Film screening program
Art & Place Conference
Saarbrücken 2025
The main film program is hosted by the iconic local art house Kino Achteinhalb.
The closing screening session will take place on Sunday at Filmhaus Saarbrücken, also a classic local haven for film buffs.
Special highlights
The film program highlights artists from different eras and backgrounds working with or without permission in public space. Its scope includes contemporary artists, activists, street artists and graffiti writers, as well as outsider artists.
The conference features the German premiere of Art of the Prank, a film on the six-decade-long career of New York artivist Joey Skaggs, a pioneer of media hoaxes and famed for his street pranks.
Opening the program on Thursday is Stations of the Elevated, the milestone 1981 experimental documentary about New York subway graffiti. The film was directed by the recently-passed Manfred Kirchheimer, born in Saarbrücken and Honorary Citizen of the city.
The program closes on Sunday with Boom for Real, a biopic about the early, street-infused years of art legend Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Forgotten history
Two films focus on lesser-known historical chapters. One is Naples Revisitée par Ernest Pignon-Ernest, the obscure 1988 film about the seminal work in Naples by the French artist, digitised for the first time for this unique screening. A long-awaited gem! Join Lorenza Carannante’s talk on the film’s topic, Saturday at 1 pm in the Museum.
The second is Written in Chalk, a recent documentary about Arthur Stace, the Sydney folk hero who wrote the word “Eternity” all over the city for almost four decades in the mid-20th century. This screening marks the international premiere of the film and will be introduced by director Richard Attieh, who will also give a lecture about Stace at the Museum on Saturday at 10:45am.
More film goodness
Bien Urbain from Besançon, France, is the most forward-thinking street art festival, and one of the longest-running. We are proud to host the screening of Here and Not Elsewhere, the film about their first 10 years. Ukrainian director Kristina Borhes from MZM Projects will introduce the film. The screening will be followed by a panel including David Demougeot, director of Bien Urbain.
We are especially pleased to welcome a contribution from Mural Arts Philadelphia, the elder among mural organisations, active since the 1980s and known for the strong focus of their program. Their film Concrete, Steel and Paint explores a project that joined prison inmates and crime victims for the painting of a mural about healing.
With One Eye Open is a recent short film series conceived by Dutch curator Jasper Van Es and Dutch filmmaker Jonathan Pieterse portraying the role of photography in graffiti writing.
Last but not least, we are happy to host an exceptional cinematic presentation of the classic Public Discourse by American artist Brad Downey and Quenell Jones, a unique window into the wild street art of the turn of the century in New York City.
Thursday May 1st
KINO ACHTEINHALB
NAUWIESERSTR. 19
6:30pm
➔ Stations of the Elevated
United States | 1981 | 45′
7:30pm
➔ Art of the Prank
United States | 2015 | 85′
German premiere
9:10pm
➔ Naples Revisitée par Ernest Pignon-Ernest
France | 1988 | 38′
Unearthed and digitised for this screening
Introduced by Lorenza Carannante (IT)
Friday
May 2nd
KINO ACHTEINHALB
NAUWIESERSTR. 19
6:30pm
➔ Written in Chalk: The Echo of Arthur Stace
Australia | 2022 | 70′
International premiere
With director Richard Attieh (AU)
8pm
➔ Public Discourse
United States | 2003 | 56′
9:10pm
➔ Concrete, Steel and Paint
United States | 2009 | 55′
Saturday May 3rd
KINO ACHTEINHALB
NAUWIESERSTR. 19
6:30pm
➔ Here and Not Elsewhere
France | 2023 | 80′
With director Kristina Borhes (UA)
8pm | Panel
✦ Street art and the institution
With five international speakers
9:45pm
➔ With One Eye Open
Netherlands | 2024 | 25′
With curator Jasper Van Es (NL)
Sunday May 4th
FILMHAUS SAARBRÜCKEN
MAINZER STR. 8
1pm
➔ I Was Here: Words of Being, Memory and Place
Jasmine Avril | Australia | 2025 | 10′
1:15pm
➔ Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat
United States | 2015 | 78′
Film screening program
Art & Place Conference
Saarbrücken 2025
The main film program is hosted by the iconic local art house Kino Achteinhalb.
The closing screening session will take place on Sunday at Filmhaus Saarbrücken, also a classic local haven for film buffs.
Thursday May 1st
KINO ACHTEINHALB
NAUWIESERSTR. 19
6:30pm
➔ Stations of the Elevated
United States | 1981 | 45′
7:30pm
➔ Art of the Prank
United States | 2015 | 85′
German premiere
9:10pm
➔ Naples Revisitée par Ernest Pignon-Ernest
France | 1988 | 38′
Unearthed and digitised for this screening
Introduced by Lorenza Carannante (IT)
Friday
May 2nd
KINO ACHTEINHALB
NAUWIESERSTR. 19
6:30pm
➔ Written in Chalk:
The Echo of Arthur Stace
Australia | 2022 | 70′
International premiere
With director Richard Attieh (AU)
8pm
➔ Public Discourse
United States | 2003 | 56′
9:10pm
➔ Concrete, Steel and Paint
United States | 2009 | 55′
Saturday May 3rd
KINO ACHTEINHALB
NAUWIESERSTR. 19
6:30pm
➔ Here and Not Elsewhere
France | 2023 | 80′
With director Kristina
Borhes (UA)
8pm | Panel
✦ Street art and the institution
With five international speakers
9:45pm
➔ With One Eye Open
Netherlands | 2024 | 25′
With curator Jasper
Van Es (NL)
Sunday May 4th
FILMHAUS SAARBRÜCKEN
MAINZER STR. 8
1pm
➔ I Was Here: Words of Being,
Memory and Place
Jasmine Avril
Australia | 2025 | 10′
1:15pm
➔ Boom for Real: The Late
Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat
United States | 2015 | 78′
Special highlights
The film program highlights artists from different eras and backgrounds working with or without permission in public space. Its scope includes contemporary artists, activists, street artists and graffiti writers, as well as outsider artists.
The conference features the German premiere of Art of the Prank, a film on the six-decade-long career of New York artivist Joey Skaggs, a pioneer of media hoaxes and famed for his street pranks.
Opening the program on Thursday is Stations of the Elevated, the milestone 1981 experimental documentary about New York subway graffiti. The film was directed by the recently-passed Manfred Kirchheimer, born in Saarbrücken and Honorary Citizen of the city.
The program closes on Sunday with Boom for Real, a biopic about the early, street-infused years of art legend Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Forgotten history
Two films focus on lesser-known historical chapters. One is Naples Revisitée par Ernest Pignon-Ernest, the obscure 1988 film about the seminal work in Naples by the French artist, digitised for the first time for this unique screening. A long-awaited gem! Join Lorenza Carannante’s talk about the film’s topic, Saturday 1pm at the Museum.
The second is Written in Chalk, a recent documentary about Arthur Stace, the Sydney folk hero who wrote the word “Eternity” all over the city for almost four decades in the mid-20th century. This screening marks the international premiere of the film and will be introduced by director Richard Attieh, who will also give a lecture about Stace at the Museum on Saturday at 10:45am.
More film goodness
Bien Urbain from Besançon, France, is the most forward-thinking street art festival, and one of the longest-running. We are proud to host the screening of Here and Not Elsewhere, the film about their first 10 years. Ukrainian director Kristina Borhes from MZM Projects will introduce the film. The screening will be followed by a panel including David Demougeot, director of Bien Urbain.
We are especially pleased to welcome a contribution from Mural Arts Philadelphia, the elder among mural organisations, active since the 1980s and known for the strong focus of their program. Their film Concrete, Steel and Paint explores a project that joined prison inmates and crime victims for the painting of a mural about healing.
With One Eye Open is a recent short film series conceived by Dutch curator Jasper Van Es and Dutch filmmaker Jonathan Pieterse portraying the role of photography in graffiti writing.
Last but not least, we are happy to host an exceptional cinematic presentation of the classic Public Discourse by American artist Brad Downey and Quenell Jones, a unique window into the wild street art of the turn of the century in New York City.
© Unlock Bureau 2025
Art & Place Conference 2025 is produced by Unlock Bureau and wissensART Foundation
Support: Historical Museum Saar, HBKsaar State Academy of Arts, Kino Achteinhalb, Filmhaus Saarbrücken, Saarland University, Völklinger Hütte UNESCO World Heritage Site, Unlock Book Fair, Automat, Le Grand Jeu, Le Lieu Documentaire
What is Art & Place?
Lecture program
Film program
Unlock Book Showcase
Museum tours
Völklinger Hütte tours
Resident artist
Guest curator
Art & Place Magazine
Call for Papers (closed)
© Unlock Bureau 2025
Art & Place Conference 2025 is produced by Unlock Bureau and wissensART Foundation
Support: Historical Museum Saar, HBKsaar State Academy of Arts, Kino Achteinhalb, Filmhaus Saarbrücken, Saarland University, Völklinger Hütte UNESCO World Heritage Site, Unlock Book Fair, Automat, Le Grand Jeu, Le Lieu Documentaire
