Synopsis

The film shows one year in the life of Ulay, a polyglot pioneer of performance, concept, body and Polaroid art, originally coming from Germany. As the artist was diagnosed with cancer just before the shooting started, what was planned as a portrait about Ulay ultimately became a documentary about his “farewell” journey. The journey starts on November 11, 2011 in Ljubljana, where Ulay has to undergo chemotherapy. When his health slightly improves, he decides to visit his friends all over the world. His first stop is in Berlin, where he attends a film premiere of his former partner in life and art, Marina Abramović. Next he travels to New York and finally to Amsterdam, where he used to live for many years. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ulay developed a series of spectacular performances in collaboration with Abramović, which above all were also dealing with physical boundaries. Similarly, the present film is not exactly a presentation of his person, but of the transformation occurring in a body – in this case as a result of a disease. Director Damjan Kozole: “For Ulay, the fight for survival is his biggest art project.” The film is about modern art, but at the same time has a strong humanist dimension as well. Absolutely worth seeing.

Ulay and Damjan Kozole will attend the screening of Project Cancer at the Viennafair 2014 and will be available for Q&A.

Guests

Damjan Kozole

Director Ulay

Ulay

Protagonist Ulay
Lecturer Master Class

Rada Sesic

Curator Documentary Competition