Jens Assur (b. 1970, Jämtland, Sweden) has a background as a journalist and photographer, and has received several major national awards, such as 'Press Photographer of the Year' and 'Best News Photo of the Year', for his work, alongside experience making photo essays from a.o. Rwanda, Somalia and the country formerly known as Yugoslavia.
In 1997, Assur started his own Studio Jens Assur to allow him to focus on larger and more complex art and film projects.
In his cinematic work, which has received equal peer recognition, Assur has continued and developed his interest in verbal and visual expressions able to influence public debate. He has distinguished himself as a director with the ability to combine a strong aesthetic sense with an ethical and socially conscious perspective.
His debut short The Last Dog in Rwanda from 2006,
in the frame of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, won
the Grand Prix at Clermond-Ferrand, the largest short
film festival of the world. Since then the awards have
been pouring in, including the prize for best Nordic
film at Minimalen in 2012 for Killing the Chickens to
Scare the Monkeys.
Minimalen is proud to have Assur here to present
a retrospective on Wednesday and a masterclass on
Friday, where we will also get to see his latest work.
THE LAST DOG IN RWANDA (DEN SISTA HUNDEN I RWANDA)
Den unge nyhetsfotografen David er i Rwanda forå rapportere om folkemordet i 1994. Sammen med den 30 år
eldre reporteren Mats, reiser han gjennom det krigsherjede
landet og prøver å skildre slaktingen av tutsier og moderate
hutuer. En film om krigens problematiske tiltrekningskraft,
et møte mellom guttefantasien og den brutale virkeligheten.
David, a young news photographer, is in Rwanda to report on
the genocide in 1994. Along with the 30 years older reporter
Mats, he travels through the war-torn country trying to portray
the slaughter of Tutsis and moderate Hutus. A film about the
problematic appeal of war, a meeting between boyhood fantasy
and brutal reality.
Script: Jens Assur | Camera: Marek Wieser |
Editing: Louise Brattberg | Cast: Jonas Karlsson,
Reine Brynolfsson
Production: Daniel Hill, Anna Carlsten – Svensk
Filmindustri
SWE 2011 | Fic. | 24 min
Director: Jens Assur
KILLING THE CHICKENS TO SCARE THE MONKEYS
Ni scener utfolder seg i gråsonen mellom svart og hvitt,
hvor landets politikk har uforutsette konsekvenser for en
ung lærers liv. Tittelen refererer til den kinesiske regjeringens
strategi med å henrette dissidenter som en advarsel
for andre.
Nine scenes unfold in the grey area between black and white,
where national politics have unforeseen consequences on a
young teacher's life. The film title refers to the Chinese government's
strategy to execute dissidents as a warning to others.
Script: Jens Assur | Camera: Marek Septimus Wieser |
Editing: Fredrik Morheden, Åsa Mossberg
Elleve fremmede bor tett sammenklemt på en reise inn i
det ukjente. Under vanskelige og usikre kår møter de sine
egne fordommer og frykt, men er avhengige av hverandre
for å overleve.
Eleven strangers are forced to share a confined space on a
journey into the unknown. Under severe and uncertain sircumstances
they face their own prejudices and fears, but have to
depend on each other in order to survive.
His social conscience has led Jens Assur from genocide
in Rwanda through dissident repression in China to
refugee issues in Sweden. But in his latest production,
which we will screen at the beginning of this session,
the issue is the sex industry's exploitation of young
women in Sweden.
After the screening we will meet Assur in conversation
about this film and the other films he has made.
Director: Jens Assur
SWE 2014 | Fic. | 39 min
HOT NASTY TEEN
En tenåringsjente blir filmet med et enkelt videokamera. En
anonym mannsrøst ber henne om å danse, om å kle av seg.
To måneder senere reiser hun sammen med en eldre mann
gjennom et snøkledt Norrland. Hun ønsker å dra hjem, han
insisterer på å fortsette. De har jo tross alt enda noen besøk
igjen å gjøre.
A young teenage girl is being filmed with a basic video camera.
The older man, capturing her, asks her to dance, to undress.
Two months later they are traveling together through small
Swedish towns. She wants to go home, but he insists that they
should go on. After all, they have a few more stops to do.
Script: Jens Assur, Pelle Rådström |
Camera: Erik Sohlström | Editing: Louise Brattberg |
Cast: Lars "Brasse" Brännström, Fanny Ketter, a.o.