Black Sun is a Cork-based outer limits/weirdo music and experimental film event that first erupted in May 2009. Since then, curator Vicky Langan has brought many renowned makers of strange sounds from around the world to play for the first time in Ireland. Black Sun is conceived as a space where the experimental is not something clique-ish, reserved for the afficionado, but precisely the opposite – an opening of possibility for the adventurous, wherever they’re coming from.

Since December 2009, Black Sun has complemented its live acts with film programmes, which I curate. These expand the scope of Black Sun’s commitment to bringing world-class experimental experiences to Cork audiences. The Black Sun screenings have already introduced the work of such major underground film figures as Iván Zulueta, Stéphane Marti, the Buharov Brothers and Piero Bargellini to Irish audiences. In presenting recognized masters like Jeff Keen and Ben Rivers alongside equally brilliant, if less well known, talents from the past (Etienne O’Leary) and present (Oriol Sánchez), Black Sun keeps opening its audiences’ eyes ever wider.

And in August 2012, the first film-only Black Sun Cinema event took place at the Triskel Christchurch Cinema, Cork, featuring James Fotopoulos’ The Nest, a retrospective programme of Frans Zwartjes and a number of contemporary Irish shorts.

Keep an eye on the Black Sun site for future events!