Adéla Babanová is a prominent figure in contemporary Czech moving image art. Her staged films explore the tension between reality and fiction, personal and collective memory, and the possibilities of manipulating historical narratives. She uses real events, archival materials and contemporary aesthetics.
A typical example of her work is the 2014 film Return to Adriaport. This is based on a real but unrealised plan to connect Czechoslovakia via a tunnel to the Adriatic. Professor Karel Žlábek wanted to implement the project in 1979 in cooperation with Pragoprojekt. The aim was to turn socialist Czechoslovakia into a coastal state. Babanová makes the project a reality in a fictional documentary, and in doing so she also points to the power of the film medium, which most viewers assume to be true.
The work is part of the Robert Runták Collection.
Programme subject to change.
