phenomenon often termed 'expanded cinema.' The program included a retrospective of films by Pedro Costa and a focus on Japanese artist Kazuhiro Goshima's works on 'metabolic cities.' Pierre Huyghe's short film 'Block Party' (2002), about hip-hop in the Bronx, was also screened. A videolounge at Saint-Gervais offered on-demand viewing of 'arts-clips,' including Thomas Aigelsreiter's 'Key West' and Susanne Hofer's 'Jeu d'amour.' Concurrently, the exhibition 'Culture hors sol' ran at the Bâtiment d'art contemporain until December 16, featuring audiovisual works addressing emigration and integration. Works included Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler's 'Johnny,' which explores the American melting pot through a high school marching band, and Anna Barseghian and Stefan Kristensen's 'Arménographie,' which examines transnational identity through exile and diaspora. Thierry Kuntzel's 'Peau' was also on view, presenting his 'photomobile' projection device for 70mm film, described by Raymond Bellour in the catalogue as creating 'an absolutely full, indivisible image.'