The Gym of Hope – the movie
Film Premiere by July Weber, Macarena Fuentes
In the frame of Fold – Spring Break Tickets
Between 2024 and 2025 artists Beer Yingsuwannachai and July Weber travelled from urban Bangkok to the rural region of Trat, near the Cambodian border. They observe, interview and collect movement material for a choreographic work centred around the theme of hope. In the process, their research takes on a life of its own to create a critical playful film project about hope as a physical practice and self-optimisation. In collaboration with musician and video artist Macarena Fuentes, they create the road movie ‘The Gym of Hope’, a mix of documentary film, feature film, music video and free experiment.
Using the example of fitness studios, ‘The Gym of Hope’ takes a close look at physical activities in public spaces. What are our motivations for training and shaping our bodies and how are these bodies presented in public?
Embodying various fictional characters, Beer Yingsuwannachai and July Weber try to find out what the ‘The Gym of Hope’ could be and where it can be found. This also raises the question of the alteration and control of nature and its often distorted simulation by theme parks, holiday resorts and other tourist attractions. What is real and authentic, what is constructed and what is fake? And can these concepts still be clearly separated from one another?
Accessibility
Using the example of fitness studios, ‘The Gym of Hope’ takes a close look at physical activities in public spaces. What are our motivations for training and shaping our bodies and how are these bodies presented in public?
Embodying various fictional characters, Beer Yingsuwannachai and July Weber try to find out what the ‘The Gym of Hope’ could be and where it can be found. This also raises the question of the alteration and control of nature and its often distorted simulation by theme parks, holiday resorts and other tourist attractions. What is real and authentic, what is constructed and what is fake? And can these concepts still be clearly separated from one another?
Accessibility
Information on accessibility can be found here approx. 10-14 days before the event.
July Weber
July Weber (*1986, DE, all pronouns) is a choreographer*, dancer*, curator* and stage designer*. Weber studied sculpture at the HBK Braunschweig and the Academy of Arts Vienna, as well as choreography at the HZT Berlin and at the Theaterschool in Amsterdam. Over the last 15 years Weber has developed his own artistic signature, which explores the areas of friction between image, body and material for their choreographic potential. Weber won the Berlin Art Prize in 2015, was invited to the 2022 Dance Platform and has received various residencies and scholarships over the years. Weber founded NEW FEARS - a gallery for performance and transdisciplinarity and won the 2023 prize for project spaces in Berlin.
Macarena Fuentes
Macarena Fuentes (she/her) was born in 1986 in the north of Argentina, after studying fashion design, she worked as a costume designer on several film productions in her country. In 2014 she began a career as an experimental musician and video artist. She has also made score for films such as "Husek" by Daniela Segiaro and collaborated with Lucrecia Martel on "Norte Central" (premiere at Berlinale 2021) as part of the cast, sound and score. In 2022 Fuentes moved to Europe, where she started collaborating with different artists. Now based in Berlin, she is working on composing music for performance works such as “Alter Ego”, “Screenshots” and “7 Trumpets” by July Weber, presented in Wehrmühle, Hong Kong and Tokio. Fuentes is currently continuing her research into finding her own voice in visual and musical arts with her solo project Makita.
Director: Macarena Fuentes, July Weber
Cast: Beer Yingsuwannachai, July Weber
Production: Punika Rangchaya
Editing: Macarena Fuentes, July Weber
Sound: Macarena Fuentes
In cooperation with Tanzfabrik Berlin. Funding: Goethe Institut international coproduction fund.