Sz. Berlin ± Panic

The project is a multi-faceted one combining the different professional experiences of the members of Sz. Berlin ± Panic. These include professional filmmaking, field recording, sonification, and artistic-academic research on questions around architecture, abandoned sites and industrial heritage. Sz. Berlin has long experience of performing in and researching ex- military and industrial sites, especially in the ex- Yugoslav context. These techniques have been developed since Sz. Berlin’s sonic-architectural intervention at the First Time Machine Biennial at Tito’s bunker in Konjic in 2011. Since the creation of Sz. Berlin ± Panic in 2022, this architectural-visual-sonic research practice has been refined at several sites in Istria and Rijeka. The exploration of Power and Light and its history is a durational manifestation of the duo’s artistic-research process. Instead of a documentation of a single research session at a site, it is a compilation or distillation of the spirit and history of the place.

The film is the result of being able to dwell in the site for long periods without time pressure. In effect, it shows the result of a unique artistic residency in a threatened and forgotten site that very few people are now able to access. It shows the spirit of the place in many moods and lights, attempting to respectfully capture its essence. By filming and recording from multiple angles in different weather conditions and times of day, it brings to light the unique timescales and moods of an abandoned site. It generates audio directly on site from the structure, blending it with archival documentation and professional footage shot on site. It is a creative dialogue with and through the site and its history, intended to highlight its remarkable essence and its status as a hall of abandoned light.

Building on techniques first used in a film about the abandoned power station in Vlaška, Istria, it emphasises the height and depth of the site and its fallen status. A site that once illuminated a city has fallen into the darkness of obscurity. Nevertheless, for those with an artistic eye it still possesses a luminous quality, and the film is designed to communicate this aspect of its nature. It focuses on the most atmospheric and symbolic points of the structure, moving from obscure details and visual textures to its vast depths and expanses. The film depicts a site that may have “fallen” into ruin, but which has lost neither power, nor light.

N. Panic is a film director, producer, and screenwriter. He began his film career in 1991. As part of cinematography and post-production teams, he worked on films by Ridley Scott, Mike Figgis, Beeban Kidron, John Irvin, Michael Hoffman, Caroline Thompson, Roger Young, and others. Since 2000, he has directed, filmed, and produced music videos, short and promotional films, as well as the theater production “Bette Davis On the Edge”, which was performed across the UK, the USA, and Singapore. His documentary “And the Winner Isn’t...” was screened in U.S. cinemas in December 2017, and its title song was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2018. Between 2013 and 2015, he worked as a producer on audio and promotional videos for UNICEF’s “Giving Tales” project—a series of animated audiobooks narrated by Roger Moore, Michael Caine, and others. In 2022, he co-produced the documentary “Ocean Emergency: Currents of Hope” for ATI / The CW Network in the U.S. He began his DJ career in 1983 in Belgrade. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he was a resident DJ at London clubs Slimelight and Pure Industrial, and performed at clubs around the world, including at the Exit Festival in 2008. Since 2022, he has been part of the artistic duo Sz. Berlin ± Panic.

Aleksei Monro (1969) is the author of the book “Interrogation Machine: Laibach and NSK”, published in Slovenia, France, and Germany. His work on Laibach/NSK has appeared in numerous publications, and he has written and edited liner notes for several Laibach albums. His main research interests include modern and industrial architecture, as well as industrial and electronic music.In 2010, he co-organized and moderated an international symposium on Laibach as part of the events marking Laibach’s 30th anniversary, and served as the programme director of the First NSK Citizens’ Congress in Berlin. He was a research advisor for the 2015 exhibition “NSK from Kapital to Capital” at the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana. His second book, Autopsia: Thanatopolis, focuses on the artistic and musical project emerging from the former Yugoslavia and the Czech Republic. He edited the NSK Citizens’ Congress book State of Emergence and co-edited “Est Dept: Total State Machine”. He collaborated with Test Dept on the 2021 film “Notes from the Underground”. In 2023, he participated in the R.o.R. research residency in Šempas, Slovenia, where he explored the architectural history of Nova Gorica. He is also an interdisciplinary artist (under the name Sz. Berlin), with solo exhibitions in Labin, Croatia (2022), and Šempas, Slovenia (2023). Since 2022, he has been part of the artistic duo Sz. Berlin ± Panic. R.o.R. u Šempasu, Slovenija, istražujući istoriju arhitekture Nove Gorice. Takođe je interdisciplinarni umetnik (pod imenom Sz. Berlin), sa samostalnim izložbama u Labinu, Hrvatska (2022) i Šempasu, Slovenija (2023). Od 2022. godine je deo umetničkog dua Sz. Berlin ± Panic.