Stinking Dawn
At the 41st edition of the International Festival of Films on Art
Cinéma du musée—Auditorium Maxwell-Cummings, Montreal, Québec
Competition—Feature-length films
LE FIFA 41, 2023
Filmed over two weeks at the Kunsthalle Wien in 2019 and released in 2022, Stinking Dawn is a full-length feature film by Liam Gillick and Gelatin.
Four pathetic snobs and entrepreneurs (Gelatin) try to keep afloat in a “post-leftist” capitalist dystopia. Ali, Florian, Tobias and Wolfgang have clearly defined life paths. Art entrepreneur, furniture maker, mausoleum builder and lingerie producer. They spend their spare time writing and performing music with their friends.
Manipulated by a shadowy nightclub owner (Liam Gillick) with links to the “new right” they are lured into lives of narcissism and delusion. Visiting his club together one night they realize their true desires have been stolen and a new soundtrack of envy and boredom has taken over. A desperate battle ensues, as their lost desires take physical form and wreak revenge on the world.
The nightclub owner stands calmly in the center of the chaos as we witness the erasure of ego, hope and life during the stunning destruction of the film set. A cinematic Armageddon performed with stark, sinewy intensity.
Written and directed by artists Gelatin and Liam Gillick, Stinking Dawn is a shocking, beautiful and darkly comic film that asks serious questions about how we can survive in a society that constantly turns us against ourselves.
The International Festival of Films on Art (Le FIFA) is dedicated to the international promotion and distribution of films on art and media arts. Le FIFA presents an annual event in March that allows the discovery of the latest productions of films on art and art films. Each year, more than 200 films from over 40 countries are carefully selected to present the best of art and art films from here and elsewhere. International Competition, Official Selection, FIFA Expérimental, Cartes Blanches, it is through its prestigious programming as well as its special events such as outdoor screenings, professional meetings, parties that Le FIFA is committed to increasing the knowledge and appreciation of art among the public and encouraging the production and distribution of films on art.
Stinking Dawn
Liam Gillick and Gelatin
Austria, 2022, 1 hour 32 minutes
English
Directors: Liam Gillick, Ali Janka, Florian Reither, Tobias Urban, Wolfgang Ganther
Script: Liam Gillick
Director of Photography: Cristian Manzutto, Till Megerle
Editing: Kolbeinn Hugi, Gelatin
Sound mixing: Chris Janka
Music: Artjom Astrov
Available online from March 24, 2023 at lefifa.com.
