School of Resistance

With its project series “School of Resistance”, the International Institute of Political Murder (IIPM) continues to lay bare the contradiction of the global economy. By means of activism and the arts, the project aims to develop a concept for a politics of resistance. As a first step toward this goal, Milo Rau and his team have embarked on a journey to the periphery of the EU, specifically to Matera in southern Italy. For the project “The New Gospel” the team has worked together with refugees, farm workers, Nigerian prostitutes and unemployed farmers at the same locations where famous movies about Jesus were filmed by Pasolini and Mel Gibson. The project adapted the social-revolutionary message of the Bible for the 21st century and documented an attempted revolt to protect the rights of migrant workers on tomato plantations who are being exploited by the Mafia.

For the project “Antigone in the Amazon” the director and his team have headed to the Brazilian state of Pará where the tropical forest is being burned to make space for soybean monocultures. In collaboration with MST – Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra, the world’s largest landless movement – they developed a didactic play on the violent, state-perpetrated destruction and expulsion of land and people which favours private interests – and by extension, global trade and speculation – over the traditional right to land ownership. “Antigone in the Amazon” should have had its premiere in April 2020 in Pará with accompanying documentation.

Instead of an exhibition „School of Resistance“ will come as a Film and Discussion Series to the Akademie der Künste, Berlin from 24 to 28 February 2021 and, drawing on previous projects, examine aesthetic practices of resistance. Activists and artists discuss art as a transformative, reality-creating practice. The full programme (external link, opens in a new window) can be found on the AdKs’ website.

Artistic directors: Milo Rau, International Institute of Political Murder and guests
Dramaturgy: Eva-Maria Bertschy, Stefan Bläske
Dramaturgical assistance: Carmen Hornbostel, Kasia Woijik
Set design: Anton Lukas, technical director: Jens Baudisch, production managers: Mascha Euchner-Martinez & Eva-Karen Tittmann

• 28 Sept. 2019, Matera, „Einzug in Jerusalem“ – public filming
• 5–6 Oct. 2019, Matera, „Verurteilung, Kreuzigung und Passion Christi“ – public filming
• 10 Oct. 2019, Rome, Teatro Argentina, „Auferstehung“ – political assembly
• 10 Nov. 2019, Palermo, Transeuropa Festival, „Erste Mission“ – Performance and political assembly
• 1–16 April 2020, Eldorado do Carajas, „Antigone im Amazonas“ – public filming
• 17 April 2020, Reenactment des Massakers von Eldorado do Carajas – performance and – public filming