Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski
Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski

The letter
& FLESHBACKS

The Letter (2019) moves between video, performance, sound, and text. It takes as a starting point the haunting reminiscence of a group of West Africans in 19th century Vienna. By following the traces left, an analysis of archival structures and the objects housed within them is opened up, pointing to an understanding of the past as not past but as a gateway for interrogations of Diasporan temporalities.

• Director: Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński
• Performers: Amoako Boafo, Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski, Verena Melgarejo-Weinandt
• Camera: Sunanda Mesquita
• Sound Composition: Bassano Bonelli
• Editing: Sunanda Mesquita, Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński
• Director’s Assistant/Production: Liesa Kovacs 
• Camera Assistant/Postproduction: Nick Prokesch

Fleshbacks (2021) is a three-part annotation to The Letter (2019). The film’s protagonists are filmed in various places in an urban setting. They are not the same performers as in The Letter, but they show a certain connection to them through the props they hold (a magnifying glass, museum-restorer tools) and the black coveralls they wear. As the work progresses, something starts shifting. They begin moving around the city— climbing stairs, running uphill and downhill, scaling ladders; they are all following an affect, what some might call a calling, leading them into a zone where the lines between Vienna and Accra, between the then and the now, as well as the here and there, become blurry and ultimately obsolete.

• Written & directed by: Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński
• Performers: Ayo Aloba, Faris Cuchi Gezahegn, Femi Kamiński, Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Bisi Lalemi, Mzamo Nondlwana, with appearances of West African performers of the past*
• Director of Photography: Sunanda Mesquita
• Camera Assistant: Nick Prokesch
• Camera Operator, Ghana Unit: Peter Owusu
• Dramaturgy & Editing: Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński and Sunanda Mesquita
• Color Grading: Sunanda Mesquita
• Sound Recording: Bassano Bonelli Bassano (Vienna), Peter Owusu (Accra)
• Sound Composition & Mixing: Bassano Bonelli Bassano
• Styling & Make-Up: Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Sunanda Mesquita
• Best (pink) Boy, Technical Support: Nick Prokesch
• Line Producer: Liesa Kovacs 
• Supported by kunsthalle wien

THE LETTER & FlESHBACKS

The Letter (2019) moves between video, performance, sound, and text. It takes as a starting point the haunting reminiscence of a group of West Africans in 19th century Vienna. By following the traces left, a speculative analysis of archival structures and the objects housed within them is opened up, pointing to an understanding of the past as not past but as a gateway for an interrogation of Diasporan temporalities.

• Director: Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski
• Performers: Amoako Boafo, Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski, Verena Melgarejo-Weinandt
• Camera: Sunanda Mesquita
• Sound Composition: Bassano Bonelli
• Editing: Sunanda Mesquita, Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski
• Director’s Assistant/Production: Liesa Kovacs
• Camera Assistant/Postproduction: Nick Prokesch

Fleshbacks (2021) is a three-part annotation to The Letter (2019). The film’s protagonists are filmed in various places in an urban setting. They are not the same performers as in The Letter, but they show a certain connection to them through the props they hold (a magnifying glass, museum-restorer tools) and the black coveralls they wear. As the work progresses, something starts shifting. They begin moving around the city— climbing stairs, running uphill and downhill, scaling ladders; they are all following an affect, what some might call a calling, leading them into a zone where the lines between Vienna and Accra, between the then and the now, as well as the here and there, become blurry and ultimately obsolete.

• Written & directed by: Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński
• Performers: Ayo Aloba, Faris Cuchi Gezahegn, Femi Kamiński, Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Bisi Lalemi, Mzamo Nondlwana, with appearances of West African performers of the past*
• Director of Photography: Sunanda Mesquita
• Camera Assistant: Nick Prokesch
• Camera Operator, Ghana Unit: Peter Owusu
• Dramaturgy & Editing: Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński and Sunanda Mesquita
• Color Grading: Sunanda Mesquita
• Sound Recording: Bassano Bonelli Bassano (Vienna), Peter Owusu (Accra)
• Sound Composition & Mixing: Bassano Bonelli Bassano
• Styling & Make-Up: Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Sunanda Mesquita
• Best (pink) Boy, Technical Support: Nick Prokesch
• Line Producer: Liesa Kovacs
• Supported by kunsthalle wien