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Exergue – on documenta 14 is a 2024 Greek documentary film with a runtime of 848 minutes, making it one of the longest films ever made. The documentary was directed by Dimitris Athyridis and had its world premiere in February 2024 at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.

Plot

The film documents how Adam Szymczyk, the artistic director of Documenta 14, and his team of curators prepared the renowned art exhibition held in Kassel and Athens in 2017. This was the first time the quinquennial art exhibition was split between two locations, a decision that provoked controversy. The film is divided into 14 chapters, offering a behind-the-scenes view of the institutional art world, examining contemporary art's role in a changing global landscape, and exploring the politics and drama of staging exhibitions.

Production

In 2015, director Dimitris Athyridis began documenting Adam Szymczyk and his team, initially planning a two-hour runtime for the film. During the early editing process, Athyridis informed the film's producer, Christos Konstantakopoulos, that the raw footage he had captured contained significantly more material than could be condensed into the initially planned two-hour runtime. In conclusion, the film was expanded to include all the footage, ultimately resulting in a runtime of 848 minutes.

Upon its release, the film became the longest ever screened at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film surpassed the previous Berlinale record for the longest film, held by A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery, directed by Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz and invited by Dieter Kosslick, with the film holding the record with a runtime of 485 minutes.

Reception

Antoine Thirion of Cinema Scope wrote, "Through its jumbled structure and precision in depicting the curatorial discourse, exergue – on documenta 14 is the opposite of the story of a shipwreck: it is a successful attempt to salvage what demagogy savagely tore down." Alissa Wilkinson of The New York Times reports that the film was, "A formidable survey of the challenges facing the contemporary art world as it wrestles with racism, colonialism, politics and power."

References

1. "«Ελληνικό οικονομικό θαύμα αλλά όχι για όλους»". Attica Times (in Greek). Natalie. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
2. ^ Dams, Tim (16 February 2024). "Why Greek art world doc 'exergue' is splitting 14-hour run-time for its Berlin screening". Screen International. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
3. "Berlinale zeigt 14-Stunden-Film über Documenta". Der Spiegel. 2024-01-15. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
4. Kasiske, Andrea (2017-07-16). "Documenta 14: Quiet farewell from Athens". DW. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
5. "Berlin steht vor einem Scherbenhaufen". Monopol Magazin (in German). monopol. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
6. Thirion, Antoine. "From the Vision to the Nail in the Coffin, and the Resurrection: Dimitris Athiridis on "exergue – on documenta 14"". Cinema Scope. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
7. Wilkinson, Alissa (7 October 2024). "At the New York Film Festival, the Most Innovative Work Is Nonfiction". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 January 2025.

• 2024 films