Meriem Bennani. Still from “Life on the CAPS,” 2022. Courtesy of the artist.
Meriem Bennani. Still from “Life on the CAPS,” 2022. Courtesy of the artist.
TWO ONLINE AIRINGS: 12-1 AND 6-7PM CT
“LIVE FROM THE CAPS” is a one-hour video program exploring the world of the CAPS, a fictional island in the middle of the Atlantic that forms the setting for a trilogy of films by Meriem Bennani. In a supernatural, dystopian future where teleportation has replaced air travel, and displaced populations utilize this portal to cross oceans and borders, the CAPS was created as a detention camp for those apprehended during “illegal” teleportations. Through a series of three films—Party on the CAPS (2018-19), Guided Tour of a Spill (2021), and the final chapter, Life on the CAPS (2022), currently on view at the Renaissance Society—Bennani follows the island’s development into a bustling megalopolis over the course of multiple generations, full of individuals grappling with their own diasporic experiences, new technologies, and continuing realities of surveillance and control.
This program features writers and thinkers Emily LaBarge and Omar Berrada’s wide-ranging insights into the trilogy, interwoven with illustrative footage from each of the three films. Kamal El Jadid and Amine El Bahi, the stars of the third and final chapter in the series, stage a mock TV interview and share behind-the-scenes commentary on the making of the new film. Bringing together thoughtful reflection, personal storytelling, laugh-out-loud humor and more, “LIVE FROM THE CAPS” offers a deep dive into Bennani’s bizarre and brilliant world.
