Cosford Cinema premieres documentary series exploring art in the NFT world
The first part of the short documentary series “What Would Fado Do with Non-Fungible Tokens” highlights artists, curators, entrepreneurs and government officials at the forefront of the intersection between art and NFT.
In a growing online landscape, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have paved new paths for artists as a means of creation and distribution. The digital possibilities are now seemingly endless.
In “What Would Fado Do with Non-Fungible Tokens,” a documentary series by Miami-based artist Gabriel “GG” Gimenez, filmmakers explore the intersection of art and the world of NFTs.
“Chapter 1: The Dawn of the Imagination Age” provides an inside-out look at how artists are leveraging NFT technology to sell and distribute their art. University of Miami Bill Cosford cinema and You create will host a free early screening of the first part of the series at 6.30pm on Thursday 4 August.
“In other documentaries, there is a lot of focus on the outside perspective focusing on the speculation about the high numbers and the big headlines about NFTs,” Gimenez said. “Very little curated content is focused on the individuals who put in the work and create very cool works of art in NFT and the digital space.”
This project is among the first short films to use NFT technology for independent film distribution. The documentary series’ first chapter is later scheduled to premiere on the NFT platform Nifty Gateway on August 12. Gimenez said the project would also exist as an NFT.
“The intention is to offer a new form of distribution for filmmakers,” he said. “It is an educational content, but it is also more than that. We wanted to blur the lines of how a film should be consumed and collected.”
“This project is not a 101 course on NFTs. Our focus was to present a narrative of a few of the individuals shaping the NFT space in a unique, curated and most importantly creative way,” Gimenez added. “This was about creating something curated and inspiring for others.”
The first part, a 21-minute episode using pieces of Gimenez’s own visual animated art, immerses viewers in artwork highlighting international artists who use NFTs to share their work. Gimenez noted how different platforms create a more accessible user experience for collectors to purchase artwork through NFTs.
The series will include interviews with many of the artists, curators, entrepreneurs and government officials leading the way in this new and exciting space – including Cristina Favretto, Head of Special Collections at the University Libraries.
In the episode, Favretto gives filmmakers a look at roughly 500 years of material—from illuminated manuscript pages to artifacts from the early history of the printing press to artists’ books and zines—to help viewers contextualize how NFTs fit into the history of documentation.
“The early stages of any kind of technology is when people are experimenting,” Favretto said. “We don’t know what the NFTs will bring – is it a fad, or is it sustainable? We know it’s in its infancy and needs to be documented.”
The screening at Cosford Cinema will include a talk with the filmmakers, followed by a reception on Cosford’s patio.
Registration is required for all participants.
