the founding
philosophy
of F5
Systems theory
art as a “Discipline”
Systems Theory is a sociological framework of how interconnected parts work inside of a whole. It gained notoriety for rejecting the sociological zeitgeist of post enlightenment theoretical practices. They (enlightenment thinkers) sought to understand individualist logic, further alienating convergences between systems and articulating the machinations of each segmentation. We aim to reject this through the framework of system theory in application to art.
Art has become utterly self referential, deriving itself by the merit of it being a “discipline.” Art as a finished product now reigns supreme, instantiated by becoming consumable to integrate with the flow of capital. Artists must navigate algorithms, sacrificing nuance and movement in order to gain more visibility. Someone who creates a film, is reduced to a “filmmaker” and must maintain that image. They must do so in order to gain initiation or integration, whether it be at mixers, festivals, or online. Therein, the art itself not only becomes stagnant, but it is also transcended by the artist itself, navigating a system that prioritizes the creator rather than creation.
the situationists
the museum as a cemetery
The Situationists International was an international organization of artists who de-prioritized art as a finished product and accentuated the practice of its curation. They rejected subsuming art to a complete item that can be reduced to exchangeability, whether that be pieces in a museum, codified films, or written novels. The practice of creation was where the art lied, and what breathed life into artists. The museum in this context becomes a cemetery.
By stripping art from its living cultural context, freezing them in time, subjecting them to visual silent contemplation, the “museum” (i.e., film festivals, artist mixers, contemporary workshops) turn dynamic cultural items into dead, abstract icons.
Community is now entirely derivative, redundant, and contrived. Instead of being reflexive of a fluid mutuality emblazoning a shared context, it is now reduced to individuals who are adjacent to one another in singular identity, and inhabit overproduced “shared” spaces that prioritize singular attributes as commonalities rather than curating an organic whole. It is a collection of similar individuals rather than a gestaltian whole that is transcendent of the sum of its parts.
What the F*ck Film Festivals Film Festival “is”
An Alternative To Art as Commodity
The F*ck Film Festivals Film Festivals aims to reconcile these contradictions: ART as DISCIPLINE | MUSEUM as CEMETERY | ART as COMMODITY.
We want to implement a festival that doesn’t insulate artists into self masturbatory, self promotion machines dehumanizing themselves in order to gain an external initiation. We reject the artist as a static image who is fully integrated with their identity coinciding with a finished work, “filmmaker”, “painter” , “novelist”. We aim to curate a festival that prioritizes creation just as much as presentation, integrating constant workshops that detract artists from their “specialty” - as we reject “networking” and aim to have everyone curate and interact with the creation of communal art in real time. To abolish different art practices as singular fields but make the overlapping framework a navigable space. To abolish “art” as a “finished work”.
To abolish the “artist”.
OUR MISSION
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OUR MISSION ~
Our mission is to establish a film festival rooted in community rather than ego-driven careerism. By prioritizing accessibility over prestige, we provide an infrastructure where filmmakers connect rather than compete. In doing so, we cultivate work that is organic, authentic, and reflective of its local environment.