Benny’s Video

With more screens than ever facing us, we are inundated with footage of both real and fictional violence more frequently than ever. Even three decades ago, Michael Haneke was already questioning the desensitising effect that constant exposure of violence has on the psyche with this psychodrama, set during the rise of video culture. Obsessed with his camera and his private archive of filmed violence, teenage Benny films himself killing a girl that he met outside a video store. Ever the instigator, Haneke dares to confront the audience with the idea that the disaffected teenage murderer may be more sympathetic than the parents who choose to protect Benny for the sake of their reputation.

Cannes Directors' Fortnight

22/11(Sun): Double-screening lecture

13:30 Benny's Video

15:45 Funny Games (1997)

With a 25-min intermission

Speaker: Long Tin (Writer, cultural curator and critic)