Looking at our times through the prism of the moving image.
At Fondazione In Between Art Film, we foster dialogues between video, cinema, and performance, supporting artists and institutions whose visions cross the boundaries between creative disciplines.
NEWS
Introducing Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti, who will participate in CANICULA, the third and final chapter of the “Trilogy of Uncertainties,” a series of exhibitions organised by Fondazione In Between Art Film at the Complesso dell’Ospedaletto, Venice, on the occasion of La Biennale di Venezia
Curated by @alessandro.rabottini and @leonardobigazzi, CANICULA will open to the public on May 6, 2026 with 8 newly video installations commissioned to Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti, Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk, Janis Rafa, P. Staff, Wang Tuo, Yuyan Wang, and Maya Watanabe
Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti (1974, Italy/1972, Italy) are a pioneering filmmaking duo who have redefined the language of documentary since the 2000s. Delivering their rigorously political vision in poetic form, D’Anolfi and Parenti have explored different types of archival materials—from war documentaries at the Istituto Luce in Rome, to exotic plants at the botanical garden in Padua, via ruined statues at Milan Cathedral’s storage facilities—and have observed the people taking care of them. Often combining archival footage with their own material, D’Anolfi and Parenti examine the ways in which collective memory is created, preserved and interpreted, in an effort to reflect on the production of images and the mediation of history. Together, D’Anolfi and Parenti have directed nine feature-length documentaries and two short films, each expanding the scope of their practice and pushing documentary cinema into new, uncharted territories
Their works have been presented at international festivals and major museum institutions, including the Berlinale; the Biennale Cinema, Venice; the Locarno Film Festival; Hot Docs, Toronto; EIDF – EBS International Documentary Festival, Seoul; RIDM – Montreal International Documentary Festival; IDFA, Amsterdam; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Fondazione Prada, Milan; and the Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève
Image credit: Portrait of Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti by Eleonora Montani. Courtesy of the artists
Visual identity: @lorenzomasonstudio
#caniculavenice
Introducing Lawrence Abu Hamdan, who will participate in CANICULA, the third and final chapter of the “Trilogy of Uncertainties,” a series of exhibitions organised by Fondazione In Between Art Film at the Complesso dell’Ospedaletto, Venice, on the occasion of La Biennale di Venezia
Curated by @alessandro.rabottini and @leonardobigazzi, CANICULA will open to the public on May 6, 2026 with 8 newly video installations commissioned to Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti, Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk, Janis Rafa, P. Staff, Wang Tuo, Yuyan Wang, and Maya Watanabe
@lawrenceabuhamdan (1985, Jordan) is a Lebanese-British independent investigator or “Private Ear,” with a PhD from Goldsmiths - University of London on the role of sound in legal investigations. In 2023, he founded @earshot.ngo, the world’s first not-for-profit organization dedicated to the study of audio for human rights and environmental advocacy.
His work has been presented in the form of forensic reports, lectures, live performances, films, publications, and exhibitions at institutions such as: Munch Museum, Oslo; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Biennale Arte 2019, Venice; Sharjah Biennial 14; and the 12th Berlin Biennale.
Abu Hamdan’s work has been widely recognized internationally with awards such as the Grand Prize at the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur (2022), and the Audience Award at the Toronto Biennial (2020), among others. For the 2019 Turner Prize, Abu Hamdan formed a temporary collective with fellow nominated artists Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo, and Tai Shani in order to receive the award jointly.
Image credit: Portrait of Lawrence Abu Hamdan by Diana Pfammatter Photography. Courtesy of the artist
Visual identity: @lorenzomasonstudio
#caniculavenice
«What distinguishes the camera from the one who wields it? At what point does it take on a sentience of its own, imbue itself with agency, either inherited or conjured, and embark upon a journey across landscapes and communities? In Karimah Ashadu’s first film Lagos Island (2012), the camera is fixed to a tyre-wheel mechanism the artist constructed out of found objects and observes Togolese migrants who live along the coast.» (Arese Uwuoruya)
Continue reading the film synopses written by @areseuwuoruya, assistant curator at Camden Art Centre, in @karimahashadu’s first monograph “Tendered,” which is available via @moussemagazine e-shop
The publication, edited by @abinoppst with @alessandro.rabottini and @leonardobigazzi, and published on the occasion of Ashadu’s first institutional exhibitions in London at @camdenartcentre, and Chicago at the @rensoc, is a detailed overview of her practice featuring newly commissioned essays, an extended conversation with the artist and a collection of synopses documenting her video installations
The exhibition, curated by Rabottini and Bigazzi, is the second project launched under “Unison,” a biennial initiative promoted by the Fondazione to commission and produce moving image-based exhibitions in partnership with international public institutions
The monograph is a rich resource for readers who hope to gain an understanding of the breadth of Ashadu’s practice—engaging with contemporary manifestations of Nigerian history as embodied by its people and landscapes—and spans more than a decade of work (2012–25), including Ashadu’s newly commissioned film “MUSCLE”
With contributions from Karimah Ashadu, @myriambensalah, Leonardo Bigazzi, @ginabuenfeld, @martinclark76, @cjnwonka, Alessandro Rabottini, Bettina Steinbrügge, and Arese Uwuoruya
Designed by @lorenzomasonstudio
Images credits: @g.i.a.c.o.m.o.b.i.a.n.c.o
@saodatismailova’s film “Melted into the Sun” (2024), @jonathasdeandrade’s film “Olho da Rua” (Out Loud, 2022) and @karimahashadu’s film “Plateau” (2021) will be screened on February 27, 2026, at @bangkok_kunsthalle
The screening will be accompanied by a presentation by @leonardobigazzi, curator at the Fondazione, about the “Trilogy of Uncertainties”, a series of three exhibitions developed by Fondazione In Between Art Film and held at the Complesso dell’Ospedaletto on the occasion of the Venice Biennale. Realised over two-year periods, each chapter of the trilogy features eight newly commissioned moving-image works.
“Melted into the Sun” (2024) by Saodat Ismailova is a visual and poetic journey into the cultural and political echo generated across many centuries and geographies by the historical figure of Al-Muqannaʿ, an ambiguous prophet from eighth-century southern Central Asia with revolutionary ideas.
“Olho da Rua” (Out Loud, 2022) by Jonathas De Andrade casts a temporary community of homeless people in a series of performative acts, using art and radical pedagogy tools to collectively rethink reality and the idea of self-representation.
Karimah Ashadu’s “Plateau” (2021) portrays a group of undocumented tin-miners in Nigeria’s Jos Plateau, exploring the implications and risks of their work in the detrimental aftermath of the British colonial regime.
This event is a partnership between Bangkok Kunsthalle, @iicbangkok and Fondazione In Between Art Film.
Images: 1) Saodat Ismailova, Melted into the Sun, 2024. Still. Courtesy of the artist and Fondazione In Between Art Film; 2) Jonathas de Andrade, Olho da Rua, 2022. Still. Courtesy of the artist, Galleria Continua, Galeria Nara Roesler, and Fondazione In Between Art Film; 3) Karimah Ashadu, Plateau, 2021. Still. Courtesy of the artist, and Fondazione in Between Art Film
Karimah Ashadu’s film “MUSCLE” (2025), which we commissioned and co-produced with @camdenartcentre and @rensoc, will have its international premiere at the @berlinaleforum Expanded 2026. Congratulations, Karimah!
“With no single protagonist or linear narrative, the film immerses us in a spectacle of strength through an intimate portrait of bodybuilders in the slums of Lagos. Inflated muscles, bulging veins and luminous skin glistening with sweat fill the screen. Shot almost entirely in close-ups, the camera hovers so near its subjects, moving softly like breath on skin, that at times figures become blurred, abstracted forms. Karimah Ashadu’s slow, measured pans across backs, chests and arms meditate on visibility, drawing attention to the embodiment and representation of the Black male body without rendering it singular or fixed. The metallic clang of barbells is punctuated with guttural sounds of exertion set against the ambience of the streets. Breath and muscle move in syncopated sonic choreography, and the men’s commitment to the ritual of maintaining the body is evident.” (Synopsis by @areseuwuoruya)
The screenings will take place at Cinema Betonhalle (@silent.green) on:
February 15, 08:30 pm, followed by a Q&A with Karimah Ashadu
February 16, 6:15 pm
Images: Karimah Ashadu, MUSCLE, 2025 [stills]. ©️ Karimah Ashadu. Courtesy the Artist, Camden Art Centre, Fondazione In Between Art Film, Sadie Coles HQ and The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago
«With “Cowboy,” Karimah Ashadu gives voice to a landscape that, going back centuries, has been a silent witness to the commerce of humans through the slave trade, and the exploitation of social and environmental resources through European colonialism, where sea routes have been ploughed by the disintegration of generations.» (Alessandro Rabottini)
Continue reading “Saturated Proximity: Rhythm, Porosity and Distance in the Films of Karimah Ashadu,” an essay written by Alessandro Rabottini, artistic director at the Fondazione, in @karimahashadu’s first monograph “Tendered,” which is available via @moussemagazine e-shop
The publication, edited by @abinoppst with @alessandro.rabottini and @leonardobigazzi, and published on the occasion of Ashadu’s first institutional exhibitions in London at @camdenartcentre, and Chicago at the @rensoc, is a detailed overview of her practice featuring newly commissioned essays, an extended conversation with the artist and a collection of synopses documenting her video installations
The exhibition, curated by Rabottini and Bigazzi, is the second project launched under “Unison,” a biennial initiative promoted by the Fondazione to commission and produce moving image-based exhibitions in partnership with international public institutions
The monograph is a rich resource for readers who hope to gain an understanding of the breadth of Ashadu’s practice—engaging with contemporary manifestations of Nigerian history as embodied by its people and landscapes—and spans more than a decade of work (2012–25), including Ashadu’s newly commissioned film “MUSCLE”
With contributions from @karimahashadu, @myriambensalah, Leonardo Bigazzi, @ginabuenfeld, @martinclark76, @cjnwonka, Alessandro Rabottini, Bettina Steinbrügge, and @areseuwuoruya
Designed by @lorenzomasonstudio
Images credits: 1) Installation view of “Cowboy” (2022) in Karimah Ashadu, “Tendered” at Camden Art Centre, 2025. Courtesy the artist and Fondazione In Between Art Film (c) @andrea_rossetti_archive; 2-3) @g.i.a.c.o.m.o.b.i.a.n.c.o
«MUSCLE’s thematic interest in the relationship between Nigerian hypermasculinity and peripheral labour as a postcolonial condition asks us to consider the social histories that underpin the men’s recourse to a patriarchal orthodoxy that is not seen or referenced, but is very present, with the Black hauntological experience of violent white othering» (Dr. Clive Chijioke Nwonka)
Continue reading “Muscle Memory: The Black Atlanticist Form of MUSCLE,” an essay written by Dr. Clive Chijioke Nwonka, associate professor in film, culture and society at University College London, in @karimahashadu’s first monograph “Tendered,” which is available via @moussemagazine e-shop
The publication, edited by @abinoppst with @alessandro.rabottini and @leonardobigazzi, and published on the occasion of Ashadu’s first institutional exhibitions in London at @camdenartcentre, and Chicago at the @rensoc, is a detailed overview of her practice featuring newly commissioned essays, an extended conversation with the artist and a collection of synopses documenting her video installations
The exhibition, curated by Rabottini and Bigazzi, is the second project launched under “Unison,” a biennial initiative promoted by the Fondazione to commission and produce moving image-based exhibitions in partnership with international public institutions
The monograph is a rich resource for readers who hope to gain an understanding of the breadth of Ashadu’s practice—engaging with contemporary manifestations of Nigerian history as embodied by its people and landscapes—and spans more than a decade of work (2012–25), including Ashadu’s newly commissioned film “MUSCLE”
With contributions from @karimahashadu, @myriambensalah, Leonardo Bigazzi, @ginabuenfeld, @martinclark76, @cjnwonka, Alessandro Rabottini, Bettina Steinbrügge, and @areseuwuoruya
Designed by @lorenzomasonstudio
Images credits: 1, 3-4) @g.i.a.c.o.m.o.b.i.a.n.c.o; 2) Karimah Ashadu, MUSCLE, 2025, video still. Courtesy the artist; Camden Art Centre, London; Fondazione In Between Art Film; @rensoc; @sadiecoleshq
«The camera shifts between roles, initiating, listening and responding. In ‘Plateau,’ it has corporeal qualities and moves in a disembodied way, reflecting the displacement of the landscape and its people, while in ‘King of Boys’ it alerts the viewer to my presence as a filmmaker. In ‘MUSCLE,’ it’s nearly still, or it moves softly, like breath on skin. In my early works, the choice to relinquish control was also a way to resist certain cinematic conventions» (Karimah Ashadu)
Continue reading “Discipline of Desire,” a conversation with Karimah Ashadu, Myriam Ben Salah, Martin Clark and Gina Buenfeld-Murley, moderated by Leonardo Bigazzi in @karimahashadu’s first monograph “Tendered,” which is available via @moussemagazine e-shop
The publication, edited by @abinoppst with @alessandro.rabottini and @leonardobigazzi, and published on the occasion of Ashadu’s first institutional exhibitions in London at @camdenartcentre, and Chicago at the @rensoc, is a detailed overview of her practice featuring newly commissioned essays, an extended conversation with the artist and a collection of synopses documenting her video installations
The exhibition, curated by Rabottini and Bigazzi, is the second project launched under “Unison,” a biennial initiative promoted by the Fondazione to commission and produce moving image-based exhibitions in partnership with international public institutions
The monograph is a rich resource for readers who hope to gain an understanding of the breadth of Ashadu’s practice—engaging with contemporary manifestations of Nigerian history as embodied by its people and landscapes—and spans more than a decade of work (2012–25), including Ashadu’s newly commissioned film “MUSCLE”
With contributions from Karimah Ashadu, @myriambensalah, Leonardo Bigazzi, @ginabuenfeld, @martinclark76, @cjnwonka, Alessandro Rabottini, Bettina Steinbrügge, and @areseuwuoruya
Designed by @lorenzomasonstudio
Images credits: 1) Installation view of MUSCLE (2025) in Karimah Ashadu, Tendered at Camden Art Centre, 2025. Courtesy the artist and Fondazione In Between Art Film. (c) @andrea_rossetti_archive; 2-3) @g.i.a.c.o.m.o.b.i.a.n.c.o