About the event
by Aurélien Froment
Aurélien Froment will present his current film project in development. The project is born from the work of American writer Louis Wolfson (New York, 1931–Miami, 2024).
Through film, and using Louis Wolfson’s unique oeuvre as source and guide, I want to examine the role of language as a factor of both emancipation and exclusion. What happens when the contract establishing the conditions for language is broken, ignored, or transgressed? In an era characterised by the possibility of instant communication but increasing polarisation, the film aims to examine our expectations and defiance towards language.
Diagnosed with schizophrenia and following psychiatric treatments with shock therapy in the early 1950s, Louis Wolfson refused to use his mother tongue. Instead, he taught himself French, German, Russian and Hebrew. He developed a sophisticated form of language transformation to overcome any contact with English. He depicted his experience in a hybrid form of autobiography, 'Le Schizo et les langues', published in Paris in 1970. The book is written in French and remains inaccessible to non-French readers.
About the speaker
by Aurélien Froment
Beginning with extensive research, my works are vehicles to engage with stories of concrete and marginal utopias. Some of the starting points of my work include Arcosanti’s visionary architecture in Arizona, the 19th century kindergarten of Friedrich Fröbel, the Renaissance Theatre of Memory by Giulio Camillo, the Ideal Palace of postman Cheval, and contemporary performances by the Senegalese-Indian dance company Bharat-Pehchane.
How to attend
This event is open to all, and free to attend. No registration is required, simply come along.
Are you interested in studying Intermediality?
As the first UNESCO World City of Literature, home of the Edinburgh International Festival and a major cultural hub, Edinburgh is the ideal place for the study of intermediality. Our one-year taught masters programme draws on world-class teaching and research expertise across media, from literature to film, music, painting, photography and visual culture more widely.
The programme will make you conversant with intermedial theory and equip you with the critical tools and historical background for understanding and analysing a wide range of intermedial phenomena across different periods and cultures. It can also be completed part-time over two years.
