A film made during a group retreat looks at how mental health and exile relate.
The Retreat, UK, France, US, 2023
16mm film transferred to 4k video
22 min.
in English, Spanish and Arabic
The film was produced through a discursive and community-oriented process, central to which was an ‘exile retreat’ organized by the artist, with participants recruited through an open call. The international group of participants and collaborators convened for the week-long retreat in the south of France to collectively reflect on the relationship between mental health and the experience of exile or seeking asylum.
One of the main historical and political reference points for both the exile retreat and the film was the history of the nearby psychiatric hospital in Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole, Lozère and the radical legacies of Catalan psychiatrist Francesc Tosquelles, to consider exile as a space for transnational solidarity.
about
Gelare Khoshgozaran is an undisciplinary artist and filmmaker whose work engages with the legacies of imperial violence manifested in war, militarization and borders. They use film and video to construct peripheral narratives that redefine existing constructions of ‘home’ to approach new conceptualizations of belonging.
gelarekhoshgozaran.com/
www.instagram.com/rearleftist/
credits
Shot during the Exile Retreat with Sarah Zeryab, Golrokh Nafisi, Juan Urbina, Olia Sosnovskayai, Matti Sutcliffe
Camera, Editing and Color: Gelare Khoshgozaran
Costume & Fabrication: Golrokh Nafisi
Sound Recording & Additional Camera: Matti Sutcliffe
Sound Design and Mixing: Paul Cousins
Opening Chapter Voice-over: Valentina Alvarado Matos
Opening Chapter Text: excerpts from La invención de Morel, Adolfo Bioy Casares (adapted from the English translation by Ruth L.C. Simms)
16mm film processing & 4k scanning: DeJonghe Film Postproduction, Pro 8mm
Thanks to Andre Keichian, Ghazal Khezri, Reza Monahan, TJ Shin, Aryana Polat, Lainey Racah, Yuchi Ma, and HLS
The Exile Retreat was conceived as an in-person convening and an extension of the Exile Working Group with Ahmed Awadalla, Dita Hashi, samira makki, Zeyo Mann, Olia Sosnovskayai, Juan Urbina and Sarah Zeryab.
The project was commissioned by Delfina Foundation, London, curated by Eliel Jones, and supported by Andy Warhol Foundation | LACE Lightning Fund; the Elephant Trust.
