Drinking Brecht: An automated laboratory performance (2024)
IDFA, 2024
Using DNA extracted from a hat worn by actors in Bertolt Brecht’s Berliner Ensemble, Drinking Brecht is an automated laboratory performance and illustrated essay that explores the past and present of genetics and synthetic biology. A documentary that you can drink, the work ingests worn-out scientific narratives and turns them into a marxist-feminist ritual, and a celebration of science for the people.
Produced by sister sylvester
Co-produced by Onassis ONX
Written, directed and narrated by sister sylvester
Score and experiment narration by DM R
Percussion by Ellery Trafford
Audio mixing by Murat Çolak
Color grading by Nathan Saucier
Installation design by sister sylvester and Tjip Telman
Programming for lighting by Ahmet Kizilay
Dramaturgy by Andrew Kircher
Additional fly cinematography by Sophia Lisco, Rachel Ganz, Morgan Harrison, Pere Jaeger.
Microscope sponsor: Dinolite
Images from the premiere at IDFA DocLab 2024. This engagement is supported in part by Mid Atlantic Arts through USArtists International, a program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding.
Microscope equipment and technical support provided by DinoLite.
Previous versions of the work in development have been performed at Joe’s Pub, Prelude Festival, UCCS, MAX festival, Bryn Mawr, in the USA; and Sibersalz Festival in Germany.