MCS film EXPOSED in NYC June 21-July 30

[Guest guest]

MCS FILM PLAYING IN NYC FOR FIVE+ WEEKS STARTING JUNE 21st!

Please forward to any NY-based friends, relatives, media contacts,

environmental organizations, government agencies, people who might have MCS,

etc. who

need to know, or are interested in learning more about, what it is like to live

with MCS.

Below is information is on Heidrun Holzfeind’s latest film “Exposed†and

its

first New York/American showing. The MCS sufferer in " Exposed " collaborated

with Heidrun on this forty minute video that attempts to portray what it is

like to live with chemical sensitivity. See the synopsis and review exerpt

below.

Forward this info far and wide!

Details: The opening is in New York City on June 21st at Artists Space

(Project Room 2), 38 Greene Street on the 3rd floor (call 212-226-3970 for the

time). “Exposed†will run at Artists Space until July 30th.

Of course, please try to attend the opening free of fragrances.

P.S. For those of you who are not aware of it already, there is another film

about environmental health issues to keep an eye out for called The Tomato

Effect, by Faun Kime. Read about this amazing upcoming film and see the

poignant trailer at: http://www.rabble-rouser.com/

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Artists Space: Project Room 2 http://www.artistsspace.org/

presents:

Heidrun Holzfeind: Exposed www.heidrunholzfeind.org/video.html

New York-based artist Heidrun Holzfeind often shows the circumstances of

individuals considered social outsiders, like the Romanian immigrants now living

in her grandparents’ house in Austria or the homeless man who quit his job to

publish a book. In her most recent film “Exposed,†Holzfeind chronicles the

life of , a 35-year old dancer who suffers from MCS, a chronic

environmental illness caused by synthetic chemicals. At times painfully close,

the

film charts the restricted range of acceptable spaces and social contact of

, and tries to raise empathy for her struggle. (2005; DVD, 40 min.)

Opening: June 21

Show runs from June 21 to July 30, 2005

Artists Space

38 Greene Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10013

212-226-3970, fax 212-966-1434

Review excerpt (translated from German):

“Holzfeind creates a dense net of images and information, emotions and

reflexions about this (still) enigmatic and controversial illness. She not only

creates a complex portrait of and her illness, but, due to its high

amount of reflection about the illness and its consequences, she succeeds with

her

film ‘Exposed’ in a founded social critique.†– Wilbirg

Brainin-Donnenberg

About Artists Space:

One of the first alternative spaces in New York, Artists Space was founded in

1972 to support contemporary artists working in the visual arts, including

video, electronic media, performance, architecture and design. The mission of

Artists Space is to encourage experimentation, diversity and dialogue in

contemporary arts practice, provide an exhibition space for new art and artists,

and

foster an appreciation for the vital role that artists play in our community.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Synopsis:

EXPOSED

A documentary film by Heidrun Holzfeind (USA/A, 2005, 40 min)

EXPOSED is a cinematic portray of Devoir, a 35 year old dancer and

writer who suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, a chronic condition

caused by exposure to synthetic chemicals in consumer products, pesticides,

building materials, exhaust, tobacco smoke, perfume, cleaning agents, food

additives and others. While skeptics, particularly in the traditional medical

field

and the chemical industry, still question its legitimacy, for it is a

debilitating everyday reality, forcing her to live outside of the norms of her

society. Her personal story functions as a catalyst to reflect on

contemporary conditions of American society, its values and desires, and the

complex

relation between environment and health.

" …That day: everything was very different. I couldn’t pretend another minute

that it was me, that it was psychological, that I can deal with this. I was

pushed way past the point that I could justify, rationalize or use any one of

the million rationalizations that this culture feeds in, talks about and lives

in every day. What I want to be true and what this world tells me is true, has

no bearing on reality. Reality is what it is; it’s a separate thing. I am

chemically sensitive. There is nothing I can do about it… " ( D.)

EXPOSED uses different cinematic materials to draw a complex portrait of

that captures her isolation and vulnerability in her struggle for

medical and financial help, as well as artistic recognition. While the camera

follows her daily routines - we see her sleeping, eating, preparing her

medications,

shopping, dancing, visiting doctors and occasionally friends -

describes how she developed Chemical Sensitivity after exposure to pesticides,

toxic building materials and long-term natural gas poisoning while living in the

suburban environment of New York. She discusses the restrictions of

participating in her community in her new home in rural Massachusetts and her

vision of

human and cultural interrelations in a society dominated by profit and

consumption.

These reflective and analytical interview passages are contrasted with

footage shot by herself during the past 10 years, which allows an

intimate

insight into her precarious situation. First used as a tool to monitor her

dance exercises, the video recordings later became a medium for autobiographic

documentation of her illness. As she films herself in psychological stress

situations, during choking fits, while washing her hair outside in wintertime,

the

camera is deliberately asked to be witness to the illness and remains the

only conversational partner, window to the world. These emotionally charged,

diary-like sequences (in which her artistic role as a performer finds its

continuation) reappear like a framework throughout the film.

’s case history is furthermore contextualized in a broader social

and political context through three found footage sequences quoting scientific

research and TV images: The film starts with a collage of commercials from the

50ies and 60ies which glorify the invention of new substances and materials,

illustrating our society’s blind trust in progress. The second montage

sequence

(discussing the political contexts of the release of mostly untested

chemicals on the market and into our environment) is an assemblage of

advertising

spots, excerpts from documentary films and news footage about environmental

pollution, and G.W. Bush-statements about his environmental policies. The third

montage deals with the dangers of toxic chemicals in consumer and household

products in an interview with a toxicologist, whose research documents the

spastic,

paralyzing and in one case deadly reaction of lab mice after exposure to

air-freshener, perfume and carpet.

Concept, script, camera, editing: Heidrun Holzfeind

Hi8 footage: Devoir

Additional footage: s, laboratories, Stelios Argiros

Music: ne Brokesch

Additional tracks & excerpts: AGF, atomheart, Bard, Bjork, Celia,

HP Zinker, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Nine Inch Nails, Fennesz remix by

Pulsinger, Radiohead, Soundgarden, Supersilent, Amon Tobin

Produced in collaboration with Devoir; Copyright Heidrun Holzfeind

2005.

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