DIAL H-I-S-T-O-R-Y
(Johan Grimonprez /1997 / USA / 68mins / dvd / cert15)
(Sun 24th / 8pm / £4/3)

A masterfully constructed, mesmerizing found-footage documentary that explores the history of terrorist hijacking as seen through the eyes of the media, from the 1950s to the early 90s. All the prime movers of Cold War politics make an appearance: Nixon, Kruschev, Che Guevara, Castro, Arafat; included are the assassination of Sadat, the attempted assassination of Reagan, the Baader Meinhof, the PLO’s Leila Khaled. Passages from Don DeLillo's White Noise and Mao II provide both a literary cross-reference and a theoretical framework, suggesting that art doesn't change the world: terrorists do.

This is all of course very relevant to our experience of news these days, but this feature appeared in a less jaded climate 3 years before the devastating ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER, and 4 years before 'the big one'. There is an obvious visual intensity in watching a parade of explosions, for example three jumbo jets detonated in the middle of the desert. Commercials, cartoons, strange film clips, interviews and home movies create an intensely personalised vision.
A special one off screening to promote the DVD release - which will be available for sale near-exclusively at The Cube.